Jean-Claude D'Amours

[Birth of a Child, May 5th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take this opportunity to rise in the House today to announce the birth of my first child.

Indeed, on Sunday, May 1, my wife gave birth to a beautiful little girl, whom we named Émilie. Both mother and daughter are doing just fine.

I wish to thank the staff at the Edmunston regional hospital, including the nurses and doctors, for their wonderful work during the delivery and the days that followed.

Canada's public health care system is one of the best, and I can attest to the quality of services provided when my little Émilie was born.

I will conclude by thanking the staff of the House of Commons, my colleagues and all those who congratulated me and my wife on the arrival of the newest member of our family. This was truly appreciated.

I am looking forward to holding my wife and little Émilie in my arms again, tomorrow evening.

[Youth, May 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, since I was elected in June 2004, I have visited many of the schools in my riding. During the recent parliamentary break, I had the opportunity to meet with grade three students at École Régionale de Saint-Basile.

Despite their tender years, these students impressed me a great deal with the quality and relevance of their questions. I am certain that some of these young people are our future leaders and that is why I take advantage of these opportunities to meet with students in our schools.

If the future is being shaped today then it is important to provide our young people with every opportunity to learn more about the workings of our government system and to give them a chance to speak up and ask the questions on their minds.

In closing, I want to thank Anick Grandmaison and her class for their warm welcome.

[Citizenship and Immigration, April 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the three announcements this week from the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration were welcome developments. They will do much to help process citizenship applications faster, to provide a bridge to employment and citizenship for international students and to reunite families.

However, I know concerns have been raised with regard to the prioritizing of parents and grandparents and the potential costs to the health care system. Could the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration address the issue with the House?

[Families, April 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, recently, I had the pleasure of seeing a play put on by the children at Les Débrouillards child care centre and the Énergiecentre in Val d'Amour, New Brunswick. This play, entitled Famille sans respect, famille sans success was part of the program “Moi, je contrôle mon agressivité”.

This play was part of a project to find positive strategies to curb aggressiveness in children.

I want to congratulate the children who put on this play: Marie-Pier Savoie, Joshua Pitre, Emmanuel Borris, Véronic Thibeault, Anthony Maltais, Jean-Philippe Savoie, Valérie Ouellette, Émilie Maltais and Derek Lurette, under the supervision of Angeline Gaudet.

[Economic Development, April 21st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, in terms of economic development, Atlantic Canada has both significant challenges and very interesting prospects. Budget 2005 includes important elements for ACOA projects.

Would the Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency kindly describe to us the agency's significance to Atlantic Canada and the significance of the measures in budget 2005 to the agency?

[Business Builders Youth Entrepreneurship Program, April 18th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the business builders youth entrepreneurship program is designed to help young people across Canada start their own company and develop business skills.

I want to pay tribute to the accomplishments of young people in my region who are taking part in this program. In particular, I want to recognize the work done by the business of the year, J'réchauffe, under the guidance of Éric Martin, Mélissa Morneault, Émilie Lavoie, Joëlle Martin, Stacy Gorno, Jordan Bélanger, Samantha Prévost-Saint-Pierre, Jessica Martin, Karine Landry, Sophie Bérubé, Vicky Charest, Élicia Gagné, Monika Morin and Stéphanie Francoeur.

This company, run by these young people, won the business of the year award at the Jeunes entreprises du Nord-Ouest annual banquet, held recently in Edmundston.

[Polyvalente Aux-Quatre-Vents, April 13th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity on March 18 to meet a group of students from the Polyvalente Aux-Quatre-Vents in Dalhousie, New Brunswick, to tell them about my role as an MP and the role of the government.

I was fascinated to see their interest in Canadian politics and the relevancy of their questions. It was an extremely rewarding experience for me to talk with young people, who are the future of our country. I am sure that some of them will be here in the House one day. I encourage all my colleagues to take part in such exchanges so that young people can learn more about our system of government.

I want to publicly thank the teacher, Joan Branch-McIntyre, and her students for having invited me to their class. I hope that it was as rewarding an experience for them as it was for me.

[La Cité-des-Jeunes A.M. Sormany, April 5th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, a few days ago, I had the opportunity to talk to a group of students of La Cité-des-Jeunes A.M. Sormany, which is in Edmunston, New Brunswick, about my role as an MP and the role of the government. I was very surprised to see how interested these young people were in Canadian and international politics.

I am one of those who believe that our young people are the future of our country and that, if they have an opportunity to ask MPs about issues of concern to them, this will help increase their interest in the key issues of the day.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Simon Nadeau and Monica Plourde for their invitation. I hope they got as much out of my visit as I did.

[Aurèle Ferlatte, March 9th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize the distinction bestowed last week on Aurèle Ferlatte of Dalhousie, New Brunswick.

Mr. Ferlatte received the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation from the Minister of Veterans Affairs. This decoration, awarded to individuals who have performed commendable service to the Veteran community and/or individuals who represent commendable role models for their fellow veterans, was awarded to Mr. Ferlatte for his invaluable contribution to veterans.

I want to publicly thank Mr. Ferlatte today and congratulate him on this exceptional honour.

[Employment Insurance, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, last year, the Liberal caucus and I were vigorously involved with the EI issue. Many caucus members consulted Canadians extensively and listened to the needs of seasonal workers in order to advise the government on the best way to help them.

Could the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development tell the House how many workers the reforms announced following these consultations will benefit?