Gerald Keddy

[Points of Order, May 27th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am more than a little disappointed the member for Hamilton Centre cannot rise and apologize. However, I am sure it was said loud enough that it would be on the tapes. It was certainly heard by many members of Parliament, by the pages and by people in the gallery.

[Points of Order, May 27th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I stand to raise a point of order against the member for Hamilton Centre.

It is the responsibility of everyone in the House to comport themselves with a certain amount of respect for other members of Parliament. I realize that all of us cross that line at some point or another, but usually we do so with some chagrin.

Yesterday in the House, the member for Hamilton Centre very aggressively and deliberately attacked the member for Kildonan—St. Paul. When I interjected that perhaps it would be better to use some respect in the discussion, he then turned that vitriol on me.

With respect, he used very unparliamentary language which was heard by many people in the chamber. It was heard by people in the gallery. It was heard by the pages. It is a day later and I think that upon reflection, the member for Hamilton Centre would apologize to me and to the members of the House for his language.

[Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, May 9th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I was listening to the discussion of the hon. member for Halifax on what was said, or what was not said, or what might have been said, and quite frankly I am a bit confused.

However, what I am not confused about is the fact that this is a good treaty. It is a good FTA for Canada. It is a good FTA for the European nations. It opens up prospects for a wider market for goods. Anytime we can sell our goods in Canada, because we are an exporting nation, that means jobs and opportunities for Canadians, for workers, whether they are unionized or non-unionized. It is a good thing for Canada.

For the shipbuilding industry in particular, there are 15 years of protection in this treaty. That is the most protection of any FTA we have signed. For three of those years, the protection is at its current level. That is the most effort any government has ever made to protect any particular industry under a free trade agreement.

I would go a step further than that. The Norwegians have just purchased the Davie yard in Quebec. It looks now as if that yard will be profitable, with a lot of jobs and a lot of opportunity for the workforce in Quebec. I am not sure, without a foreign buyer, if this would have happened. I am not sure if that yard would have remained viable.

It is worth discussing. Would the NDP rather see our shipbuilding industry die a slow and painful death and see us lose those high paying, well qualified jobs in this country? That is the direction in which the shipbuilding industry was headed.

This government has done more than any previous government to support shipbuilding, first of all under this agreement, and second, with our frigate program. The Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Public Works recently announced $549 million for the Halifax shipyards and $351 million for the Victoria shipyards, respectively, for a refit of Canada's frigate fleet. This is part of $3.2 billion that is going to be spent on refurbishing our fleet in Canada.

At the end of the day, this is a good agreement for shipbuilding. That is the area she wants to talk about. In that area alone, this is a good agreement.

[Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement, May 9th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Chatham-Kent—Essex for his support for the EFTA treaty.

Certainly, I would like to thank the Liberals for their support for the free trade agreement as well. They rose in the House today and said they will be supporting this treaty, which is a good deal for Canada and a good deal for the four European nations that we will be signing it with.

It should be noted that Canada's exports to the EFTA countries are worth $5.2 billion and Canadian direct investment in the EFTA countries is in excess of $8.4 billion. This is a good deal for Canada. It is a good deal for the European Union. It gives us a toe hold and a foothold into a greater marketplace than we have ever had and it is important for the economy of this country.

[North American Free Trade Agreement, May 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, under Standing Order 32(2) of the House of Commons I have the pleasure to table, in both official languages, one treaty entitled, “Exchange of Letters Constituting an Agreement between the Government of Canada, the Government of the United States of America and of the Government of the United Mexican States, amending annex 401(Track III) of the North American Free Trade Agreement”, signed in Washington, Mexico City and Ottawa on April 11, 2008. An explanatory memorandum is enclosed with the treaty.

[Battle of the Atlantic, May 5th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, this month marks the 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic during the second world war.

It was not until May 1943, after receiving more training, air cover, special intelligence and better equipment, that the tide turned in favour of the Allies.

The Battle of the Atlantic is further proof of the determination and resilience of our Canadian heroes. This battle would last six long years. Six long years of repeated enemy attacks and severe conditions.

However, the men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy, the Merchant Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force protected Allied convoys and our own coastline and prevailed. Sadly, more than 4,600 brave men and women lost their lives at sea.

We pledge to remember for all time the bravery and courage of our veterans and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, so that we might enjoy a country blessed with peace and freedom.

[Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, May 1st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to be very brief. My colleague from Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound mentioned everybody in the country and they all deserve a lot of credit, but he forgot to give himself some credit for this bill. He did a lot of hard work and steered it through the House. If it had not been for him, we would not be here today.

[International Treaties, April 28th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, under Standing Order 32(2) of the House of Commons, I have the pleasure to table, in both official languages, three treaties entitled: an agreement between the Government of Canada and the government of the Republic of Chile to amend the free trade agreement between the Government of Canada and the government of the Republic of Chile; an agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the Government of Canada and the Government of the People's Republic of China; and an agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of India.

[Committees of the House, April 11th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

In accordance with its order of reference of Tuesday, March 11, 2008, your committee has considered Bill S-215, An Act to protect heritage lighthouses and agreed on Thursday, April 10 to report it with amendment.

[Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, March 11th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I believe we will get unanimous support for the bill.

I thank my hon. colleague from Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound for carriage of Bill S-215. This is an important bill for coastal Canada. Those of us from the east coast think we have all the lighthouses. Those from the west coast think they have all the lighthouses. There are about 25 lighthouses sitting around me here. It is quite interesting to see the amount of lights in the Great Lakes.

I would like to recognize Senator Carney, who has since retired, for her carriage of this issue in the Senate, certainly Senator Lowell Murray, and most important, I would be remiss if I did not mention Senator Forrestall. The late Senator Mike Forrestall had carriage of this bill at least a half dozen times in the upper chamber. He was an avid advocate of lighthouses and the need to protect them. I quite frankly think if it were not for Senator Forrestall, we probably would not have this bill before us today.

I think it is a giant step forward. I appreciate the support that this place has shown.