John Cannis

[Committees Of The House, October 15th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 109, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government response to the 18th report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, entitled “The Year 2000 Problem: Will Canada Be Ready?”

[Supply, June 8th, 1999]

Madam Speaker, this is exactly what my Liberal colleague, the member for Charleswood St. James—Assiniboia, was referring to. It seems the members of the Reform Party who spoke earlier must be blind. We are sitting here supporting this issue. Indeed we are saying that we believe in the traditional family of a man and a woman. Never in M. v H. was there any reference to marriage.

I have listened with greatest to the debate throughout the day. Instead of standing and saying that it is great the Liberal members are supporting it and that everybody is behind this, Reformers are exploiting the situation, saying “don't forget when the election comes”. They are going to see tonight. I think they are using the wrong approach. It is fearmongering, which the member referred to earlier.

I am speaking with a loud voice because I am one of the members supporting this excellent initiative, yet here we are playing partisan politics. No wonder they are at 6% and dropping. It is sad to say that they cannot read the pulse of the community.

[Supply, June 8th, 1999]

Madam Speaker, I want to take a few moments to add my voice to this debate, seeing that there is not time for me to participate in the debate because everyone wishes to speak to the motion.

The hon. member in her opening statement indicated how she thought we would never be here discussing this issue. I empathize with what she is saying, but I say to the member how fortunate we are to be able to have this debate so that we can alleviate some of this anxiety and the perceptions she also referred to.

When we are elected, constituents from our respective ridings say to us that we are here in Ottawa to be their voice. I firmly believe this and I am sure every hon. member in the House believes this.

Here we are today in this most unique situation to speak on behalf of people like Dolina and Bruce Smith from my riding, Mr. and Mrs. Guest, Roxanne James and so many others who have sent us their comments. In today's debate and the vote we can express what our constituents are saying. I thank the members who have participated.

[Foreign Affairs, May 26th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific.

I understand that he was recently in Pakistan where he met with his counterpart. Was the secretary of state able to raise the issue of the arrest of the leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan?

[Jubilee 2000, May 11th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, earlier today a representative of the Jubilee 2000 campaign presented the Minister for International Cooperation with a petition signed by 600,000 Canadians calling for debt relief for the world's poorest people.

Can the minister today tell the House what Canada is doing to promote the debt relief agenda on the international stage?

[Kosovo, April 27th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, over 600,000 Kosovars have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Half of these people are under the age of 18. As many as 400,000 more Kosovars are internally displaced with no access to international relief.

Can the Minister for International Cooperation update the House as to the humanitarian situation and tell us how their needs are being addressed?

[Scarborough General Hospital, April 26th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the dedication and commitment of the many volunteers of Scarborough General Hospital in my riding of Scarborough Centre.

I had the pleasure of attending the hospital's volunteer appreciation dinner on April 19 last week. I must say I was struck by the longstanding commitment to the hospital that all the volunteers had. There were over 300 volunteers in attendance at the appreciation dinner with 76 of them receiving awards for service ranging from 5 to 40 years.

In particular, I want to recognize four volunteers who dedicated over half of their lives to volunteering at the hospital: Doris Daniel, Shirley McDonald, Jean Kennedy and Thelma Thomson. Each of these people have served the hospital for 40 years plus.

At this time, when labour unrest seems to be prevalent, it is indeed heartening to see that there are still many people who are willing to put their time and heart into a job simply because they love it.

I extend my congratulations to all the volunteers who were given awards at the dinner and thank them for giving so much to our community.

[Dental Health Month, April 15th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to inform the House that April has been declared Dental Health Month.

One of my constituents, Dr. Raffy Chouljian, is president of the Toronto East Dental Society and he wants us all to be more aware of our dental health every day, not just dental health month.

I want to inform the House that the average Canadian consumes approximately the equivalent of 40 kilograms, or 88 pounds of sugar each year. No wonder the House gets a little bit raucous sometimes. Sugar, as we know, is one of the main causes of dental problems.

This past weekend in my riding of Scarborough Centre, the Albert Campbell and Cedarbrae Libraries held book displays and had questions answered by local dentists. In addition, the Toronto East Dental Society has donated a number of dental patient educational books to the Scarborough Public Library system to help promote dental health.

I commend Dr. Chouljian and his association on their hard work and ask that all Canadians take a moment this month to think about their dental health.

[Kosovo, April 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, as I said to the member from the Conservative Party, we are undertaking every initiative to resolve the issue before we even get to that stage.

There are always contingency discussions unfolding. We would be silly and foolish not to think. They are always planning in advance what their next step will be. Today the military and the political arena are planning. What will happen tomorrow or a week or two down the road only God knows. Right now we are hoping for a peaceful resolution.

[Kosovo, April 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding from what I have heard and in briefings that the minister is doing everything within his power, within his means, and with whatever is available to him to make sure the Canadian message gets through.

I know my colleagues on this side are continuously putting forward various arguments. It is not as simple as black and white, as I mentioned in my presentation. The foreign affairs minister and the minister of defence are trying everything possible to achieve a peaceful resolution of this unfortunate conflict.