Jack Harris

[Petitions, June 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition concerns Canada Post.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to reject Canada Post's plans for reduced services and explore other options to update the crown corporation's business plan.

[Petitions, June 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present to the House today.

The first petition is for the Minister of National Defence concerning the Valcartier cadets and an explosion that occurred in 1974, killing six cadets and injuring some 60 others.

The petition is signed by a number of residents of Quebec.

They are calling on the Minister of National Defence to ask the National Defence and Canadian Forces Ombudsman to investigate this situation and to make recommendations to the government on how to help these former cadets.

It is an important matter. Permission has been granted.

The 40th anniversary of this explosion is July 30 of this year.

[National Defence, June 17th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and his cabinet have already launched a few trial balloons on missile defence, and the answer from Canadians will always be “no” to this very expensive and ineffective system.

Yesterday's report from unelected and unaccountable Liberal and Conservative senators called on the Conservative government to favour joining the missile defence scheme. Is the government going to buy into this expensive boondoggle?

[Petitions, June 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition in support of fair employment insurance. The petitioners, most of them from my riding of St. John's East, say that Canadians pay into the insurance plan throughout their working lives because they believe the benefits will be available if they lose their jobs. It was designed to strengthen the workforce by helping jobless Canadians resume careers that take advantage of their education and training. However, with six out of 10 workers already disqualified from EI, the government is further restricting access, requiring Canadians to accept any jobs it deems suitable, even if it takes them off their career paths and comes with a 30% pay cut and an hour-long commute.

Therefore, the petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to reverse the devastating changes made to EI and restore fair access to decent EI benefits for jobless workers.

[National Defence, June 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the minister keeps saying he takes this seriously, but he talks about sexual harassment, not sexual assault.

It has been two months since we have had these revelations, yet the military's internal review says no serious changes are needed. It hardly even mentions the subject of criminal sexual assault. What could be a better sign that an independent review is necessary?

Would the minister now agree that we need a truly independent inquiry, led by someone who is not hand-picked by the military brass and supported by independent counsel?

[National Defence, June 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, two months ago we heard shocking revelations about the extent of sexual assault in the military. The minister promised a review, but only dealing with policies and procedures. The internal review is now out, and it claims “There are no assessed gaps in policy”.

Every day five individuals in the Canadian military are victims of sexual assault. Could the minister explain how that can leave him satisfied with current policy?

[Petitions, June 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from a number of Canadians, particularly from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The petitioners wish to call upon the Government of Canada to abolish the unelected, unaccountable Senate of Canada once and for all. The petitioners say that appointed senators, especially those who abuse their privileges, do not represent the interests or values of Canadians.

[Committees of the House, June 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as vice-chair, I would like to state the dissenting opinion of the official opposition to this report. We heard witnesses for two full years on this critical issue of ill and injured military personnel, injuries both physical and psychological.

We do know, of course, that with regard to the physical injuries, Canada is doing a great job. We heard that evidence, and the report deals with that very well.

However, in terms of psychological injuries, it is a different story. Over time, even in the Afghanistan mission, despite early warnings, the military seemed to be constantly playing catch-up in terms of the treatment of soldiers suffering from psychological injuries.

The projections that were made by Statistics Canada in 2002, adopted by the military in 2005, still have not been met.

Many soldiers came back from Afghanistan and other missions, including Bosnia, Rwanda, et cetera, with their bodies intact but with underlying psychological trauma, with long-term consequences not always recognized, not well understood, and they received inadequate treatment and support.

We are moving forward, but complacency is not an option. Our report outlines some very important measures that need to be taken immediately.

[Petitions, June 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is related to the question of the Valcartier cadets. We have petitions from individuals supporting the notion that the Government of Canada, through the Minister of National Defence, grant the Canadian Forces ombudsman the authority to investigate the case of the death of six cadets and the wounding of at least 60 more due to a grenade exploding at a cadet camp in 1974, which has not been fully investigated.

The minister has agreed to do this. It is an important matter, and we hope that the proper investigation takes place.

The 40th anniversary of this event is this summer, on July 30. Proper redress and proper assistance has not been given to the victims of this tragedy.

[Petitions, June 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions today. One is from hundreds of residents, mostly from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. They are very concerned about the plans that Canada Post has, which have been approved the government, to cut between 6,000 and 8,000 jobs at Canada Post and to remove service from over five million households that receive home delivery. They will do this over the next five years.

The undersigned are calling upon the Government of Canada to reverse the Canada Post cuts to Canada public postal service and instead look for alternative revenue-generating ideas, such as postal banking, for example, which has worked in many other countries.

We know, of course, that Canada is the only country of the G8 or G7, whichever we prefer, that is making the move to get away from home delivery. We are not even just getting away from home delivery. Canada Post claims that is only a small portion of people who receive it, but this is not the case.