Keith Martin

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, May 12th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, Quebec has done some very interesting things in terms of preventing crime. In Montreal, Dr. Tremblay has done some very good work on the headstart program for children.

In essence, if we wanted to adopt a program that reduces youth crime by 60%, the headstart program is it. It works well and there is a $7 saving for every $1 invested. Basically it functions by the premise that if we reach children early on, if we involve parents in their children's lives, if we give children access to proper nutrition and we give them a loving and caring environment with an absence of child abuse and neglect, then the child will have a better chance to develop. That is what happened in Montreal and the impact has been a significant reduction in youth crime and an increase in benefits for the child as the child grows up.

Does my colleague not think that the Government of Canada should adopt, embrace and work with the provinces to expand and provide better access to early learning headstart programs for children?

[Committees of the House, May 11th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a fairly simple series of questions. I have said before that the oceans are dying and that it is an issue that receives short shrift in the House.

As part of the international conservation caucus, we had a meeting today with the head of the IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is an international organization that ties together 11,000 scientists in 160 countries. It is the longest, most integrated and expansive network of organizations dealing with conservation on land and at sea. We know now that most whales are in danger and that there has been a massive die-off and a reduction in all large fish species. In my province of British Columbia, we have a massive problem in terms of salmon species.

Would my colleague put pressure on the relevant Ministers of Fisheries and the Environment to work together to deal with some of the severe and significant environmental concerns that we have on the west coast that are causing the collapse of our fisheries, not only on the west coast but also on the east coast?

[Committees of the House, May 11th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I want to further the comments of my colleague.

It is very interesting that the issues affecting the oceans of the world really receive short shrift. The international conservation caucus fielded a meeting with Alana Mitchell. She is a former Globe and Mail reporter and was also named the top international reporter on the environment. She wrote a book called Sea Sick and in it she quite clearly articulates the damage taking place to our oceans today. Dr. Sylvia Earle, the world bathyscaphe specialist, shark expert and oceanographer, has written amply about the dying oceans.

I want to ask my hon. colleague a question. He understands, as my Liberal colleague mentioned before, that the oceans are dying and we have a number of challenges, not the least of which is overfishing and the use of draggers. Unrestricted fishing in the open oceans beyond the 200-mile zone is a serious problem.

Would my hon. colleague not support that the Government of Canada should work with the member states that are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, that we should work together to strengthen international regulations that are backed by judicial and enforcement measures, enforcement measures being particularly important, to deal in a punitive fashion with the overfishing that is destroying the oceans, not the least of which is being done by irresponsible European countries that are raping the earth's oceans?

Does he not think we should take the lead on tightening the reins on these people and groups?

[Committees of the House, May 11th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I must say that the issues affecting the Maritimes are much larger challenges, not the least of which is the destruction taking place within our seas of a wide range of fish and marine mammals. In fact, we know that the vast majority of marine mammals in the world are in danger of extinction. Most of the great whales are in danger of extinction and many of them live off the east coast of Canada. We have the northern right whales and the bowhead whales in the Arctic. We have a range of shark species that are on the brink of extinction. In fact, we have seen a massive decline in shark populations and large fish species in general.

With the destruction of our seas that is happening now, we are having dead seas. Huge sections in the oceans of the world are essentially dead, and it is getting larger. The seas are the key to life, not only in the oceans but also on land. As the species that live in the sea die, so will the species on land follow suit. This is something we need to understand very clearly. Many factors are affecting this, such as pollution and climate change, climate change being an enormous contributor to this.

Does my colleague not believe that his party should work with other parties, including the Liberal Party of Canada, in applying pressure on the government for an integrated response to tackle the death rate taking place in our oceans today, a response that includes Environment Canada, Foreign Affairs, International Development and Industry Canada, basically a whole of government approach?

[Employment Insurance, May 11th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, that is just not acceptable. My province is hemorrhaging jobs, with 25,000 lost in the forestry sector alone. In my province, a gentleman from Campbell River, who lost his job two weeks before the new standards came in, cannot get EI.

Would the minister finally do the right thing and enact the single standard we are asking for, which is a 360 hour EI eligibility? Will she do the right thing and do this for our workers who have lost their jobs in B.C. and across Canada?

[Canadian Red Cross, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Liberal Party of Canada and all of my colleagues here in Parliament, I would like to congratulate the Canadian Red Cross on its 100th anniversary.

For 100 years the Canadian Red Cross has been there to provide relief from suffering across our country and around the world. This is thanks to the thousands of dedicated volunteers who work in the organization.

Canada is one of the highest contributors of delegates to the International Committee of the Red Cross which provides protection to civilians and the injured in areas of conflict like Afghanistan, Sudan, Gaza, and provides assistance after earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and famine.

Courage, humanitarianism and sacrifice are the hallmarks of the Canadian Red Cross.

We in this Parliament, and indeed all Canadians, salute the Canadian Red Cross and its members on their centennial anniversary, and give thanks for the sacrifices they make to help relieve the suffering to those in their time of greatest need.

[Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in my hon. colleague's province of Quebec, some innovative things have been done in early learning. Some of the new science that has come out recently has shown the effects of child abuse and the withdrawal of some of a child's basic needs. This is important in the context of non-profits because many non-profits work toward filling those gaps.

Some of the new neuroscience that has come out has clearly shown that physical activity in children turns on parts of the brain that are involved in learning. It has been found that when a child participates in 30 to 45 minutes of good physical activity, such as aerobics, every day, those parts of the brain are turned on and the children can focus more easily and learn better. It has been found that the outcomes for children in school are profoundly better and more superior when kids have a chance to be physically active. Dr. Tremblay and others in Montreal have been groundbreakers in this area.

Does my friend think the government has a responsibility not only to encourage non-profit organizations to do what they do, but it has a role to play to work with the provinces and learn from what certain provinces are doing superbly?

I would like the member to highlight some of the early learning work that happens in the province of Quebec that other provinces in Canada could learn from.

[Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member a couple of questions about how we can actually improve on this bill. I think the government needs to hold a public stakeholder meeting to deal with the non-profits. They labour and struggle. They serve the most underprivileged and some of the most desperate people in our country because of the failure of our social programs in many cases. They pick up the pieces. Many of them are run by volunteers who give hundreds, if not thousands, of hours every single year in service to their neighbour. I think the government may want to do a better job of honouring those Canadians from coast to coast who are donating their time, efforts, skills and talents to serve some of the most needy people in our country.

However, apropos to this particular bill, I would like to ask my hon. friend whether he thinks the government ought to again have a public round-table meeting, that it make the tax deductible donations to non-profits equivalent to the tax donations to political parties and that it facilitate the way in which groups can actually get tax charitable status.

For example, the Hospital for Sick Children, with its HealthyKids international program, which is an amazing program, is having real trouble in trying to get tax-free status. It is an absurd situation. I really encourage the Minister of National Revenue to get on that, and that is a message more for the Minister of National Revenue than my colleague.

[Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, May 5th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, many citizens in our communities are in dire need, particularly during the economic downfall that has happened in our country and around the world.

There have been a number of very constructive solutions from the non-profit sector. One of those has to do with tax credits, in that non-governmental organizations should receive the same tax benefit as political parties. Why on earth do donors to political parties receive a much higher tax benefit than donors to NGOs, which many of us would argue are certainly more worthy of receiving money for helping those most in need?

Does my colleague think that is something we may want to consider? Does he have any other ideas? Madam Speaker, I know that this is a big interest of yours.This is one of the prime responsibilities of government. The government has really failed to help those most in need. In the city of Victoria, there are 1,400 people living on the street. The absence of a credible platform dealing with housing is a huge problem. No matter what other issues an individual may have, that individual will never be able to deal with those issues unless he has a roof over his head.

It is important for the government to work with other parties and sectors outside the House to have a credible housing strategy. Realtors have some very constructive suggestions, one of which would be changes within the revenue act to include a tax rollover provision. This provision would enable people to sell assets they currently have and roll that money over if they purchase, rebuild or refurbish a new structure within one year. The government could make it a quid pro quo. If a person selling an asset to buy an asset accessed the rollover strategy, the person would be obligated to spend some of that money on affordable housing.

Does my hon. friend have any comments on these issues? Perhaps he could provide other solutions given his vast experience.

[Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, May 5th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, one of the big challenges facing the non-profits right now is the fact that the CCRA, Revenue Canada, is coming down on them like a ton of bricks. As we are all aware, this has been an outfall as a result of the Banyan Tree Foundation NGO issue. In the CCRA's zeal to try to find some malfeasance in the non-profit sector, it has spread a broad net and is tying up non-profits which are trying, with minimal resources, to do an enormous amount of good work.

I want to suggest two things for the member. First, that he ask the Minister of National Revenue to call off the attack dogs and start dealing more reasonably with non-profits. The government should listen to their concerns and develop a structure that would allow them to work effectively with the limited resources they have. The member should also bear in mind that our non-profit organizations do an extraordinary amount of work with volunteers across our country. I know the government is trying to do that with the bill but it inadvertently is causing non-profits enormous pain and suffering and comprising their ability to help the people in need who need help from non-profits due to the government's failure to do its job in many areas, from housing to other issues that are affecting those most in need.

Second, I would recommend that the member ask the Minister of Finance and the Minister of National Revenue to change the tax structure to allow foundations to occur in Canada in a similar fashion to what occurs in the United States. If the member were to do that, we would liberate a lot of money.

The last issue concerns the transferring of assets to non-profit organizations, such as real estate. The Canadian Real Estate Association has some very constructive solutions that would enable people to give their real estate assets to non-profits, which would be a huge boon for non-profit organizations to acquire assets that they could use for housing and to run the programs for those most in need.

I would ask the member if he has any views on that and if he is willing to take that to cabinet.