Gord Brown

[Canada National Parks Act, November 30th, 2011]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-370, An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act (St. Lawrence Islands National Park of Canada).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Ajax—Pickering for seconding my motion.

The bill would amend the Canada National Parks Act by renaming the St. Lawrence Islands National Park as the 1000 Islands national park.

St. Lawrence Islands National Park could be almost anywhere from Kingston to Newfoundland, but in fact it is in the 1000 Islands region. As such, a more appropriate name for the park would be the 1000 Islands national park. There has been significant public consultation on this and I am pleased to put this bill forward.

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

[Jean Casselman Wadds, November 29th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, one of Canada's female political pioneers, Order of Canada recipient Jean Casselman Wadds, of Prescott, in my riding of Leeds—Grenville, passed away November 25.

Mrs. Casselman Wadds became an MP in a byelection following the death of her husband, A. C. Casselman, who was MP from 1921 until 1958.

She and her father, the Hon. Earl Rowe, remain the only father and daughter ever to sit as MPs in the same session. Mrs. Casselman Wadds became the first woman in Canada to be a parliamentary secretary.

She was the first woman appointed by the Canadian government as a delegate to the United Nations and in 1979 she was the first woman appointed Canadian High Commissioner to Great Britain.

Prime Minister Trudeau credited Mrs. Casselman Wadds as one of three key women responsible for the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution, along with Queen Elizabeth and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

She was always kind to me, and I offer my condolences to the family of Jean Casselman Wadds, her daughter Nancy and son Clair, and the community she served so well for so long.

[Copyright Modernization Act, November 22nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I know my friend from Saanich—Gulf Islands has put some effort into learning about this issue.

I was first elected back in 2004. I sat on the heritage committee. We heard at that time that Canada had signed the WIPO agreement back in 1997 and yet in 2004 it had not complied with what it had in fact signed. We are now almost 2012 and still we are not compliant with WIPO.

I chaired the special legislative committee on Bill C-32. We heard from 100-plus witnesses. A lot of work has been done on this.

I know that the hon. member has spoken about some very positive aspects in the bill. There is one aspect I want to ask her about because in one part of the bill there is a provision for a mandatory five year review.

The digital economy is changing rapidly. Is that something the member sees as a positive aspect of this bill?

[Copyright Modernization Act, November 22nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to the hon. member's presentation. It is clear the NDP and the member will not support the bill. Earlier we heard earlier the member for Trinity—Spadina say that the bill was all about pleasing American movie studios.

The fact is that foreign location production is at $1.5 billion annually. Film and TV production generated more than 117,000 full-time job equivalents in 2009-10, including 36,000 in foreign location and service production. A lot of jobs are at stake. We have heard that many companies are concerned about the fact that Canada is very much an outlaw in terms of protecting intellectual property.

The hon. member represents a riding in Vancouver and Vancouver is an area that has benefited from much of this film production. Would the hon. member not agree that we really need to protect investment in Canada, even in his own city of Vancouver?

[Copyright Modernization Act, November 22nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I listened very closely to the hon. member's presentation on the bill.

We all know that the government had serious consultations across the country on this bill over the last couple of years. This is the same bill that was Bill C-32 in the last Parliament. I happened to have been the chair of the special legislative committee that looked at the bill and heard from well over 100 witnesses from 75 different groups.

We heard time and time again that Canada was seen as an outlaw. Canada had become a haven, an enabler, for pirates to steal intellectual property. Investments have not been made in our country in terms of businesses that want to have protection for intellectual property.

Would the hon. member support getting this bill to committee, so that once again we could hear those facts and stop Canada from being a haven for outlaws and pirates that steal intellectual property, so that investments in the Canadian economy can be made?

[Senate Reform Act, November 22nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the presentation by the hon. member for Sudbury and I thought it was very thoughtful and insightful from his perspective. He talked about the potential for a constitutional amendment if there were to be changes to the Senate.

In the absence of the possibility of actually abolishing the Senate, would he not agree that having term limits for senators is something that Canadians would support?

[Canada-U.S. Relations, November 21st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, New York State is threatening to shut down the St. Lawrence Seaway with job-killing shipping rules impossible for industry to meet or agencies to enforce. The U.S. and Canada jointly enforce the rules to ensure that ships do not bring in invasive speakers, I mean species.

In his new role, advising the Minister of Transport on ballast water, could the parliamentary secretary please update us on his meetings on Friday in New York? And I meant invasive species.

[Tourism, November 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, last week, we received some great news. Canada's reputation among travellers was recognized as the best in the world by FutureBrand, an international design and branding firm.

Will the Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism please tell the House what this government is doing to help keep Canadian tourism at the top?

[Tibet, November 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, today Tibetans and supporters have gathered outside this very building in a desperate cry to stop the crackdown of religious freedom in their region.

Canada has expressed its serious concerns about the human rights situation in China, including continuing restrictions on the freedoms of expression, association, religion and belief of ethnic Tibetans. We remain concerned about the arbitrary detention and treatment of political prisoners in Tibet and have raised the issue of Tibetans and other religious minorities in China in bilateral meetings and on the international stage, including at the United Nations General Assembly.

Our government takes the issue of religious freedom in China and around the world very seriously. The freedoms of religious belief and practice are at the heart of our principled foreign policy.

We do not hesitate to raise such issues as part of mutually respectful, mature dialogue between our two countries and we encourage substantive dialogue between Chinese leaders and religious minorities.

[Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act, October 5th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Essex for that question because it is a very important issue.

In my riding of Leeds—Grenville, we are served by three community development corporations. They oversee the funding that goes to the eastern Ontario development program. This is money that goes to the smaller communities in order to start up and advance. It helps businesses grow and provides training. There are many components of this fund, and I know that it makes an impact. It is creating real jobs in our communities.

However, the benefit of this is that the decision on how this money is spent is decided by the local boards. The boards know our communities. They reflect our community priorities. It is money well spent. In fact, I would venture to say that it may even be the best investment in job creation in this country.