Judy Foote

[41st General Election, June 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, a Federal Court judge has found that dirty tactics were used to try and disrupt Canadians' right to vote in the last federal election. The judge found widespread electoral fraud in many ridings. Instead of being concerned about attacks on voters, Conservative MPs are attacking the Federal Court judge. Why are Conservatives attacking judges, rather than getting to the bottom of this crime?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 29th, 2013]

With regard to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia: (a) how many employees are currently employed and how many were employed in the fiscal year 2010-2011; (b) what are the current base salaries for each individual employee and what were the base salaries for each individual employee in the fiscal year 2011-2012; (c) broken down by month, how many overtime hours and how much overtime pay did each employee receive from 2010-present; (d) broken down by month, how many hours of overtime were paid overall since 2010; (e) broken down by month, since 2010, how many days in a row does the average employee work before receiving two consecutive days off; and (f) how many days in a row does the average employee work before receiving one day off?

[Canadian Museum of History Act, May 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we will apply and we will vote no.

[Ethics, May 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, imagine cheering for an access to information system in tatters, stonewalling Parliament and the Parliamentary Budget Officer, obstructing the election fraud investigation, defending Peter Penashue's indefensible political donations, blatant partisan patronage at ACOA, whitewashing the investigation into that patronage, whitewashing the audit of Conservative senator expenses, and then whitewashing the whitewash.

What happened to transparency and accountability? When did the government become the thing the Conservatives always claimed to hate?

[Ethics, May 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, look at the Conservative record: an access to information system in tatters, stonewalling Parliament—

[Digital Animation Graduate, May 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a talented young man from Ramea, a small, isolated town with a population of 525, in the riding of Random—Burin—St. George's. Zachary Green is a graduate of the digital animation program offered by the Bay St. George campus of the College of the North Atlantic in Stephenville.

In 2012, Zachary produced a short film called The Collector, an exceptional piece of digital art for which he received national and international recognition. Recognized by the Toronto Applied Arts magazine, Zachary received the Digital and Character Animation Award. His film has been screened in Seattle at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth and at Chicago CineYouth, sponsored by the Chicago International Film Festival. Zachary credits the exemplary program and instruction he received at the College of the North Atlantic for his success.

He is currently employed in St. John's as a 3D modeller with GRI Simulations Incorporated.

I ask all members to join me in wishing Zachary Green continued success as he pursues a career in digital animation.

[Last Post Fund, May 27th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to conclude the debate on my private member's Motion No. 422, which is meant to improve on the Last Post Fund.

I will start by acknowledging those colleagues who have spoken in support of this motion and have recognized the importance of it not just for our veterans but for their families and all Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

I will also mention the very partisan remarks made earlier today by the member for Durham. I have no idea where that came from. In fact, I was astounded by some of the remarks.

Let me say that this is far from a partisan issue. This is an issue that impacts on those who have given so much on behalf of all of us. They are the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice, who have fought in wars since time immemorial. When it comes to our veterans, this is not the place to debate partisan politics and political issues.

I support the Royal Canadian Legion, and I want to acknowledge all the work its members have done to enhance the Last Post Fund. They had a letter-writing campaign, which happened to coincide with the introduction of my private member's motion. They worked very hard and wrote to everyone they could possibly think of and encouraged others to get involved in their letter-writing campaign. The Legions from coast to coast to coast have been writing to all members of Parliament. My motion supports their efforts.

Motion No. 422 is meant to support the efforts of members of the Royal Canadian Legion. It is meant to support our veterans. Any suggestion that there is a partisan issue here or that this is being done for political reasons is totally unfair. I really take exception to that. However, I do not want to waste any more time on that, because it is not what this motion is about.

This motion is about doing what is right. It is about recognizing what our veterans have done. It is about ensuring that when they die, they have a dignified burial and funeral. That is the sole purpose of this motion.

I want to thank the government for what it did in terms of increasing the amount of money available for a veteran's burial from $3,600 to just over $7,000. I applaud the government for doing that. Unfortunately, the government did not consult the Last Post Fund, because if it had, it would have realized that, of course, it is still too little.

Someone serving today who is unfortunately killed in the line of duty would be entitled to about $14,000 for a funeral. Clearly, the $7,000, while accepted and welcome, because it is double the amount that existed, is certainly not enough to cover the total cost of a funeral. What happens is that families who can ill afford to do so end up picking up the additional cost. In some cases, funeral directors have picked up the cost knowing that the families could not incur the additional hardship. Most of these funeral directors have small businesses, and we are asking them to cover the added expenses out of their own pockets.

To those who suggest that the Last Post Fund is working, it is not. I point to the fact that over 66% of applicants were denied. Over 20,000 veterans were denied access to the Last Post Fund.

I will conclude by putting a personal face on this issue. Motion No. 422 is about veterans such as Mr. Hedley Lake, from Fortune, in my riding of Random—Burin—St. George's. He was born in 1918, and after growing up on the family farm, joined the Royal Canadian Navy and served during World War II. When the ship he was on was hit by torpedo in the middle of the night and sank, he found himself in the cold water of the Atlantic Ocean clinging to a lifeboat, which was already filled to capacity, for hours. He soldiered on, and after being rescued, went back overseas to the shores of Normandy. Following Normandy, he volunteered to go to the Pacific, but he was denied, because it was deemed that he had spent enough time on the front lines. Mr. Lake spent the remainder of the war in Raleigh. Following the war, he married and continued to work on the farm. He worked at a fish plant at night. Finally, he was able to build a home for his family.

This motion is about these the types of individuals. These are our veterans. I ask all members of the House of Commons to put aside any political partisanship and vote in support of Motion No. 422 for our veterans and their families.

[Ethics, May 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, three days ago the Minister of Heritage tweeted that “Nigel Wright is a great Canadian. Canada is stronger because of his service....” Now that the RCMP is on its way, does the member still think that is true?

[Ethics, May 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, most ordinary Canadians do not have personal lawyers on retainer to help make legal troubles go away. However, the Prime Minister did. The Prime Minister's personal legal counsel at the time the Wright-Duffy deal was cooked up was Ben Perrin. Mr. Perrin issued a carefully worded statement this week saying he did not participate in Wright's decision to cut a personal cheque to reimburse Senator Duffy's expense.

Never mind the cheque; could the government confirm that Mr. Perrin was in fact involved in negotiating the Duffy-Wright deal?

[Nuclear Terrorism Act, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals agree to apply and will vote yes.