Jim Eglinski

[Business of Supply, May 7th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals talk about all the good they are going to do for the people of Canada and how they are saving them money. Could the member tell me what his government is going to do about the fact that in North America, the largest number of vehicles sold in any given year are large, full-size pickup trucks. Small compact cars amount to about 14% of the total vehicles sold in Canada. The rest are large vehicles. Has the member's government taken that into account?

What is his government going to do to try to change the attitude of the people of Canada, or is his government just using its carbon tax as a tax grab?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 3rd, 2019]

With regard to the request by the Jasper Chamber of Commerce to change the designation of the Icefields Parkway so that it could stay open year-round and benefit from full highway status: (a) how many requests to change de designation were received and were they reviewed by the Minister of Transport; (b) what steps will be taken to review the current designation; (c) does Parks Canada have any specific plans to reduce the time lost to clean up the Icefields Parkway, and, if so, what are the plans; (d) will the funds from the cancelled Jasper Park’s bike trail be redistributed to the Icefields Parkway and other infrastructure projects within Jasper National Park, or will the funds be sent to other parks; and (e) if the funds are being redistributed to other parks, what compensation is being offered to the Town of Jasper and other communities that will lose out due to this cancelled funding?

[Robert Wagner Dowling, May 3rd, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise today to say farewell to Robert Wagner Dowling, who passed away at age 95, leaving behind his wife Olga and his two children, Lori and Robert.

Bob grew up on a farm in Ohaton, Alberta. He was an avid baseball player, an award-winning singer, an explorer, a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot during World War II, a pharmacist, a politician, and most of all, a husband and father.

His love for the mountains brought him to Jasper, where he served the community as a pharmacist and was an active volunteer in so many organizations. He was a member of the Legislation Assembly of Alberta, a cabinet minister, president of the Alberta Chamber of Commerce, a board member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and a lifelong Legion supporter. He was just a great human being who gave his all to the community of Jasper, the province of Alberta and this great country.

Bob will be profoundly missed by his family and many friends and associates from coast to coast to coast.

Rest well, my friend.

[Petitions, April 10th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition calling on Parliament to designate every third Thursday in May Vyshyvanka Day throughout Canada.

Every year, thousands of Ukrainian Canadians celebrate Vyshyvanka Day to show that an embroidered shirt is in their national genetic code. It is a symbol of the struggle for independence and a symbol of dignity, love and unity.

[Interim Estimates, March 21st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. I apologize. In my zest to be here on the last vote, not this one but the one before, I think I arrived after you spoke. My friend kindly reminded me of that. I do not want to be unjust to my friends across. I do not think my vote should be counted on the one previous to this.

[Corrections and Conditional Release Act, February 21st, 2019]

Madam Speaker, the member has a prison facility in his area. He mentioned during his speech that he has toured the facility, has seen the good and bad parts of it and has talked to the guards and the prisoners, just as I did with the institution in Grande Cache. That institution is quite a beautiful one. It is located on top of a mountain. It has about 350 employees and 300 prisoners.

However, these are older facilities and I do not believe the government of the day has taken into consideration that some of the changes that will be required regarding health care, scanning facilities and the like just cannot be done with some of the older buildings. It was tried with that one and it required a lot of modification. I do not believe the Liberals have put enough money into the budget. Does the member care to provide his thoughts on that?

[Corrections and Conditional Release Act, February 21st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I have heard from prison guards who work at the Grande Cache Institution in my area about the lack of training and the need for more training, especially in health care and dealing with people with mental health situations. I wonder if the member would like to comment on that need.

[Corrections and Conditional Release Act, February 21st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, based on my conversations with prison guards who work in my area and in other parts of Alberta, they were not consulted. They are frustrated, because they want to have the tools to provide a great service for this country and for the prisoners they are looking after.

The guards are concerned about their own safety and about the safety of the prisoners. They are concerned about their health care, but they are not getting enough training. I talked to a young guard who said he was there two weeks and was put on the segregation unit because it was short-staffed. He said he was very uncomfortable, and I think he was right to be.

We need resources to help train these people if we are going to add a whole new set of burdens to the prison reform system.

[Corrections and Conditional Release Act, February 21st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the member is absolutely right. Is segregation going to help them? No. We need to look at this medically. We need to look at training our staff members to understand what the inmates are going through. They need to know. To put an inmate into a locked cell and let the guy walk an eight-by-eleven foot cell all day long does not help his mentality. He needs to be taken to a medical facility, or we need to have fully trained medical people on site. We do not have that at the present time.

No, it will not help them. We need to address their concerns.

[Corrections and Conditional Release Act, February 21st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, it all boils down to consultation. Every witness other than the minister and his staff said there was no external consultation. We cannot be expected to know what it is going to cost to renovate the institution in my area unless we talk to people on the ground.

We can even look at this building. I do not know if it is the same on the other side of the House, but on this side there is a closet where I can hang my coat. On either side of that closet, there are three feet in which I cannot put anything because I cannot get to it.

Consulting and working with people on the ground makes a big difference. I still have not heard anything mentioned by anyone on the other side about any money going for labour resources or training or education, which is what they are asking for. They are begging for that.