Gary Goodyear

[Committees of the House, October 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 18th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding its order of reference of Tuesday, September 19, 2006, in relation to Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act.

The committee considered Bill C-16 and reported the bill without amendment.

[Committees of the House, October 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 17th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the Standing Orders of the House of Commons.

[Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, October 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, we heard the hon. member earlier espousing to all the good things the Liberal Party, I guess wanted to do because in 13 years it never got it done.

Here we are, eight months into the game, and we are absolutely getting it done with a very fine bill. The parliamentary secretary should be proud and we are cleaning up this money laundering thing.

I was here through the entire debate and I failed to hear whether or not the new bill would take care of the money laundering issue that was associated with the Liberal Party during the sponsorship scandal. Could the hon. member tell us if it will or will not close that loophole?

[Business of Supply, October 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, at the risk of being yelled at, I would like to remind the member of a couple of different things. Ultimately, what this government is intending on doing, and I think it is reasonable to expect of any government, just like any business, is to periodically review the massive expenditures that it goes through.

The previous Liberal government had an opportunity to pay down $40 billion more on the deficit, which would have left us with $5 billion to $8 billion extra to provide for services.

Unlike the previous government that was attempting to be everything to all people, this government is taking a reasonable approach. We need to provide money to those programs that actually work.

We are asking that of our health care community. We ask that of our educational institutes. We look for areas where there is wasted money. Indeed, most of the programs that the gentleman is referring to were not cut at all.

No matter how loud we want to get in the House of Commons does not make it accurate. The fact is that in 1999 government spending was $119 billion. In 2003 government spending had risen to $178 billion. That is so far above any standard in this country. It was out of control.

We have not cut programs dealing with literacy. We do not need to pay folks to fly around the country and do more studies to tell us that literacy rates in 1994 compared to 2004 have not changed.

Canadian taxpayers expect value for their dollar. This government is committed to putting $80 million into literacy programs to help Canadians in programs that will work, not just spend money for the sake of spending money. The member should know that.

I appreciate that it is his first time rising as the critic for financial stuff, but my goodness--

[Justice, October 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday students and teachers at Southwood Secondary School in my riding had a handgun scare which necessitated a code red alert. Thankfully, no one was physically hurt. I commend Southwood staff and students, and our police for the quick response and for having an emergency plan in place that worked.

Since the election Canada's new government has tabled eight new bills to tackle crime. Can the Minister of Justice please tell me what the public reaction has been to these initiatives?

[Committees of the House, October 18th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the 16th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House earlier this day, be concurred in.

(Motion agreed to)

[Committees of the House, October 18th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 16th report from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of committees of the House. If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the 16th report later this day.

[Health, October 16th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today in the House of Commons to recognize that October 16 to October 20 is Self-Care Week.

This week is about the value of self-care to our health care system and the well-being of Canadians who benefit from the promotion of self-care and the need to support the advancement of self-care policies in Canada.

On October 17, 2006, NDMAC, advancing Canadian self-care, will be hosting the first self-care fall forum to bring greater attention to the significant contribution that self-care can make to the sustainability of the health care system and the health of all Canadians.

NDMAC's self-care fall forum comes at a time when Canada's new government is working hard to control the escalating costs of health care while providing excellent health care to all of our citizens.

I call on members of the House to attend these events and support the future of self-care initiatives.

[Committees of the House, October 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the 15th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented to the House earlier this day now be concurred in.

(Motion agreed to)

[Committees of the House, October 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 15th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the associate membership of committees of the House. If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the 15th report later this day.