Judy Foote

[Public Safety, March 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned that despite the government's claim of caring about community safety, on March 7 the hon. member for Yorkton—Melville told a classroom of Ottawa high school students, some as young as 14, that all Canadians should carry firearms and girls in particular should be armed to protect themselves from sexual assault.

Does the Minister of Public Safety agree with his colleague's extreme position that school children should be carrying loaded guns into schoolyards? Is that the position of the Government of Canada?

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 29th, 2012]

With regard to the sea cucumber fishery on the St. Pierre Bank, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization subdivision 3PS: (a) when will the decision be made to issue additional permits to fishers deemed eligible in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' (DFO) draw of October 13, 2011; (b) when will additional permits be issued to fishers deemed eligible in the DFO's draw of October 13, 2011; and (c) how long will permit recipients be given to ensure that their vessels meet the standards of the DFO before inspections will be carried out?

[41st General Election, March 28th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, recently revealed court records filed by Elections Canada show that RackNine had a contractual agreement to work only with Conservatives. It does not even publicly advertise its services. The court records also reveal that when Pierre Poutine set up his account with RackNine, he said that he was referred by a well-connected Conservative in order to access the company.

What steps has the government taken to make the Conservatives reveal the name of this well-connected party official? If the answer is “nothing”, when will we get a royal commission?

[World TB Day, March 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, March 24 was World TB Day, an international day of action to mobilize political will to combat tuberculosis.

Every year, 8.8 million new people become infected with TB and 1.4 million die needlessly from this curable disease.

Canada is not immune to this epidemic. Sixty-three per cent of Canada's TB cases are among newcomer Canadians, reinforcing the fact that TB is a disease that knows no borders.

Tuberculosis remains a global problem, requiring continued global leadership to develop concrete strategies and commit sustained resources toward global TB control.

I ask all members of the House to join me and commit to take action as global leaders to prevent death from tuberculosis.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, from listening to my colleague read his text, it appears to me, and I am sure to those listening, that he genuinely believes in what he is saying and that he thinks it is accurate.

The problem is that he said that the government is prepared to listen to scientists, but let me repeat that more than 600 Canadian scientists, including some of the country's leading experts in environmental protection and animal research, have said that it is wrong to go down this path.

In fact, David Schindler, who is a professor of ecology at the University of Alberta, the lead author of the letter, has said in a news release, “It is the explicit role of government to find the balance between protecting this habitat and encouraging sustainable economic growth, not to pit them against one another”.

How can the member genuinely say that the government is listening to scientists when 600 scientists, leading experts, are saying that what the government is planning to do is wrong? They are saying to please not go down that path. They broke it open and we know this is happening. They are asking the government to listen. They have been doing the research. They know what is important.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to the importance of science to the fishery.

As a result of the intervention by the government with respect to the Fisheries Act and what it refers to as a modernization of the fishery, we are seeing little respect being given to science and to the scientists who play such an important role in ensuring the sustainability of our natural resource. Whether it is dealing with the cod stocks, or any species or fishery for that matter, science is so important to ensuring that when we put quotas in place we know exactly what we are doing. Any decision that we make with respect to the fishery should be based on science, as well as input from those who engage in the fishery, whether it is those in the fish processing side or in the harvesting side.

However, we are finding from the government little appreciation for science and the influence of science, in terms of the health of the fish stocks. When we look at the fish habitats and what is being said today by former Conservative fisheries ministers with the changes to fish habitats, it just does not make sense.

More than 600 Canadian scientists, including some of the country's leading experts in environmental protection and animal research, are asking the Prime Minister to abandon plans to remove habitat protections from the federal Fisheries Act.

It is serious when we have scientists, who know only too well how important this is, go to this extreme to plead with the Prime Minister not to go down this path. These people have the knowledge and the expertise. Those of us who serve in these positions, including the Prime Minister, ministers of the Crown and bureaucrats, are not on the front lines in terms of what happens in the fishery. It is the scientists we rely upon. They spend years researching these topics. The fishers and those who process and harvest the fishery have the knowledge necessary to ensure a sustainable fishery and to ensure that we do what is right in terms of fish habitats.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, these scientists say changing the law would be a most unwise action. It would jeopardize many important fish stocks and the lakes, estuaries and rivers that support them. They are encouraging, in fact, they are imploring, the Prime Minister to abandon this initiative, as it is currently drafted.

This is not coming from me. This is not coming from an MP for Random—Burin—St. George's, where my communities are primarily rural communities that depend very heavily upon the fishery to ensure that the people have a livelihood and can provide for their families. This is coming from scientists who have devoted their lives, as this is their area of expertise, to looking into these subject areas. They are looking at what the government is proposing here with respect to the Fisheries Act and they are saying it is wrong.

I am asking the government to listen to those scientists, to recognize how important it is that we listen to people with the expertise, the knowledge based on their experience and their research, that this is the wrong thing to do.

People have answers. The government does not have all the answers. The opposition does not have all the answers. However, I can say that people who spend their lives researching these topics do so seriously and they know that this is wrong. We are asking, on their behalf, for the government to take their request seriously.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 26th, 2012]

With regard to Marine Atlantic’s executive hiring practices: (a) where has the position of Chief Information Officer historically been located; (b) where has the position of Operations for the ports of Channel-Port aux Basques, North Sydney and Argentia historically been located; (c) what is the rationale for the historical position locations; (d) why was the position of Chief Information Officer moved to St. John’s; (e) are there plans to move additional positions out of Channel-Port aux Basques; (f) what steps were taken to recruit a candidate who lived in or who would relocate to Channel-Port aux Basques when filling the Chief Information Officer position; (g) what were the job criteria required for the Chief Information Officer; (h) did the job posting specify that a successful applicant had to reside in or work in Channel-Port aux Basques; (i) how many applicants were there for the position of Chief Information Officer; and (j) how many applicants were there from Channel-Port aux Basques?

[Petitions, March 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in keeping with the questions that have been raised in the House about the importance of keeping the maritime rescue sub-centre open in St. John's and to present a petition signed by 1,300 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

This is only one of many petitions, again pointing out how important it is to keep that centre open with the local knowledge and the expertise there in terms of what has transpired in our province. It is not just about Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. This is about Canadians. It is about anyone who travels in the North Atlantic.

The situation out there, when people are out on the ocean, is that it is so volatile from time to time that we really need to know there is someone there who will have an innate knowledge and who knows exactly what to do and where to go when something dangerous happens.

This is why people are signing these petitions, saying to the government that it must understand how serious the issue is. It is not one to be taken lightly. We really must keep this open. There is no way the government will save $1 million closing the centre. If it did, what is the price of a life? What we have seen happen as a result of having the centre there is that so many hundreds of lives have been saved. We are talking about 10,000 miles of coastline. We need to keep this maritime rescue sub-centre in operation.

[Search and Rescue, March 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the real reason a search and rescue helicopter was not sent to Labrador to find missing 14-year-old Burton Winters is now clear. The rear admiral said he could not spare a helicopter in case it was needed elsewhere. This tragedy should never have happened.

In spite of this and the lack of search and rescue resources when needed, the government is closing the maritime rescue sub-centre in St. John's with its local knowledge and expertise. Because the member for Labrador will not, will someone in the government tell the Prime Minister he has to reverse his decision or more lives will be lost?

[Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act, March 15th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right. We should all recognize that in this world no two people are alike and no two situations are alike. If we are not prepared to look at cases that come forward on an individual basis, then we are not doing what we should be doing under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which in fact applies to everyone who sets foot in our country.