Gary Schellenberger

[Agriculture, March 11th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday in the House the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food told us that the president would use his first veto to open the border. However, back in the real world, livestock producers devastated by the ongoing BSE crisis need emergency funding now.

The CAIS program has not worked. The loan loss reserve has not contributed to increase slaughter capacity and Canadian livestock producers hang in the balance while the government continues to fumble relations with the United States.

When will the minister stop offering our farmers false hope and start delivering?

[The Budget, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I will ask my colleague across the way this question since the minister of defence got out on me just a little too quickly and I did not get an opportunity to ask him. It is interesting that the Liberals found that so many millions of dollars in defence can be saved because they are going to buy some new planes and get rid of some of the old planes.

In 1992 I think new helicopters were coming and it cost the taxpayers $500 million to get out of that deal. We would have probably been taking some of the last deliveries on the helicopters right about now. I understand there is about 30 hours of service for every hour of flying time. Think of how many hours have been wasted from 1992 to 2005, and it is going to be 2007 or longer before we see any of these things. Yes, I can see where there can be savings. That is something we as an opposition party were stressing for many years. Thanks for finally realizing that all of those moneys can be saved by spending a little of the new money.

It was mentioned how great it is to have a new MRI and various things. In Ontario it is just a wee bit different. The Ontario government has added a new hefty health tax. At the same time it is closing down physiotherapy and is laying off nurses. I do not think that the moneys are being provided equally nor are the arrangements that the federal government has with the provinces quite the same. I applaud the new MRI and those types of things but we in Ontario are having a little bit more difficulty. We have MRIs but we do not have people to run them.

[Income Tax Act, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I could still climb the ladder, but the ladder had quite a bend in it.

I did not want to put any of my colleagues in peril in that I might go down and they might have to save me.

The training that is involved is superb. Volunteers put in many hours of training, whether it be to learn the skills of climbing a ladder or putting up a ladder and making sure that it does not slip. Firefighters do not pick the type of days to fight a fire. It could be very icy and slippery. When they put up a ladder, it might slip. They have to know all the safety requirements in those particular instances.

We also had to know CPR. We had to take first aid. We became paramedics to a certain point. None of us really got that far in the paramedic industry, but we did know CPR and how to treat some minor injuries.

I am very proud that a former volunteer with the Perth East Fire Department is a full time firefighter in Nunavut right now and is training to become a paramedic. I met him at the airport a week or so ago. He said that he was doing fine and loving it but that it was very cold. He said that the training was superb and that he was looking after that area very well.

With respect to the tax part of the legislation, the amount that might be used on tax forms for the 100 or 200 hours that a volunteer may put into his or her community is a small amount when one thinks of the amount of time that these volunteers put into our communities.

We did wear a beeper all the time and it was kind of rough getting out of bed at 2 o'clock or 3 o'clock in the morning. We could be enjoying ourselves at a dance when the fire alarm would go off and about 15 people would have to leave to go to the fire hall to look after a particular incident. Even when our beepers went off at funerals or weddings we left because we needed to look after the people in the community.

I cannot stress enough the fact that there has been all party agreement on this particular issue, and that makes my heart feel really great. Our volunteers will realize that the whole of this place supports their initiatives to look after our communities. Rural Canada relies on its volunteers to keep it safe.

One of the toughest things I had to do while I was in the fire department was attend a tragic accident that involved four young people. Two of them were okay but two of them were not. One of the toughest things for a volunteer fireman to do is to remove dead bodies from an auto accident. I remember that night very vividly. The chap I was with said that it was really tough because those kids were the same age as his.

I hope everyone will support the bill.

[Income Tax Act, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure to stand today in support of Bill C-273. It is great to see that all parties in the House are in favour of the bill.

I must say I was in support of this issue the last time it was before the House. I hope that this time the finance department will listen to the House and do something that is correct.

As I stand here today I hope I am not in conflict because I am a former volunteer fireman. For 14 years I was a member of the Downie-Ellice fire department. I was very proud to be part of that great group. I know how disappointed those firefighters were the last time when the motion to give some income tax relief was defeated in the House.

It has been mentioned here a couple of times that some of the remuneration that might be received by volunteer firefighters or volunteers in the service industry has to be added to their income tax forms at the end of the year. Sometimes that will put the person into a higher tax bracket. I do know that some people who made maybe $1,400 or $2,000 as volunteer firemen added that amount to their income and it put them into a higher bracket. They had to pay $2,500 more in income tax, which meant that it cost them $500 just to be volunteer firemen. Not only in recognition for the fine work they do but also in fairness, as they sometimes put themselves in peril, they should at least be reimbursed for their expenses.

Volunteer fire departments sometimes do not have all the equipment that they might want to have. I can remember after being at one particular fire for the better part of a day, there were dirty hoses lying all over the place and there was really no way to get them back to the fire hall. A lot of volunteer firemen own pickup trucks, so they brought their trucks to the scene, threw all the dirty hoses into the backs of their trucks and took them back to the fire hall. Needless to say those trucks are not owned by the fire department and the volunteers are not reimbursed for that service. That is an example of the things that volunteer firefighters do.

Volunteer firefighters and volunteers in other service groups, become families. They are trained as pairs and work with partners.

I have always said that I resigned from the fire department because I got a little bit heavy and I did not want to put--

[Tom Patterson, February 24th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Tom Patterson, the founder of the Stratford Festival. Tom Patterson passed away Wednesday, but he will be remembered with great fondness.

Without Tom Patterson, Stratford and area, Canada, and indeed the entire global community of actors, writers and fans of theatre would suffer a tremendous void. Half a century ago Tom Patterson had an idea and a passion. He had a vision for a festival to be located in Stratford, Ontario, Canada that would be among the world's great stages for Shakespearean theatre. Today, thanks to years of hard work and determination, the Stratford Festival is just that. The accomplishment is extraordinary.

I know I speak for all my colleagues when I say we owe a great deal to Tom Patterson and very much appreciate his enduring legacy, the Stratford Festival of Canada.

[Sports, February 17th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is time to play hardball with the government over the issue of men's softball.

Recently, a decision was made by the Canada Games Council to remove men's softball from the 2009 Canada Summer Games. Many constituents in Perth—Wellington and scores of sports fans across Canada are upset by this decision.

On Friday of last week I brought this to the attention of the government to have the decision reversed. The government claims to be interested in increasing the numbers of Canadians involved in physical activity, yet Sport Canada seems to be uninterested in helping thousands of Canadians who are already very active in a sport they love. We already have the ball fields, teams, coaches and leagues in place. How much does it cost to run a tournament?

On behalf of softball players and fans across Canada, I respectfully ask for a straight answer. Do not throw me a changeup and I deserve better than a curveball.

[Sport Canada, February 11th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, recently a decision was made by the Canada Games Council to remove men's softball from the 2009 Canada Summer Games.

I and many of my constituents are very concerned by this. I am told that removing men's softball from the games will result in lower levels of participation and dramatically reduce the funds needed to help build the sport.

As a lifelong player and fan of men's softball, I find this very troubling.

Will the minister commit to take action to reverse this decision?

[Finance, February 1st, 2005]

The interest rate was not 3% either.

[National Defence, December 14th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, during the last election campaign the Prime Minister promised that 5,000 full time soldiers would be added to the forces. Recent reports suggest that this will take five years to achieve. My constituents are telling me they want to see us make this Parliament work. Despite our best efforts the Prime Minister's inaction is making it very difficult.

When can I tell my constituents that the Prime Minister has kept his word, and our brave men and women serving in Canada's armed forces will get the reinforcements they were promised?

[Housing, November 29th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, there is a real need for more affordable housing in Perth--Wellington. Unfortunately, organizations in my riding did not benefit from the Canada-Ontario affordable housing program because the funding formula was too restrictive and they could not build units with the funding allotment and the strings attached.

Why has the government failed to revise the funding formula so communities in my riding could benefit from the federal-provincial program to build much needed affordable housing?