John Rafferty

[Petitions, December 4th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I have three petitions to present today.

The first one is on behalf of constituents who call for a speedy passage of Bill C-442, which was introduced earlier by my friend from Hamilton Mountain. It is an act to establish the office of the oil and gas ombudsman to investigate complaints relating to the business practices of suppliers of oil or gas.

It is particularly apropos right now because of the hated sales tax that is coming in and being presented by what one might call the axis of taxes.

There are 10 pages or so signed by constituents on this petition.

The second petition involves the same thing. The petitioners also call on the government to give speedy passage to the bill because it creates a meaningful vehicle through which the complaints of average Canadians about the oil and gas industry will be taken seriously, with mechanisms for investigation and remediation to further help consumers fight the gas price squeeze, which would be more next year with the HST. It would be 8% more in Ontario and British Columbia.

[Pensions, December 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, on November 20, I rose in this House and asked the Minister of Finance if he was willing to meet with representatives of AbitibiBowater and CEP to hear their requests for changes in federal regulations to secure the pensions of more than 25,000 Canadian forestry workers.

The minister agreed to such a meeting, but only after they met with his provincial counterparts first. Those provincial meetings have now happened, so I ask today, has the minister finally met with these representatives as he said he would, and if not, is such a meeting scheduled? Will the minister be part of the solution?

[Tax Harmonization, December 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, for most people in northern Ontario, HST is simply a new gas tax.

In Parry Sound today, gas without HST is 98.9¢ a litre, with HST, $1.07 a litre; in Sioux Lookout it is $1.05 without HST and $1.14 with HST; in New Liskeard it is $1.04 without HST and $1.13 with HST.

Why does the government and in fact why do Liberal MPs want to punish their constituents with this new gas tax? Why are they voting to enable HST in Ontario?

[Natural Resources, December 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the government's feeble response to the unfair black liquor subsidy for U.S. pulp and paper was too little, too late.

Now a U.S. internal revenue service memo says that U.S. producers will be able to qualify for an amount equal to twice the amount of black liquor through a new loophole in the farm bill. That means a new $25 billion super subsidy.

What will the government do now, before that new subsidy comes into effect, to protect Canadian mills and protect Canadian families and workers against these unfair and unjustifiable U.S. trade practices?

[Business of Supply, December 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, many people in my riding have contacted me, and I am sure many Canadians are saying the same thing, to say that this is either government negligence or government incompetence or a combination of both.

I wonder if the hon. member would like to comment on that?

[Italian Canadian Community, November 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House to recognize the contributions of two long-standing organizations in my riding and to celebrate their significant anniversaries.

On November 21, the Italian Mutual Benefit Society of Port Arthur celebrated its 80th anniversary. The organization was founded in 1929 to provide benevolent aid to Canadians of Italian ancestry who now call Canada their home. Eighty years later, the organization continues its efforts to preserve and strengthen the fraternal spirit among those of Italian descent.

2009 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Societa Italiana Principe Di Piemonte. The organization was formed in 1909 by a small group of Italian immigrants who wanted their heritage to stay alive in this new country they had come to call their own. One hundred years later, the Societa Italiana Principe Di Piemonte continues to thrive in the promotion and enhancement of Italian custom and culture in all its endeavours.

Please join me in acknowledging the efforts of these two very important organizations.

[Privilege, November 26th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, one of the things that I would like to make clear is that as a relatively new member of the House, I do find these mailings to be important.

They are important for a couple of reasons. One is that they help a democratic debate. They help to explain policy. They help to explain other people's policies. While we are talking about this particular issue in the House today, which I am sure the government will admit was an error, I would not like to see the program stymied in any way, because I find it very important in terms of getting my message out.

I just wonder if my colleague would like to make a comment on the value of these ten percenters.

[Pensions, November 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, AbitibiBowater is presently under bankruptcy protection and is in the process of restructuring. However, during that process, a $1.3 billion pension fund shortfall was discovered. The retirement income of more than 30,000 Canadian families is now at risk.

The management of AbitibiBowater and its partners at CEP have agreed to a plan to overcome this shortfall but it requires government action from both the provincial and the federal governments.

Will the Minister of Finance please agree to meet with the company and union representatives before December 1 to help secure these pensions?

[Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, November 17th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that there are two side agreements in this trade agreement, one being environmental and the other dealing with human rights. I am wondering why these two agreements are side agreements and not in the main text of the agreement, which would give them more power to be enforced and more moral power.

I was just wondering if the hon. member for Sudbury would be interested in maybe commenting on why he thinks these are side agreements as opposed to being put into the body of the text.

[Afghanistan, November 17th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, an international watchdog has ranked Afghanistan as the second most corrupt country in the world. It also happens to be the largest recipient of our foreign aid.

What is the government doing to ensure that Canadian taxpayer money we send to Afghanistan is being spent properly on aid and not ending up in the pockets of the corrupt? Are there any checks and balances, and if so, what are they?