Mr. Speaker, the second and third petitions call upon Parliament to respect and uphold the current law which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.
House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 39% of the vote.
Petitions February 7th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, the second and third petitions call upon Parliament to respect and uphold the current law which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.
Petitions February 7th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, I would like to present three petitions pursuant to Standing Order 36 from my riding of Cambridge.
The first petition calls upon Parliament to protect our children, taking all necessary steps to ensure all materials which promote or glorify pedophilia or sado-masochistic activities involving children are outlawed.
Automotive Industry February 4th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, yesterday we warned that meeting Kyoto requirements could cost up to 450,000 jobs. The Minister of Industry said that it was no problem, that Technology Partnerships Canada would fix that.
The minister had better get out his famous Liberal chequebook because that translates into $27 billion at $60,000 per job.
Has the minister discussed this with the slush fund manager over there, the Minister of Finance?
Supply February 3rd, 2005
That is not what he said.
Supply February 3rd, 2005
We are opposed to the failure of the program.
Supply February 3rd, 2005
How is it working? It is not working. Lead or be led.
Textile Industry December 14th, 2004
Mr. Chair, this is outrageous. The member himself just admitted that they were not able to solve this problem year after year. I did not know we were in an election campaign already, but I will say that if the member had been that effective, this would have been solved a long time ago and we would not be here tonight.
In response to the member, I have done my homework. The government has been on this issue for years, by its own admission, and I would offer that it has been solved thanks to the effectiveness of the members on this side.
Textile Industry December 14th, 2004
Mr. Chair, the answer to the member's question is no, I do not think it is. However every long journey starts with a simple step and this is a move in the right direction. I was not surprised and I am not comforted that this announcement is the solution to the problem. It does not surprise me, as I have indicated before, because I do not believe the government is capable of finding a solution to this problem.
In reference to the first part of his question, the member is absolutely correct. I have seen no movement from the opposite side of the House on this issue. In fact, when this was brought to my attention through a petition sent to me by the employees of the John Forsythe Shirt industry, I was absolutely shocked that such a simple solution had not been solved by the previous Parliament. I believe it was on the same day that I wrote a letter to all the members in the House whose ridings would be affected by this. Half of those ridings, four of them were in Liberal ridings, received responses from every member except the Liberal members. In fact one member wrote to me saying that she had brought this up with the minister many weeks ago.
In answer to the question, it is my absolute knowledge that members of the opposition were on this issue the minute we knew about it, the minute Parliament returned. I also believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that it is the direct result of the opposition putting pressure on the government that this has at least opened the door to a solution.
Textile Industry December 14th, 2004
Mr. Chair, I appreciate the opportunity to speak this evening to this issue. I have to say that listening to the hon. member on the other side of the House kind of reminds me of a reality show called “An MP Without a Clue”.
The government is bragging about going into consultations with this industry in the last 30 days with 30 people. How ridiculous is that? People are not interested in having a different piece of legislation for each situation that happens across the country. People wanted their jobs secured and the government had plenty of time to do that. The owners and managers of this industry wanted to plan for the next year, which is a simple thing, but the government leaves it to the 11th hour. What the people of Canada really want is a government that can solve problems, not legislation that creates more. In fact, that is what is happening here.
This is a band-aid solution to a problem that the government caused many years ago. It decided to give some $50 million to underdeveloped nations, which in itself is a good idea, but what that led to was a problem for our own jobs in Canada. The government is concerned about creating jobs. It is not concerned about the jobs we already have.
In one good idea, it tried to solve the problem and ended up with another problem. That is typical of the government. Whether it is the gun registry or dealing with aboriginal people, it does not think laterally. It comes up with knee-jerk solutions and we end up trying to solve the problem at the 11th hour.
People in Cambridge wanted to know. John Forsythe Shirt has been in existence for 100 years and is completely modern. It is not lagging behind on its technology. It has done everything to meet the demands of World Trade Organization contracts and the conflict with NATO. What it has been waiting for is the government to get out of its way so that it can get on with its business. What does the government do? Two weeks before the deadline it says that it has to fix the problem.
In the last two months since I have been in the House I have raised this issue on numerous occasions. I have e-mailed the minister, talked to him at events, have sent him notes in the House, most of which he has ignored, and I have asked him direct questions in the House, as have other members of the Conservative Party. The Bloc has been onside with this and the NDP has been battling the government. The minister himself admitted that he has been sitting on it for two months. That was just a few weeks ago.
The ministers stands in the House every day when he responds to questions on this issue and says that the Liberal caucus is on it. Guess what? It is not on it. It would not have done anything if it had not been for the opposition putting up a tremendous fight to force the government to fix the problems which it caused in the first place.
The government has now acknowledged that it has a problem and that it needs to remove the tariffs over the next few years. It should have done that in the first place. It brought in legislation that allows this industry to sell its remission orders. That is just silly. It should never have allowed that in the first place. It is no wonder we sit here for these types of emergency debates discussing problems that could have been solved in the first place.
It brings me back to the issue that this was an all committee decision. All of the parties got together and made a decision. The minister was given his marching orders but what did he do? He said that he would look into it and make his own decision. He said that he would consult with his bureaucrats. That is not his role. His role is to put in place the decisions made by the House that are brought forward by the committee. I have no idea where the minister gets off thinking that he can delay this as long as he wants and then claim credit.
The fact is that the $50 million that have been put forward is not even the cost of one of the Prime Minister's jets. It is ridiculous. People want jobs and the government is out of touch. I am happy the government brought this notice forward but it should have been done months ago, and in no way should the Liberal government be credited. This is thanks to the hard work of the opposition and it reflects our ability to make the government work despite the interference from that side.
Citizenship and Immigration December 10th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, a constituent in my riding of Cambridge had to pay $24,000 in order to get his sister-in-law into our great country. Her three and a half year old child is still waiting to get in. Clearly his sister-in-law did not work on the immigration minister's campaign.
This person is a certified surgical nurse in her former country, but she lost that specialized job when her employers found out she was a single mother. For that reason she decided to join us here in Canada. Health care workers are needed in Cambridge, yet this professional is not certified to work here. This nurse will not quit. She wrote her nursing exams for Ontario this week. Her dream is to help Canadians, to build a better life for herself in Canada and to get her child here as soon as possible, a little girl she has not seen for over two years.
My constituent wonders why Liberal campaign workers are more important than nurses. He also wonders why priorities are put on stripper programs rather than reuniting mothers with their toddlers, and nurses with patients.