Judy Foote

[Accident Memorial, May 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember a tragedy that happened 30 years ago near Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

On May 28, 1980, a bus carrying CP Rail workers was involved in an accident that saw 22 young Canadians lose their lives. Twelve of those men were from Newfoundland and Labrador.

The town of Rushoon, a rural community with a population of 300 in the riding of Random—Burin—St. George's, lost four men in that accident. These were young men who left their homes each spring to work on the tracks, as they referred to it. These were young men who sacrificed all to earn a living for their families.

Though a small community, the people of Rushoon raised funds for a monument in memory of those men. I will be at the unveiling in Rushoon this Friday, May 28, 30 years to the day of the tragedy.

I ask all members to take a minute to remember all 22 of those men who lost their lives so tragically.

[Pensions, May 11th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, since the Conservatives are unwilling to work proactively on this, there is something even easier for them to do. Right now in the Senate there is a bill that would immediately help thousands of pensioners who rely on long-term disability pension benefits, many of which have disappeared because of bankruptcies. The Conservatives could allow quick passage of the bill and it could be law by the end of the week. What is stopping them? Why do they not want to help thousands of pensioners?

[Pensions, May 11th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the government has a clear path before it on pensions, but it continues to mount unnecessary obstacles. Fifteen months ago, it promised to move forward with changes to federal pensions by the end of 2009, but it has done nothing but talk.

Meanwhile, the provinces and territories are ready to move forward with a plan for a supplementary Canada pension plan. Will the Conservatives finally accept this proposal and get Canadian pensioners the help they need before the summer arrives?

[Ethics, May 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the request was pretty clear. It had to do with GPG and Patrick Glémaud and Rahim Jaffer.

The government operations committee specifically asked the Department of Natural Resources for records related to Jaffer, Glémaud and GPG. The department has confirmed these records exist. However, in a letter to the committee, the former minister says that there are no records, while the current minister says that records have already been turned over. We know that nothing produced so far has come from the Department of Natural Resources.

Why the continued stonewalling? Why the denying? What is the government afraid of?

[Ethics, May 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the government maintains it has turned over all documents concerning privileged access granted Rahim Jaffer and Patrick Glémaud.

However, a Liberal access to information request has fleshed out unreleased documents at the Department of Natural Resources. The request asked for any records relating to Glémaud going back to November 2008, the same month he founded Green Power Generation.

The government first denied and now it is withholding information it promised to make public. Yesterday the Minister of Natural Resources and his predecessor dodged the committee. What are they hiding?

[Government Policies, May 5th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it is not only individuals the Conservatives have targeted. No group is too large or too small to escape the intimidation of that government: KAIROS, the Wheat Board, police chiefs from across the country, witnesses at the Afghan torture hearings, and the list goes on. Now the president of the European Council is criticizing Canada's agenda for this summer's G8 meetings.

For the sake of Canada's international reputation, will the government refrain from using its thuggish tactics on this latest critic?

[Government Policies, May 5th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, intimidation is not a sign of strength but rather one of weakness.

The Conservatives have used it to cut funding and silence critics just to get their way. Linda Keen, Paul Kennedy, Bernard Shapiro, Arthur Carty, and Robert Marleau were all fired or pushed out because they did not toe the Conservative line.

What is it that scares the Conservatives so much about others speaking up?

[Business of Supply, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear to anyone who has followed what has happened with the Conservative government that parliamentary secretaries do indeed have much more authority and they are now turning up on committees. It is foolhardy for us to even think that they do not carry that responsibility.

When people want to lobby, when people are insisting on lobbying, and they have not registered as lobbyists, the onus is on the parliamentary secretary to ask the question, “Have you in fact registered before you come to me to talk about any kind of project, or expenditure, or access to government money”?

[Business of Supply, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we have all heard of the saying, “where there's smoke there's fire”. I would think that if Rahim Jaffer had access to ministers and access to parliamentary secretaries, why would others not have access to the same ministers and parliamentary secretaries?

The onus is on the government to acknowledge what has gone on here, to come clean with Canadians, and to respond to the motion in a way that will show that it is clearly determined to close this loophole and ensure that parliamentary secretaries are included under the Lobbying Act.

[Business of Supply, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it would appear that the member opposite does not realize that he is part of the government and this is, in fact, the government's opportunity to change this loophole that exists. The government has the responsibility to act and if it wants to include anyone, it can. What we are asking today, which would be a step in the right direction, is to include parliamentary secretaries.