House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2008, with 56% of the vote.
Salmon Fishery November 4th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I warned the minister last spring and others tried to and he refused to listen.
As we learned on BCTV last night, rather than accept blame for his incompetence the minister is fanning the flames of racism by saying: "The biggest goddam conservation problem on the Fraser River is the Sto:Lo"-
Salmon Fishery November 4th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, a Department of Fisheries and Oceans document reveals that on March 25 of this year, three months before the opening of the salmon season, senior fisheries officials on the west coast were warning of a disaster if the level of enforcement was further downgraded on the Fraser River. They warned of a "repeat of the missing sockeye problems that occurred in the 1992 season".
Why did the minister ignore these warnings and initiate the reduction in the enforcement effort which led to the disaster of 1994?
West Coast Fishery October 18th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, the former Speaker of the House is hardly independent. He is now an appointee of the government as ambassador for the environment.
The 35,000 member B.C. Wildlife Federation and the 12,000 member B.C. Fishermen's Survival Coalition have joined me in calling for an independent judicial inquiry.
When will the minister acknowledge the growing support for this and act?
West Coast Fishery October 18th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of oceans.
In the fall of 1992 the Ministry of Justice dropped 213 charges against poachers on the west coast, one of whom was caught with 30,000 sockeye salmon. When the minister's Liberal friends examined the aboriginal fishing strategy at his request last spring, they conveniently forgot to mention this embarrassment to a favourite program not only of this government but also of the Mulroney government.
Why should we expect a different standard from the current catch of DFO insiders appointed to examine this minister's handling of the 1994 salmon disaster on the west coast?
Kyle Brown October 18th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, Trooper Kyle Brown has been sentenced to five years in jail on charges of manslaughter in the death of a Somali prisoner. The minister of defence is now appealing, demanding a longer sentence for Brown.
The minister and the military establishment knew all along that a longstanding defence existed for Brown who was obeying an order of his superiors, an order that he did not understand to be so outrageous as to be obviously illegal. The Supreme Court last March reaffirmed the availability of this defence.
Furthermore, the minister and the military establishment ignored the well known effect of Mefloquine, a malaria drug administered to Canadian troops in Somalia. Side effects include violent dreams, hallucinations, confusion, anxiety and mental depression. Mefloquine could have precipitated the murder of the prisoner and Master Corporal Matchee's attempted suicide.
The minister of defence should today order the release from military detention of Trooper Kyle Brown pending an investigation into this affair.
Social Program Reform October 6th, 1994
The program is so sick the book has turned green.
Fisheries October 3rd, 1994
Mr. Speaker, the review the minister refers to is not an independent review. It is a review by people with deep DFO connections. We had an in house inquiry after the disaster in 1992 and obviously it proved nothing.
We need an independent judicial inquiry which would consider not only the scientific evidence but also the human factor, the management of the resource. Why will the minister not commit to an independent judicial inquiry?
Fisheries October 3rd, 1994
Mr. Speaker, another two million fish are missing from the Fraser River. That brings the total this year to well over three million sockeye.
Will the minister allow his management of the west coast fishery to come under the scrutiny of a judicial inquiry, which can subpoena witnesses and take testimony under oath?
Fisheries September 29th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, the minister fines fishermen in Newfoundland thousands of dollars for jigging a few cod for supper and looks the other way while thousands of fish are poached in B.C.
The leaked document and others indicate quite clearly that management problems at DFO extend beyond the Fraser River and beyond the professional capabilities of scientists appointed to the minister's review panel.
Will the minister disband his in-house collection of scientists and request a judicial inquiry into DFO's management of the west coast salmon fishery?
Fisheries September 29th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, the Victoria Times Colonist is reporting that DFO is in a shambles and morale has never been lower. Not only that but a leaked DFO document given to me by Ernie Fedoruk of the Times Colonist blames the unprecedented levels of poaching of salmon on Vancouver Island directly on a shortage of enforcement officers.
In light of the mounting evidence does the minister still have the audacity to stand up in this House and tell us what a fine job of protecting the resource his department is doing?