Greg Kerr

[Bay of Fundy, April 30th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, as most of us are now aware, the Bay of Fundy, which is located between two of our provinces, has been named as a finalist in the running for one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

The New Seven Wonders of Nature campaign started with over 440 entries representing over 220 countries. Today, the Bay of Fundy is one of the 28 entries remaining and the only entry left representing Canada.

I am very pleased that our government is supporting this wonderful initiative and has committed federal funding toward the Bay's campaign.

This is an exciting time for the residents in the area. Terri McCulloch of Bay of Fundy Tourism has worked hard on this endeavour and often repeats that we must take maximum advantage of the worldwide exposure and tourism potential this contest provides.

I am asking all members of the House to support this initiative and encourage their constituents to vote for the Bay of Fundy. The contest continues through the year and the winner will be announced in 2011.

Take the time to vote online at votemyfundy.com. A vote for the Bay is a vote for Canada.

[April 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I know the member will continue to raise that issue. We have heard quite a bit about lump sum payments.

The financial issues have come to the forefront probably as much as the actual physical and stress issues. However, we also need to be mindful, as we do our review and make our recommendations, that even though we are hearing that there are problems, even today from a witness in answer to a question, it may not be as simple as getting rid of the lump sum and making it a monthly payment. Perhaps there are other counselling processes and other types of initiatives that we can take.

At the end of the day, however, we need to remember that this is a living charter, an ongoing changing process. That is the commitment the government made when it was put in place and so our obligation needs to be to listen to veterans and ensure we respond to them.

[April 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for raising the issue this evening. We tend to be together at many functions regarding these important issues. He is right when he says that today is an example whereby our committee meets and hears from a number of witnesses on these important matters.

I would like to point out that it is absolutely appropriate that we hear from various witnesses about the work that is left to be done. It is not all perfect. There is a lot of service left to be provided and government has to stay focused on that. However, I take exception to one point, which is to suggest that nothing has happened is probably quite inaccurate.

He referred to the ombudsman, which was one of the actions taken in the last couple of years. The idea of having an ombudsman is to find things that are perhaps inadequate or places where we can make improvements. That was something we put in place a couple of years ago and it is showing some results.

I would also like to point out that as we are doing our charter review, although there are a lot of needs left to be covered and concerns left to be addressed, one of the realities is that there is great evidence showing that this new co-operative venture between the Department of National Defence and Veterans Affairs is really paying dividends. A lot of clinics are in place now and a lot of early intervention whereby those in great distress arriving home early from the war are met by peer groups and professionals at an early stage, certainly before they transfer out of the military and into civilian life where the role of Veterans Affairs becomes very significant. There is a lot of preliminary work done.

One of the things we are certainly aware of is that the needs of the new veterans are very great and very complex and to suggest that we are anywhere near where we have to be, of course, would be erroneous.

However, I feel comfortable in saying that a lot of progress is under way. The charter has provided a lot of new opportunities for many veterans and there is an extensive network of health care across the country in our co-operative venture with the provincial system. As I said, there are OSIs and other initiatives under way. The operational stress support is still in the early stages but there is a recognition that this is an important undertaking and one that is showing results.

Even though we have a long way to go, it is important to get on the record that progress is being made and that progress is simply that. It is not the end of the trail. A lot of work is left to be done. The integration and efforts with DND is starting to pay dividends and some of the initiatives that are coming back, including the ombudsman's reports and so on, will be very helpful as we move forward.

I do know that through our committee process we are giving a good vetting to the issues that are coming to us from many concerned witnesses. I think they are all genuine in their expressions and views on what we can do.

I expect that as the process continues we will continue to make improvements. I also want to say that Veterans Affairs' staff, officials and professionals do a terrific job and it is incumbent on us to ensure we continue to provide resources and initiatives that enable them to do an even better job in the future.

[Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, April 21st, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we are certainly all familiar with the contents of the bill. The member recognized in putting this forward that, as he said, it requires a royal recommendation. Of course, we know that will not happen.

I know he is sincere in his efforts behind a lot of this, but he knows full well that he and his party voted against most of the budget implementation measures of this government, including many initiatives that would help veterans out very much. I want to remind him that he has not always supported veterans efforts in spite of what has been said.

My main comments are in regard to the comments made by the Liberal Party critic for veterans affairs suggesting that somehow, when this went through the process and got to committee, all of a sudden it was the Conservatives that defeated the action and killed it on the spot.

I would remind the House, as we often do, that this is a minority Parliament and since we have a minority membership in the committee, we needed another party. It was the Liberal Party that determined that this bill should go no further than it did and that was the end of the road. Tonight we are hearing something different.

I would remind the Liberal critic for veterans affairs that his party did flip once when it came to the long gun registry and this is the flop part where one month it is good to be going in one direction and now it is going in another.

I will agree with one of the comments made by everybody and that is that all members of the House support veterans and what they have done for our country. Obviously, we are all very grateful not only for what they have done in the past, the fact that they helped not only support and defend our country, but in the first world war in particular they gave our country its real independence.

This government has renewed its commitment very strongly to the armed forces. Two years ago under Canada's first defence strategy, it put forward a 20-year strategy and framework that supports the personnel, the men and women, in a very tangible way with new equipment and opportunities to do what they do best. These purchases allow them to conduct business on behalf of all Canadians of which we are very proud.

During today's discussion regarding the pension issue, we want to remind ourselves that pensions are an important part of veterans' lives or anybody's life and that these pensions, like any public pensions, came with bridging that leads into the Canada pension plan. I will get into that in a moment.

Even though we cannot truly repay veterans for all they have done, we must put forward the kinds of initiatives that continue to support them. We are doing that constantly. Each and every year there are new initiatives. As members all know, we brought in the Veterans Bill of Rights, the veterans ombudsman, and the veterans charter. These respect what veterans stand for. These respect what veterans did. It is a constantly moving challenge to ensure we do enough for them.

Do I agree we can never do enough for our veterans? Of course, that is true. We have to constantly be vigilant and aware. As a matter of fact, tomorrow the ombudsman is appearing before the committee and it will hear about many issues where the government and members of the House could do more. His job is not to agree with us but to point out how we can do more for our veterans. That is an important part of the process.

Again, I point out that we are not always going to solve every problem. I know the member for Sackville—Eastern Shore says there is a study on agent orange, but this is the government that actually put in place a payment recognizing the kind of damage and difficulties caused by that whole issue of agent orange that took place so many years ago. If it is enough or not enough, that is an honest, open debate we can continue to have in that regard, but we did act. We did respond appropriately and certainly we try to help where we can.

We also know that there were issues concerning atomic veterans, those who were stuck in testing a long time ago, exercises that were carried out by Great Britain and the United States. We certainly understand that they need to be supported and programs are in place in that regard as well.

I also want to point out that what has been very productive in recent times is that the Department of National Defence and the Department of Veterans Affairs are collaborating and working together, as they should. They are recognizing that it has to be as seamless as possible when our wonderful military people move from active duty into veterans affairs. Joint support units have been set up across the country to ensure as much as we can that we deal with their issues and problems.

Their pensions were set up in a very clear way, although many would agree that the information was not what it should be and we have heard many times before our commitment efforts were made to strengthen the information process.

However, these veterans receive the pension they sign up for, and part of the plan is that when they reach 65, they will take the Canada pension. That is part of the deal. In between the time that they retire and the time they receive the Canada pension, they receive bridging, which tops up the whole process, and with the full understanding that bridging is to carry them to Canada pension, not beyond Canada pension.

Therefore, they are, in effect, receiving exactly what they signed up for. It is a fair process, and at 65 of course, as my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence pointed out, depending upon whether they worked afterwards or whether they took it early at 60, it would have some individual impacts that might vary from one person to another. However overall, it is a process that is fair and many parts of the public service have the same kind of approach as this bridging does.

It is fair in the House to have an active debate. It is fair to raise any recommendations that are worth looking at to help our wonderful veterans out, but it is not reasonable to suggest something that we know is not going to proceed forward because it would be an undue pressure on all the existing military people. Taxpayers all over the country would have to pay a lot more to make up this difference and it sets a trend that indeed goes across other parts of the public service.

Although we certainly support looking at all kinds of initiatives that make the offerings better, and we will continue to debate those, this is certainly not one of those initiatives that our government can support, and therefore, I must say that we will be voting against this particular bill.

[National Volunteer Week, April 20th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Volunteer Week, a week in appreciation of the millions of Canadians from across the country who volunteer. In fact, 12.5 million Canadians give 2.1 billion hours of their time to volunteer each year. This is equivalent to over one million full-time jobs.

Our government fully recognizes the invaluable contributions volunteers make to our communities and to our country. That is why we are creating a new Prime Minister's award for volunteerism and why we added $10 million to the new horizons for seniors program to support projects that help seniors mentor the next generation.

I want to give a great big thanks to the local volunteers throughout my constituency of West Nova and to the volunteers across the country. I thank them for coaching our sports team, for collecting donations for important causes and for cleaning up our local parks. I thank them for making Canada a better place to live.

[Arts and Culture, April 19th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, last night Canada experienced the Juno Awards in St. John's, Newfoundland, where the best Canadian artistic talent was showcased. I would like to congratulate the talented nominees and winners of these prestigious awards.

Also this weekend, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced renewed, stable, multi-year funding for the Canada Music Fund. This means over $79 million dollars of direct support for our Canadian artists so they can create and showcase their music to Canada and to the world.

Our government is giving more money to artists and more support to our creative economy than any government in history because we recognize the contribution of arts and culture to our society, our identity and our economy.

Just ask Heather Ostertag, president of FACTOR, who said that this government has “clearly demonstrated [its] commitment to Canadian culture, [which] will ensure that Canadian artists [continue] taking their music to the world”.

[2010 Kraft Hockeyville, March 31st, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, last week I stated how excited the folks in Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia were when their bid for CBC's Kraft Hockeyville made the top 12.

This national competition started with over 500 entries, so making the top 12 was a great accomplishment for Lawrencetown, a wonderful little community of fewer than 700 people. However, that accomplishment has now been topped. I am pleased to say that Lawrencetown is now one of the five finalists competing for the Hockeyville title.

I am encouraging everyone who is not already committed to support Lawrencetown by taking the time to vote through CBC Sports online and by phone. Voting ends tonight at midnight. The winner will be announced this Saturday during Hockey Night in Canada.

As I said before, I wish all the contending communities well but I do look forward to Lawrencetown claiming the Hockeyville title.

[March 29th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I suppose I do need to respond again. I thought maybe he would end on a high note and perhaps even apologize for raising this issue out of the gutter but obviously that is where he will leave himself, down there.

I have said all I want to say about him. I will conclude by saying that I am very proud to be the parliamentary secretary to that minister. I know the work and the hours he is putting in on behalf of our veterans. I can only hope the member opposite will spend even a small part of his time and effort to represent the veterans in a positive way because they deserve the very best from all of us.

[March 29th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it may be a debate in which I did not necessarily want to get involved but I feel compelled to do so because I know the gentleman opposite thinks he is a wit, and I believe he is half right. He takes on an issue here, uses cute words and makes up little stories as he goes along. If we are doing new terms, I would use the term “pomposity” to describe how he approaches things. I have seen him in action at committees and different places and I know he has a huge respect for his own ego and his own place in the world.

However, if he takes on somebody in public office who works hard on behalf of Canadians and does these devious little side trips he goes on, he not only does a disservice to the minister he is talking about, but actually to himself. A little reflection in the mirror would probably do him a lot of good and a few years in public office may help him in that regard. Who knows, somewhere down the road he may be in a position where he fills one of these offices and may regret the fact that he played around and poked fun at things that he knows in his heart are not accurate.

We know the minister is a gentleman. We also know that at no point did he request any preferential treatment. We also know that he apologized to anybody he might have offended. We also know that he strongly supports the airport security rules, unequivocally. The member opposite understands that and knows that.

It is the lack of respect he has for other members in the House that disturbs me. I do not know why he would go on this way instead of bringing forth something important, dynamic and worthwhile for the people of the country that we both serve. Since we are both involved in veterans affairs issues, he could have talked about many things that could take place and should take place because he knows the Minister of Veterans Affairs is very interested in making the kinds of change that are necessary as we move forward and face the many issues that particularly younger veterans are facing.

Just on this point, I will not speak at length at all. I just want to share how very disappointed I am in him. I really thought there was something more dynamic coming out tonight, something that was intelligent, not pretending to be intelligent, something that was worthwhile for the great place in which we live and something constructive as we move forward as representatives of the Canadian people. My disappointment is real and I hope in his closing comments he will try to adjust that slightly in a more positive way.

[Vimy Ridge Day, March 29th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's contribution to the first world war helped define us as a nation and shaped the country in which we live today.

That is why on April 9, Vimy Ridge Day, Canadians will stand united in remembrance of and gratitude to those who authored one of the most important chapters in our nation's history.

In addition to the national commemorative ceremony in Ottawa on April 9, there will be international ceremonies as well as activities in our provincial and territorial capitals to recognize all those who served Canada during the first world war.

We are also providing the opportunity for the public to pay their respects by signing special books of reflection, which will be on display at various locations across the country and overseas. These books of reflection will also be available online at the Veterans Affairs Canada website.