Frank Valeriote

[Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act, June 11th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek for his comments. It seems that the cuts he spoke of affect mostly the disadvantaged and marginalized, people who can least afford it.

One program to be cut is the community access program which provided needed funds for communities to provide computers and Internet access to people who can least afford it; people in urban areas and particularly rural areas where they do not have 100% connectivity. In Guelph, there are at least 300 people a day who use it at the library.

Could my friend comment on the dramatic effect this would have across Canada?

[Petitions, June 11th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by literally hundreds and hundreds of residents in southwestern Ontario concerned with the science and long-term health implications of genetically modified organisms.

The petitioners call on the House to immediately cease the licensing and release of new GMOs and request an independent review of existing GMOs that are presently in the market.

[Ontario Veterinary College, June 11th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, founded in 1862 by Andrew Smith, the Ontario Veterinary College is the oldest veterinary college in North America and celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. Originally located in Toronto, it relocated to its present home in 1922 and was a founding college of the University of Guelph in 1964.

The college was initially founded to train and assist people in Upper Canada who were responsible for horses. Now it has grown to become an international leader in veterinary health care, learning and research.

The OVC is a cornerstone of the community in Guelph. More than a landmark physical institution, it has been the home for the past 150 years to thousands of men and women who have gone on to graduate and spread out across Canada and the world to improve the health and welfare of animals, ensure the safety of the food we eat and assist in the protection of our environment.

I am certain that 150 years from now, Guelphites will reflect on the ever-increasing and important role the Ontario Veterinary College will have played on its 300th anniversary.

[Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, June 7th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, yesterday I asked the Treasury Board President, with respect to the 19,200 jobs lost and the $5.2 billion cuts in the budget, if he would be more specific and explain it all to the PBO, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, and to Parliament. His answer was:

...I would remark that we are reporting to Parliament precisely in the normal means, through the estimates, the quarterly financial reports and the public accounts.

In effect, he is saying the government will let us know as it goes along.

If this were a public company and the CFO was asked by the board of directors to explain the budget, where the cuts were and why those amounts, and he or she said, “We'll let you know as we go along”, he or she would be fired on the spot.

My question to the hon. member is, when will the government be more specific about the cuts and where they will most dramatically hit?

[Parliamentary Budget Officer, June 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, MPs must make informed decisions, especially on a budget cutting $5.2 billion and slashing 19,200 jobs. Yet the government will not release vital information to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Providing information to the PBO is more than an election promise; it is a legal duty.

Why did the Prime Minister order his deputy minister to stall who and what the government was cutting until it was politically convenient? When will the government actually adhere to its own Federal Accountability Act by giving that information to Parliament and the PBO?

[Business of Supply, June 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, while the member opposite certainly pointed out some investments that the government has made, I think he has misled us to a certain degree with respect to the exodus of scientists from this country.

The agriculture committee has travelled across Canada on at least one occasion in the last couple of years. All we heard about was the exodus of our scientists to other countries because of the lack of investment by the government in basic science. The agricultural adaptation program was ended completely. It was science-based.

My question to the hon. member is, why would he mislead us like this and suggest that our scientists are staying, when in fact they are leaving this country?

[Petitions, June 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present a petition from dozens of residents of Guelph adding their voices to hundreds across Canada calling for urgent and immediate action to rectify serious problems, like the resource gap and the provision of safe drinking water, in first nations communities. In the wake of the crisis in Attawapiskat, residents from across Guelph are even more motivated to ensure we immediately address these inequalities and make the lasting changes to our relationship with our first nations communities.

[Employment, June 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, every year more than 24,000 migrant workers return to Canada to help plant and harvest. They pay income tax and contribute to EI.

Despite their investment made in migrant workers, farmers are now told they will have to hire local workers who, in most cases, are being forced to take a job that does not match their own requirements.

While the minister did not answer when I asked about vital infrastructure cuts to the rural secretariat, perhaps she would like to try to explain why farmers in the Atlantic provinces or here in Ontario in areas like the Holland Marsh are no longer able to hire the skilled workers they truly need.

[Government Programs, May 31st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is taking rural Canadians for granted. Cuts to regional development programs and vital infrastructure created through the community access program signal rural Canada just is not a priority.

The rural population is aging and fewer Canadians are sticking around rural areas to make a living. In the face of this exodus the most savage cut is to the funding and staffing of the Rural Secretariat, which will go from 92 to 15 staff.

Before we start to see ghost towns, will the government reverse its ill-conceived cuts and show it actually cares about rural Canada?

[Restoring Rail Service Act, May 29th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, I am really beginning to question the sincerity and genuineness of the intentions of the government with this legislation. I say that for two reasons. One is, if this were such an essential service to Canadians, then the minister would designate rail service as an essential service, by which would accrue a number of rights to the employees.

Number two is that the minister and the government are only emboldening the railway company. The reason I say that is they have had the rail service review since March of last year. They have been comatose on the file and have done nothing about it. That is hurting farmers, and I am convinced that their only interest is supporting the railway companies.