Gord Brown

[Democratic Reform, June 17th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, the Ontario Liberal minister who headed up the Ontario referendum process 10 years ago still supports having a referendum. She recently said that if we are going to totally change the election system, “I think it would have to be a referendum”.

Will the Liberals hold a referendum on any changes to how Canadians vote, yes or no?

[Children on the Hill, June 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a very important group of employees on the Hill, those who work at Children on the Hill daycare.

They have provided care for children 18 months to 5 years of age since 1981. Their dedication, organization and care for all the children is extraordinary and very much appreciated.

My son Tristan has been going to the Children on the Hill since September 2013. They deserve a special thanks for taking tremendous care of the children during the horrible events that unfolded on October 22, 2014. Their courage, care and commitment to ensuring all were happy and secure at the daycare will always be remembered, and we are very grateful for all their efforts.

It is with a heavy heart that my wife and I will be taking Tristan out of the daycare as he heads to school.

Thanks to those who work at Children on the Hill for all they do and for making our son's first learning years unforgettable. We will miss seeing them all. What they do is the most important work out there.

[Women's PGA Championship, June 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise with great news for Canada. Smiths Falls, Ontario native, 18-year-old Brooke Henderson, yesterday won the women's professional golf association championship in a sudden-death playoff.

Ranked fourth in the world, Henderson becomes the second-youngest winner of a major championship. She is also the second Canadian woman to win a major championship, following Sandra Post's victory in the 1968 event, and is projected to jump from fourth to second in the world today.

Her first professional victory came last year in Portland, Oregon. Henderson was Canadian Women's Amateur champion in 2013, finished runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Women's Amateur, and while still an amateur, won three events on the Canadian Women's tour, and tied for 10th place in the 2014 women's open at the age of just 16. For 2015, Henderson was named both the Canadian and Ontario female athlete of the year.

On behalf of all Canadians, I salute her success yesterday.

[Business of Supply, June 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I think if you seek it, you will find consent for the following motion:

That, at the conclusion of today's debate on the opposition motion in the name of the Leader of the Official Opposition, all questions necessary to dispose of the motion be deemed put and a recorded division deemed requested and deferred to Tuesday, June 14th, 2016 at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1., June 8th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives also agree to apply and will be voting no.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1., June 8th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives also agree to apply and will be voting yes.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1., June 8th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives agree to apply and will be voting yes.

[Government Business No. 6, May 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we went from sunny ways to a dark week in Parliament. We had altercations on the floor of the House; chaotic scheduling of business without notice; the moving of dilatory motions by the government, delaying its own legislation; and the closing of debate on Bill C-14, the first time in history that such measures were used on a moral conscience issue.

Then we wake up Wednesday morning to Motion No. 6, a motion that proposes to legislate by exhaustion, offering unstructured, open-ended debate, potentially sitting 24 hours a day around the clock, all summer long, and when the government is satisfied it has forced through enough business, it can bail out without notice and without a vote.

Motion No. 6 targets the opposition and hamstrings its ability to hold the government to account. It disenfranchises the 60.5% of Canadians who voted for those opposition members. Even the 39.5% of Canadians who voted Liberal will not appreciate or be well-served by the crippling of the opposition.

Motion No. 6 must be withdrawn from the Order Paper and never repeated again.

[Customs Act, May 17th, 2016]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-273, An Act to amend the Customs Act (marine pleasure craft).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to introduce my private member's bill. It is entitled an act to amend the Customs Act, and it would change the Customs Act to allow private pleasure craft to transit Canadian waters without reporting to customs. Currently, any pleasure vessel that crosses into Canada along waterways such as the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands, in my riding, must report to Canadian customs whether or not they plan to dock or anchor in Canada. The bill would harmonize with the United States. Currently, Canadian-based vessels can go into U.S. waters and not have to report as long as they do not land in U.S. water.

I am introducing the bill today to harmonize with the United States. It has been brought forward by many constituents in my riding, and I believe this will help to enhance tourism in the Thousand Islands and in Canada in general. It is something that also affects other areas of Canada where there are boundary waters. I am happy to introduce this bill today.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Business of Supply, May 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that we would support more time to debate Bill C-14, but we ask to amend the motion that the members sit no later than midnight, at which time the House would adjourn.