Helena Guergis

[Violence against Women, November 25th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise today in the House on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

There is so much more that the Liberals could be doing to protect women and children from violence. I know this because for several years I served as a crisis intervention volunteer.

Today as a member of Parliament I sit on the status of women committee where I presented a motion to deal with the fact that aboriginal women living on reserves do not have basic property rights. I am also proud to be working with Ilona Binns, Loretta Gismondi and Mona McFarlene of the Catholic Women's League of Canada on the C.A.S.E. campaign, Canadians Addressing Sexual Exploitation.

In my riding of Simcoe--Grey, I have two excellent shelters that are working hard to protect women and help them cope as they rebuild their lives.

In Alliston, My Sister's Place has an excellent new executive director in Judith Stevens. In Collingwood, My Friend's House continues under the superb leadership of Alison Fitzgerald. Then there are the countless staff and volunteers who give so generously of their time and energy.

I am grateful for the opportunity that I have had to serve women as a member of Parliament. I look forward to being in a Conservative government that will stand up for women.

[Citizenship and Immigration, November 24th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, last year the Prime Minister and immigration minister both proclaimed that the stripper program was cancelled. The minister said, “No way, it is not going to be done under my watch”. Then behind Canadians' backs they secretly started it up again. The Liberals are still aiding those who traffic in women and they are still exposing vulnerable women to exploitation and abuse.

Why is it that Liberal promises simply cannot be trusted?

[Justice, November 21st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, after 12 years, the Liberals' track record on violent crime is appalling. Their solution is to propose legalizing some drugs instead of imposing mandatory prison sentences. The Liberals fail to recognize the connection between the drug trade and violent gun crimes.

Why has it taken 48 gun deaths in Toronto, including the murder of an 18 year old boy attending the funeral of a slain friend, for the government to even call a meeting on the issue?

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 18th, 2005]

No, Mr. Speaker, that just is not good enough. We have an opportunity next week to address this important issue.

The lack of action and support for women and children in crisis situations is appalling and the Liberal government, after a decade of federal-provincial meetings, has a lot of nerve blaming anyone else but itself for this problem.

Why will the government not take immediate action to address the problem and assign someone other than this incompetent minister who clearly has no idea that he is even responsible for the file?

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 18th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, recently we learned that aboriginal women in northern Quebec are 37 times more likely to be victims of violence. The Minister of Indian Affairs claimed that the issue was on the agenda for the first ministers' meeting in Kelowna. We now know that it is not true and it is not on the agenda.

Was the minister just making it up or is he incompetent?

[Banting Homestead, November 15th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday over 350 million people around the world celebrated World Diabetes Day. Nowhere was this celebrated more vibrantly than in my riding of Simcoe--Grey.

Sir Frederick Banting, the man who discovered insulin, was born on November 14, 1891 on a farm in Alliston, Ontario. The Banting committee, my provincial colleague, Jim Wilson, and I have been working hard to preserve the homestead since it has been neglected by the Ontario Historical Society. In fact, Jim now has a private members' bill at second reading that would return the homestead to the Banting family. Once this legislation is passed, I look forward to having it designated as a national historic site, which would include a diabetes camp.

I commend everyone on the Banting committee for their tremendous hard work and efforts. People from all over the world come to see the Banting homestead, the birthplace of a man who gave them hope and a future.

I call on all members of Parliament to support Sir Frederick Banting's homestead as a national historic site.

[Airport Customs Services, November 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the town of Collingwood and I are working hard to establish the Collingwood regional airport as a port of entry. It is key to both industry and tourism in Simcoe--Grey.

I wrote the minister in 2004, my staff have left several messages and I wrote the minister again on September 8 and still no response.

An email from a predecessor's office stated:

The decision to bring customs service to Collingwood will be strictly political.

It is the minister's decision. Will Collingwood airport get custom facilities, yes or no?

[Hiv-Aids, October 26th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to commend the minister and CIDA for working with the Canadian Coalition on HIV/AIDS and Youth in Africa.

World Vision, Care Canada, Foster Parents Plan and Save the Children are excellent Canadian NGOs tackling this problem. But when it came to HIV-AIDS, we were too late getting into Africa. We do not want to see the same thing happen in Asia.

I want to know if the minister will commit to a similar program in Asia with this group of Canadian NGOs. They have come up with an excellent plan and it deserves the support of the federal government.

A Conservative government would send more of Canada's aid to Canadian NGOs because they have an excellent reputation working around corruption and getting aid into the hands of people who need it the most. Unlike multilaterals, they must be accountable to the more than one million Canadians who support their work.

Again, I want to encourage the minister to work with this group of Canadian NGOs on their $50 million, five year, HIV-AIDS program in six Asian countries.

[Petitions, October 21st, 2005]

Finally, Mr. Speaker, from across Simcoe—Grey, I have four petitions regarding the definition of marriage. I am quite happy to present them, because I know that when our party becomes the government we will finally have a free vote on that issue.

[Petitions, October 21st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I also have a petition that deals with the Criminal Code and the age of consent. It is from the people of Alliston and my hometown of Angus. It is legal for adults to have sex with 14-year-old children. I do not know why the government thinks that is okay.