House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was procedure.

Last in Parliament October 2015, as Conservative MP for Elgin—Middlesex—London (Ontario)

Won his last election, in 2011, with 58% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Committees of the House June 18th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the 39th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented to the House on Thursday, June 11, be concurred in.

Petitions June 17th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by a number of people from St. Thomas and throughout the Elgin riding in respect of the rights of small-scale family farmers to preserve, exchange, and use seeds.

Member for Elgin—Middlesex—London June 15th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, as I prepare to leave this place after more than a decade of serving the people of Elgin—Middlesex—London, all I can say is what a ride.

I thank the voters of Elgin—Middlesex—London who kept sending me back to this place, and for their trust and kind words over the years.

I thank my wife Geri and my children, Adam, Kate and Neil, for helping me be strong and for sharing me with so many others.

The shining dedication of my team, Karen, JoAnna, Kimberly, Cathy, Kaylie and Jena, and many more before them, has made me look brighter.

I thank the friends I have accumulated in this place from all parties and all parts of Canada for the many memories that will last me a lifetime.

At what became my other home here, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, I will miss Marie-France Renaud, Andre and all of the members, and the egg salad sandwiches of course.

When my grandson Elliot asks Bubba about Parliament, I will tell him that I am happy I had this great opportunity. I made no enemies and I will truly miss my friends.

Committees of the House June 11th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 39th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, concerning the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons.

Interparliamentary Delegations June 11th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association respecting its bilateral visit to the Caribbean, to St. George's, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, April 21 to 26, 2014.

Committees of the House June 9th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the 38th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs on the code of conduct for members, sexual harassment, presented to the House yesterday be concurred in.

Committees of the House June 8th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 38th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs concerning the code of conduct of members of this House, sexual harassment.

If I could have a moment, I would like to thank the subcommittee that did a great deal of work on this: the member for St. Paul's, the member for Nanaimo—Cowichan, the member for Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, the member for Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, the member for Peace River, and the member for Calgary Centre. Without their working above and beyond the normal for this Parliament on this policy on sexual harassment, the report would never have been finished.

Of course, to the clerk and researchers of that committee, the extra time given to make this a success is also well noted by all of the members. I thank them for their very hard work on this, and I am happy to present the report.

Global Vision June 8th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the founder of Global Vision and former parliamentarian, Terry Clifford, and Junior Team Canada ambassadors, who have joined us in Ottawa today to celebrate Global Vision's 25 years of producing today's global leaders.

These youth represent Canadian communities from coast to coast to coast and have worked together to develop innovative ways to actively involve their peers in civic engagement and economic and community projects as we pave the road toward 2017.

Throughout their hard work as Junior Team Canada ambassadors, they have demonstrated their true attachment to Canada, helping to build stronger, more viable communities. This would not have been possible without the valuable partnerships with universities, colleges, Canadian Heritage, Parks Canada, and First Air providing youth with the unique opportunity to understand Canada beyond their own backyard.

I encourage them to continue to get involved, take action, and be engaged as today's generation of leaders. Thanks, Terry.

Removal of Imprisonment in Relation to Mandatory Surveys Act June 3rd, 2015

Mr. Speaker, the party opposite complains about omnibus legislation, yet she wants a private member to put everything that was ever possible into a piece of private member's legislation. That is not what this was. I brought forward a piece of private member's legislation, because constituents in my riding mentioned it during the last campaign. It is anecdotal, of course, but there were still times when Statistics Canada would mention the fact that there was a possibility of jail time.

The Chief Statistician shared the same thought as the member. He even wondered why jail time was still in the legislation. He thanked me for bringing forward a bill that took it out, because it is kind of archaic to have it in there, but he also expressed satisfaction with the rest of the document and stressed the ability of StatsCan to provide information to anyone who needs it.

Removal of Imprisonment in Relation to Mandatory Surveys Act June 3rd, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question, and it is a good one. It does not necessarily pertain to Bill C-625, which is simply about removing the punishment of jail time and about the release of the national household survey.

When we were at committee on this piece of legislation, the Chief Statistician expressed that he was pretty pleased with the return on the national household survey. The member opposite has just suggested some other things that may very well be in a piece of future legislation, but they are not in this one, so I will stick with removing the threat of jail time and releasing good Statistics Canada documents after 92 years.