Gordon O'Connor

[Committees of the House, October 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That, in relation to its study on northern economic development, 12 members of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development be authorized to travel to Iqaluit, Nunavut, in the Fall or Winter of 2009-10 and that the necessary staff accompany the committee.

[Committees of the House, October 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties, and I believe you will find consent for the following motions. I move:

That, in relation to its study on organized crime, 12 members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights be authorized to travel to Montréal (Quebec) and Halifax (Nova Scotia), in the Fall of 2009 and that the necessary staff accompany the Committee.

[Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, October 7th, 2009]

Mr. speaker, I ask that the vote be deferred.

[Economic Recovery Act (stimulus), October 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that the vote be deferred.

[Criminal Code, September 30th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I think you will find there is agreement to apply the vote from the previous motion to the current motion.

[Criminal Code, September 30th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. If you seek it, you will find agreement to apply the votes from the previous motion to the current motion in reverse.

[Committees of the House, September 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I believe if you were to seek it, you would find unanimous agreement to support the motion before the House.

[Committees of the House, September 28th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it, you would find consent for the following motion. I move:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of this House, the 20th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be deemed concurred in at the end of Government Orders today provided that changes in the membership of the Standing Committee on Finance only take effect on Thursday, October 1, 2009; that the Standing Committee on Finance meet as scheduled on Monday, September 28; Tuesday, September 29; and Wednesday, September 30, 2009; and that the Standing Committee on Finance be authorized to meet on Thursday, October 1, 2009 for the purpose of electing a Chair pursuant to Standing Order 106.

[An Action Plan for the National Capital Commission, September 16th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am one of the great supporters of the greenbelt. I believe it is part of our heritage and it must last as long in the future as possible. The greenbelt allows the growth on the Ottawa side to be controlled, so that there is growth on one side of the greenbelt and growth on the other and we can protect this belt.

The long-term goal of the NCC would be to try to protect as much of the ecological basis of the greenbelt as possible, and if members visit the greenbelt, as I do quite often on a day-to-day basis, they will be doing that.

[An Action Plan for the National Capital Commission, September 16th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, there are two questions.

Regarding the first, the long-term intention is that if private properties within the park become available, the government has provided money to purchase them so that we can continue on a long-term basis to create a park that does not contain alien buildings.

With respect to the greenbelt in my own riding and the greenbelt itself, the NCC has the mandate to maintain that greenbelt. From time to time there may be minor adjustments to the greenbelt because of the need to widen roads, et cetera, but the greenbelt itself is being protected and has been for many years.