House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 39% of the vote.
Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act June 24th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, a point of order. Earlier in my colleague's comments she was challenged about not getting to the point of the debate. She immediately linked it well, but I think she has lost the link again. I would ask her to please get back to the issue.
Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act June 24th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I just want to read into the record an e-mail I received this morning from a business owner:
The postal interruption has dried up cash flow to my small business. We, like many other small businesses, receive most of our remittances by cheque from across North America. Our customers are not paying any bills. This week we still had to pay our workers for payroll, still had the lease payments for our trucks and trailers, still had to pay repair bills, and trucks needed fuel. With very little money coming in, we are in an increasingly tight spot. Every other business in our industry that I have spoken to is in the same bind.
Then in bold underline he said:
We need the postal service to get back to work. All I can say is a humble thank you to you as our MP and to your fellow Conservative members who care about small businesses across Canada who are badly suffering. Thank you for the back-to-work legislation and for your perseverance in making sure that it will pass. I will make sure everybody I have contact with knows which political party cares about businesses in this country that employ millions of workers, versus the opposition party, who are only concerned with their narrow, self-serving interest.
Why is the member not standing up for ordinary Canadians whose jobs are at risk because of this postal interruption?
Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act June 24th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the NDP continue to ignore the source of this conflict in terms of work stoppages. The initial problem was rotating strikes.
I have an email here. I know the NDP members do not like to hear from their constituents, but maybe they will listen to one of mine. I received this email on June 3. This person starts off by telling me that he did not vote Conservative but voted NDP. He goes on to state: “This greediness for more money and job security has to stop. No agency or organization in this day and age has job security and better pensions, while many organizations are cutting back on their pensions and laying off staff because they cannot make ends meet.”
My question is very simple. Small businesses have been threatened by this work stoppage. Their volume of business has been reduced, which has resulted in layoffs or, even worse, business closures. Considering the number of small businesses affected, when will that party start standing up for average Canadian workers?
Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act June 24th, 2011
Madam Speaker, it is unfortunate that in this debate the NDP continues to ignore the origin of this work stoppage.
It is clear that the rotating strikes had a negative impact on the volume of mail that was being delivered. Everybody who has ever had a business knows that they cannot continue to pay 100% of the expenses when they only have 50% of the income. It was an obvious fact that the work stoppages had led to a decrease in the volume of the mail. Canada Post locked them out, of course.
I have an email here that I just received in the last half hour from a constituent who says, “I just wanted to drop you a quick note of support on the Canada Post issue. Our company relies heavily on Canada Post and we are losing customers daily”.
What about the companies that are going to shut down? They are losing business, laying off workers and firing them. When is the party across the way going to start standing up for the working families of Canada?
Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation June 23rd, 2011
Madam Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague and he seems really convinced. He used that term multiple times throughout his speech. The problem is that every time he uses that term, it is based on speculation as to what the government may or may not have done prior to tonight.
I am wondering if my colleague would confirm that he has also heard from multiple constituents in his riding who are concerned about the negative impact that this prolonged work stoppage is having on the economy, especially as it relates to small and medium businesses.
I want to just complete some of the email that I was starting to read earlier. This gentlemen wrote an email to my office this morning stating:
Our economy is still barely lifting its head out of the valleys of the most recent recession, and there are companies that were fighting to survive. Our specific company happens to be in such a financial position that even though this strike is severely affecting our cash position, our survival is not at stake. I do know, however, of companies that I am dealing with on a daily basis, that could very well not make it. Because of the "strike situation", many companies are reluctant to put Payment cheques in the mail, and thus the money changing hands between corps has dried up to a trickle.
I would like my colleague to confirm that he has also heard from constituents in his riding who are very deeply concerned about the negative impact. Why would he not stand up for small businesses at a time when the economy is still on a very fragile recovery track?
Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation June 23rd, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the great speech and for outlining very well the concerns on this side of the House as they relate to the survival of thriving small businesses in our country.
I am sure that he, like many of us, has received numerous emails from constituents. Just this morning I received an email from a constituent who said:
I want to take this opportunity to express my complete displeasure and impatience with the length of and the handling of the Canada Post strike by the federal government.
I strongly believe that Canada Post should be deemed an essential service in this country.
I cannot believe that we can allow this corporation to hold hostage, and in some cases, destroy businesses within this country.
Our economy is still barely lifting its head out of the valleys of the most recent recession, and there are companies that were fighting to survive.
He went on at some length and I will not read the entire email.
Has my colleague also received communications from constituents who are very concerned about the survival of small businesses? Also, does it not seem ironic that the NDP, which seems to champion small business, in this situation seems to be ignoring the needs of small business and, in some cases, actually is causing their demise?
Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act June 23rd, 2011
Mr. Speaker, earlier today I referred to the incredible amount of misinformation that the NDP has put forward over these last many hours.
In a recent intervention the member for Trinity—Spadina said this legislation would lower salaries and wages. Well, nowhere does it lower salaries and wages. It increases salaries by more than 7% over four years. I know many people who would be happy to have a guaranteed 7% increase. I know of small business owners who would be happy to have that 7% increase guaranteed over four years.
In the 50 hours we have been here, we have heard the same talking points repeated, with so much misinformation. Yet when the vote was held last night, only 70%, or less, of NDP members showed up to vote. Are they really interested in getting them back to work, or are they simply going through the motions of this charade?
Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act June 21st, 2011
Madam Speaker, I certainly enjoyed the speech by the minister. He certainly did a good job of outlining the parameters of the bill. In my riding people are very supportive of the measures that this bill contains.
Many of us in this House, probably all of us, have had the opportunity of either sponsoring refugees or working with refugees in our own ridings. I certainly have had that privilege and I have also had the honour of attending many citizenship ceremonies where Canadians are taking that oath of citizenship for the first time and it is a really moving experience.
I have found that in relation to this bill it is many of those previous refugees who are now citizens, or new citizens who have just come to this country in the past three to five years, who are in fact some of the most supportive people when it comes to this bill.
I am wondering if the minister could confirm that he has also experienced that kind of support from new Canadians.
Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation June 21st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague's comments. I am sure he has heard, as many of us in this chamber have, from many constituents over these past number of weeks about their concerns regarding the Canada Post situation.
I want to read excerpts from some of the ones that I have received.
This first one points out to me, right in the first sentence, that he did not vote Conservative, he voted NDP. However, he goes on to say, “This greediness for money and job security has to stop. No agency or organization in this day and age has job security and better pensions, while many organizations are cutting back on their pensions and laying off staff because they cannot make ends meet”.
Another constituent writes, “I am contacting you as a small business owner who is going to be greatly affected by the postal strike. We distribute across North America and when the strike is countrywide, our shipping costs will increase by more than half. Depending on how long this strike goes on, it would cripple us”.
One final one states, “The current postal strike has ended my livelihood. I run a small mail order business. This strike must be doing much damage to our economy. I urge you to put pressure on the government in caucus meetings, et cetera, to bring this strike to a close”.
The member says we should continue negotiations. How long are we willing to just let this situation slide before we take action to preserve jobs and to preserve businesses in this country?
Libya June 14th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on his election to the House.
As members are aware, our government is embarking on a three-pronged approach: the military involvement to stop the regime and to hold it accountable, the diplomatic efforts working with the National Transition Council to find a way forward for the Libyan people, and the humanitarian aid piece of the project.
Could the member comment on the announcement made earlier today by the Minister of International Cooperation regarding the assistance to the Red Cross and, in particular, the program to deal with gender-based violence?