Jim Karygiannis

[Petitions, May 10th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, I have another petition. This petition is calling on the government to bring forth legislation that would help prevent life-threatening anaphylaxis by requiring that peanuts and tree nuts, like walnuts to be sold either pre-packaged or in closed bins, and that necessary labels be mandatory.

Approximately 1.2 million Canadians suffer from food allergies. The petitioners believe that the legislation they are seeking will help to prevent the possibility of cross-contamination in stores selling foods and other commodities.

I want to thank the Nikiforos family for bringing that forward.

[Petitions, May 10th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present a petition on behalf of many Canadians, most of them in my riding, which draws to the attention of members of Parliament that 21% of Canadian child care is publicly funded. In these tough economic times, in order to make ends meet, both parents need to work outside the house. Therefore, the petitioners are calling on Parliament to enact universal public child care.

[David Weatherhead, May 9th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, on March 25, David Weatherhead, the first member of Parliament for Scarborough West, passed away.

David was first elected in 1968 and again in 1980. While fiercely partisan, David had the generosity of spirit which enabled him to extend his hand in friendship to all members of Parliament.

David arrived in this place feeling that the rules and procedures of the House and committees needed to be reformed. He felt that, in order to deal with a backlog of legislation, the rules needed to be changed. One of the suggestions he put forth was that speeches by members should be limited to 20 minutes. However, David believed that the rights of all members, especially those of opposition members, to express themselves on an issue should be respected.

On behalf of the Liberal Party, I extend our condolences to David's family and friends. I also want to thank David for his service.

[Protecting Air Service Act, March 14th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, it is not me who is wanting to go home. It is about trying to save money by turning off the lights here, and my colleagues on the NDP certainly do not know that.

[Protecting Air Service Act, March 14th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, we can stay here all night and go through 38 of them and I know that my colleagues from the NDP want to get up and clap for themselves. However, I am sure, if you ask for unanimous consent, that maybe in order to save some money and turn off the lights in this place, they might agree that we apply all of them.

I know that it is self-gratifying to sit there and clap like a trained seal, but come on, let us save some money.

[Citizenship and Immigration, February 15th, 2012]

Moratorium.

[Foreign Affairs, February 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, 200 Tamil refugees who are stranded in Togo are facing deportation to Sri Lanka where they fear they will be killed if they are made to return. They had high hopes of starting a new life of freedom. They were victimized by the human smugglers who left them stranded in Togo.

What is the government doing to ensure that people will not be victimized by the government of Sri Lanka? Will Canada work with other countries and the Canadian relatives of these victims to allow them to resettle?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 30th, 2012]

With regard to Ministers' office budgets since 2008: (a) how many expense claims were submitted by the Minister or his or her exempt staff, but rejected by the relevant financial officer; (b) what was each rejected claim for and for what amount; and (c) what was the reason for each expense claim rejection?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 30th, 2012]

With regard to the purchase of cosmetics by Ministers' offices since 2008: (a) how much money has each Minister's office spent on (i) cosmetics, (ii) hair products, (iii) beauty supplies; (b) what were the dates of each purchase; and (c) what were the brands and names of the individual products purchased?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 30th, 2012]

With regard to termination of employment agreements of exempt staff in Ministers' offices since 2008: (a) how many employees in each Minister's office have been terminated for misconduct or incompetence; (b) in aggregate, what was the total sum of severance paid out to these employees; (c) what was the average, median and highest amount of severance paid to a single terminated employee; (d) how many employees resigned but still received severance pay; and (e) out the subset of employees who resigned but still received severance pay, what was the average, median and maximum termination settlement?