John Cannis

[Resumption of debate on Address in Reply, November 26th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, first, let me congratulate the member for Cariboo—Prince George on his re-election. It is nice to have him back.

I want to clarify the record. When the hon. member talked about a huge mandate, two out of three Canadians did not vote for that party. The circumstances were that the Conservatives increased their number.

I was pleased that he talked about the forestry industry. It is obviously an industry that is very important to him and his riding. For those who are not aware, and I know most members are, I had the privilege of chairing the committee on international trade, trade disputes and investments for Canada. We did the review on the specific issue of softwood lumber.

I know the hon. member did not sit on that committee, but for the record, all the stakeholders in the industry right across the country came before the special committee and said how pleased they were with the government's support. All they were asking for was some more financial support, because the final ruling was just around the corner. Everybody on the committee, irrespective of party affiliation, were prepared to support them. Unfortunately, an election occurred and it never happened, but that report was issued.

I have a question for the member. He talked about the $1 billion fund. Can he go on record right now and say that his community has received a portion of that $1 billion that was committed by the government to help that community?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 25th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I believe you would find unanimous consent to see the clock at 6:30 p.m.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 25th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, before I make my comments, I want to congratulate you on your new assignment. I am confident that you will treat us all in a very fair and equitable way. At the same time, I congratulate the member Northumberland—Quinte West on his re-election.

I want to make a few comments or clarifications before I ask my questions. I want, for the benefit of Canadians, to know this. He talked about CFB Trenton, refurbishing of our military and so on.

I remember asking the then Minister of National Defence and the CDS, General Hillier at that time, because they were talking about the $14 billion in new funding. I asked three times and I finally got their answer to my question, which was: Is that the $14 billion that the Liberals put in, plus $14 billion that you guys put in, for $28 million? For the record, they clarified that it was the $14 billion that the Liberals put in because they put in no new money. That is just for the record.

Secondly, I want to clarify this. The member said that they gave a 100% GST rebate to the cities. For the record, and the member can look it up, that was done under a Liberal administration.

I come from Scarborough in the city of Toronto. My city is being starved. It is having to look at other ways and means and ways to raise money. For example, every person who drives, seniors or young students, must pay an additional $60. Garbage now has additional fees. Therefore, the 2% reduction goes some way. We can talk about England. England charged 19% and it has reduced it by 2%. They might have taken off 2% but they are getting it from the other end.

The member said, “What is good for one partner in Confederation is good for all”. I agree with him but why are Ontarians being treated with second-class services or, as he said, as second class citizens? They get less for health, less for EI and the list goes on. They pay the same Canadian dollars and in the same country. Why is the government and the Prime Minister treating the city of Toronto in an unfair way? Does the member not like Torontonians?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 25th, 2008]

Madam Speaker, first let me congratulate the member on his election. It is nice to have him in the House.

I have always believed that Canada has the ability to go out and get its share of the market. I am pleased with the assignment the hon. member has undertaken.

Having said that, I am concerned on behalf of my constituents as to why it took the Prime Minister almost three years to invite the premiers of our provinces and territories to come together to do the one thing for which I have always advocated, which is to bring down the trade barriers. If we are to go out and seek business for Canadian businesses, will he take a commitment to the cabinet table to bring down the trade barriers within Canada as soon as possible? Given the circumstances that our nation and other nations are experiencing, is he committed to work toward that?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 25th, 2008]

Madam Speaker, allow me to congratulate you on your appointment. I am very pleased to see a female at the chair once again. I would also like to congratulate the member for Selkirk—Interlake on his third election victory.

In the member’s closing statement, he talked about remembering members in rural communities. I agree with him, but I want to remind him and members absent from the House at that time, it was a city member, the former Liberal Member of Parliament for Toronto—Danforth, Dennis Mills, who made Canada aware of the family farm. It took a member from the city of Toronto to bring attention to the importance of our farming communities.

I agree with the member that we need these products and that there is an importance we should attach to the farming communities. However, a vast number of the population lives in cities like Toronto, Montreal, et cetera. We consume so much of what they produce. Our cities today are hurting. Under the Prime Minister and the previous administration, now my city of Toronto and my former city of Scarborough, now part of the Greater Toronto Area, are hurting because infrastructure money is not coming in, jobs are in jeopardy and the list goes on.

I am glad he touched upon the labelling. Bill C-52 needs to be addressed in the way we heard during the election. I agree that we should have a strong agricultural policy, for which Canada is noted. If that is the case, will he then take it to his government and stress the importance of also supporting the cities with the funding they need?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 25th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, let me congratulate the member on her third re-election. I had other questions and comments to make but the member from the NDP asked specific questions.

The member said that we must lay aside the party wrangling and all the catcalls. I could not agree more, but if we are going to do this, the Conservatives have to find a way to change. A moment ago the member said that the EI fund was spent by the previous government. That is inaccurate. Those funds were invested in Canada and in Canadians.

If the Conservatives expect us to change, I want to remind the member that when her party first came here as the Reform Party, that party made innuendoes about limousines and fancy exercise rooms, and who could forget the pigs on the lawn, and then that party's members changed their minds and took the pay.

We showed that we are willing, but the Conservatives misled Canadians. Even the newspapers said that. The Prime Minister said that they have done more in two years than the Liberals did in 13 years. If that is the case, why did the Conservatives say that Parliament was not functioning? When the Conservatives talked about crime legislation, we stood with them. What did they do? They prorogued Parliament and everything fell by the wayside. If the Conservatives are truthful with Canadians, we will support the government.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 25th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, let me also congratulate the member for Westmount—Ville-Marie on his election. He was right. This was his second or third try, and we finally have him where he belongs.

I recall when I was parliamentary secretary to the minister of industry, John Manley, the member came before a committee as the president of the Canadian Space Agency. He talked so eloquently about the investments that the Liberals were making and how we were moving forward.

I read and read the most recent throne speech and did not really find anything. Maybe I was missing something. I want to throw the ball back in his court. Did he read or hear anything specific that the government would be prepared to invest in so we could create the jobs of the future and attract and retain the best and the brightest whom we need to be competitive as a country?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 25th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate you on your appointment. I look forward to working with you in the future.

I listened very carefully to the member for Essex. Before the election, the Prime Minister was in the member's riding to announce some funding for an auto facility. Has that money flowed yet to that facility, and if not, given the circumstances that are surrounding the auto industry, when will that be?

The member talked about unprecedented investments in infrastructure. There is $3 billion sitting there waiting, boggled up somewhere. Given the circumstances, all the communities across our country are asking for those funds to be released ASAP so things can move along. Can the member comment on that? Why is it being delayed?

I do agree with the member when he said that the Speech from the Throne is a broad outline. I thank him for that actually, because I have often referred to it as a general overview of a government's intentions. Does he think there should be no vote of confidence on such a presentation given that it is a broad overview? I know other members were asking for specific things and that is their prerogative. What would he have to say on that?

[Business of Supply, April 8th, 2008]

There is no strategy, and I said it earlier, when it comes to addressing this most sensitive issue in a bipartisan way. If Conservatives believe in what they say regarding support for our military, the other day I read an article about veterans who were involved in nuclear testing. They were promised by the former minister during the election that they would be compensated, that it was all done. A year or two later, that compensation was not there. I do not want to go in that direction because it is really not the issue. However, they were promised burial expenses. Supposedly a letter was sent and everything was done, but nothing was done until the family came here.

[Business of Supply, April 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, there was no specific strategy behind that. If we go back and look at what happened at that time—