Greg Rickford

[Business of Supply, April 21st, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I am a little confused. The hon. member spent the first part of his speech talking about priorities like health, which are important to him and perhaps his constituents. Then he said that we were currently spending only $15 million on the registry. Maybe $15 million is not a lot of money to other people, but it happens to be a lot of money to me.

Is the hon. member not willing to concede that it would be better to not spend that money, actually put it into the programs he is talking about and start respecting people in our rural and remote communities, of which Quebec makes a large part?

[Business of Supply, April 21st, 2009]

Madam Speaker, there is no question that a majority of folks in Kenora support the dismantling of the gun registry but that is not what today's debate is about. Clearly, there is a debate about dismantling the gun registry, and I expect that will come, but the singular issue today is extending the amnesty.

I would pose this question to my hon. colleague. Is it not true that in a province as great as Quebec, just like northern Ontario and many parts of the Arctic, there are particularly onerous aspects of this that must be worked out and that amnesty is one of the most effective ways of dealing with that until there is more certainty around the long gun registry?

[100th Birthday, April 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today honour a very special constituent and mark a very special occasion. On April 6, Grace Swanson will turn 100 years old.

Grace came to Canada in 1913 as the eldest of seven children and settled in the beautiful city of Kenora. She married her husband Fred, and in 1930 they built a summer camp on Longbow Lake, where I also spend my summers. Like a true northwestern Ontarian, she enjoyed the incredible hunting and fishing that the Lake of the Woods area has to offer.

Grace supported her country in time of war by knitting socks for soldiers serving overseas. She volunteered for numerous elections over the years, volunteered at her church and enjoyed singing in the senior choir.

Grace is a woman who has lived her life fully and shared her love of music, singing, ballet, painting and travel with those she loves.

The fabric of this great country has been built by the contributions of seniors like Grace.

Congratulations to a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother and a great-great-grandmother. Happy 100th birthday to Grace Swanson.

[Automotive Industry, March 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's auto industry directly employs over 150,000 Canadians and another 340,000 indirectly. It is our largest industry within the manufacturing sector. It represents 14% of our manufacturing output and 23% of our manufactured exports. In fact, half a million Canadians and their families depend on the health and viability of this industry and are looking to their leaders to ensure that Canada remains a strong part of the North American automotive industry through these economic times.

That is why it is absolutely shameful the Leader of the Opposition has turned up his nose to auto sector workers by saying, “No voter in B.C. wants to throw money into the auto sector and neither do I”. I wonder if he would repeat the same sentiment at a town hall meeting in Ontario. I am sure he has more savvy than that. He has shown time and time again that he is more than willing to flip-flop on the content of his message to suit whatever audience he is speaking to, whether it be in Saanich, St. Catharines or at his home in Harvard.

[Tourism, March 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, there is some great news for Canada's tourism industry. The World Economic Forum has just released a report that lists the most attractive countries for tourism developers. We should celebrate that Canada has moved from ninth to fifth place.

One of the determining factors for the World Economic Forum in moving Canada up is this government's policy on tourism. A spokesperson specifically stated that Canada's high ranking is aided by a perception in the business community that the Conservative government is making a significant effort to promote tourism overseas.

Let us not forget that Canada's brand, “Keep Exploring”, ranks second in the world according to the Country Brand Index report.

Tourism is a major industry in my beautiful riding of Kenora. It is clear that our new investments are already being noticed and are bringing international results.

Canada's tourism is a vital part of our economic fabric. I am delighted that we are being recognized on the world stage.

Congratulations, Canada.

[Business of Supply, March 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the member for Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont on his work on this issue. I would like a little more specificity, particularly for the folks in the Kenora riding, around the knowledge infrastructure program.

I wonder if the member would comment briefly on two areas that concern us in the area of science and technology. What is this government's commitment in terms of forest research and industrial research so that we can improve our ways of producing and be sensitive and responsive to training for those kinds of developments?

[Canadian Heritage, March 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Liberals and the NDP renewed their coalition with the separatist Bloc by voting down a motion at heritage committee condemning the separatists who threatened to incite violence against Quebeckers and other Canadians over the re-enactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs please inform this House of the government's position on this matter?

[Infrastructure, February 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, last week I announced the construction of a new airport terminal for Red Lake-Balmertown as part of this government's building Canada fund, working with provincial and municipal governments as equal partners in modernizing our country with greener infrastructure.

I spent a lot of time travelling through Red Lake over the years as a nurse on my way to isolated first nations communities. I know how important this airport is to the region.

This will be no ordinary airport. It will feature a ground-sourced thermal heating and cooling system. That means no chimney, no fossil fuel and no environmental footprint.

In fact, Red Lake-Balmertown's seniors home, schools, library and municipal office are all geothermally heated and cooled. Improved air quality has made a difference in the overall health of seniors and increased attendance in schools by teachers and students. In Red Lake fossil fuels are fossil age.

Congratulations to Red Lake-Balmertown for being environmentally responsible. Hopefully more communities across Canada will embrace the concept that when it comes to constructing public buildings: no fossil fuels required, no fossil fuels desired.

[Infrastructure, February 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this month Canada's transport, and infrastructure minister and his Ontario provincial counterpart announced more than $1 billion in infrastructure investment to Ontario communities with fewer than 100,000 people. Communities in the great Kenora riding were elated with these investments.

Could the minister inform the House how this funding will affect their communities and has affected the communities in the Kenora riding?

[Human Pathogens and Toxins Act, February 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary this question. What would be the implications of an intentional release of human pathogens?