Kennedy Stewart

[Petitions, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition signed by dozens of citizens from across the country. The petition calls on the Government of Canada to support my bill, Bill C-558, which would establish a non-partisan parliamentary science officer.

The petition also notes that since 2006, the federal government has undermined scientific integrity, ignored scientific evidence, and unduly muzzled scientists working in the public service. An independent science watchdog would provide Parliament with expert advice on scientific matters.

While I cannot say whether I support this petition, I urge the government to stop its war on science and support my bill.

[Petitions, March 25th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today of presenting a petition signed by literally thousands of citizens from my riding of Burnaby—Douglas and across British Columbia. The petitioners call on the federal government to oppose the new Kinder Morgan oil pipeline that would run right through Burnaby. The signatories note that this export-only crude oil pipeline brings massive environmental and economic risk but no real benefits for local residents.

This is without a doubt the number one issue facing Burnaby and my office has never received so many petitions before from constituents. While I know the Conservatives and Liberals both support the new Kinder Morgan pipeline, I urge the government to take this call to oppose the pipeline very seriously.

[Business of Supply, March 24th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, there is some attempt on the other side to discredit our motion by questioning the amount of scientific research. One can go into any library and look at a major database. I just pulled up three in Environmental Pollution. “The present and future of microplastic pollution in the marine environment” is from February 2014. There is “Contributing to marine pollution by washing your face: micoplastics in facial cleansers”. There are a large number of academic studies online. The problem is, by eliminating the scientists who work for DFO, the government is just relying on its regular rhetoric to try to throw up smoke.

I wonder if my colleague agrees that the absence of science in policy-making on the other side is probably one of the biggest problems we have here in Parliament?

[Petitions, March 23rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition signed by dozens of citizens from B.C. and Ontario.

The petitioners call upon the federal government to support investments in modern agriculture, including plant biotechnology, as a way to combat food shortages around the world. They note that with rapid population growth, the world would require double the current amount of food production in just 50 years. They also note that safe modern plant breeding techniques would provide groundbreaking research jobs for Canadian scientists and that Canada could continue to be a world leader in science innovation.

I urge the federal government to carefully consider this petition.

[Committees of the House, March 11th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask for unanimous consent for the adoption of the committee report.

On January 29, 2014, my private member's motion on electronic petitions, Motion No. 428, was adopted by a narrow margin in the House. The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs has since studied the matter and is unanimously recommending the right of petitioning be expanded through the establishment of an electronic petition process.

As someone who has worked for decades to improve Canadian democracy, I am very pleased that we in the House have been able to set aside partisan differences to make this change.

For the process to be established by the beginning of the 42nd Parliament, there have been consultations among the parties and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following. I move that the 33rd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House on Thursday, February 26, be concurred in.

[Health Care, March 10th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the Burnaby general hospital is in such bad repair that the Christmas tree cannot be plugged in because it could overload the electrical system. This is no joke. It is sad but it is true. The hospital does not have enough beds, or staff or washrooms. The aging buildings spread infection.

The hospital staff is excellent, but the building is crumbling around them and their patients. This is not right. It is not right because this is the same city where Tommy Douglas, the founder of medicare, won his first federal seat. It is also home to one of Canada's most decrepit hospitals.

The crisis at Burnaby Hospital is why I call on the Conservatives to reverse their decision to slash $36 billion from health transfers to the provinces. It is also why I am joining NDP MLA Kathy Corrigan and B.C. NDP leader John Horgan in calling for a new Burnaby hospital to be built.

I will be working hard to help our leader secure the first NDP government in Canadian history so we can reverse these Conservative cuts and get Canadians the health care they need and the health care they deserve.

[Petitions, March 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour of presenting a petition both crafted and signed by the residents of Halston Hills Co-op in my riding of Burnaby—Douglas. I would like to thank Lil Cameron for her leadership on this project, as well as for all the work she does.

The petition calls on the federal government to immediately reverse its cuts to social housing, cuts that will result in a loss of $1.7 billion for low-cost housing by 2030. Renewed funding would allow Halston Hills to preserve rent subsidies for existing units, complete much-needed renovations, and redevelop a portion of its land to create specialized units for seniors.

I urge the government to pay careful attention to this petition.

[Public Safety, February 23rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, after a recent cyberattack on the National Research Council, Canadians were kept in the dark for three weeks. It seems Conservatives were more worried about how they looked in the media than about keeping Canadians informed about the latest security breach.

Communications security officials say every cyberattack on government networks last year could have been stopped if computers had been properly protected. Why did the government keep this breach under wraps, and what is it doing to better protect against these cyberattacks?

[Public Safety, February 23rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as the great Bill Blaikie once said, “It's not about where you sit, it's about where you stand”, and tonight we will see where MPs stand on this overarching, vague and dangerous bill, Bill C-51, a bill that has been condemned by experts, editorial boards and average Canadians. It would provide the Canadian Security Intelligence Service with a sweeping new mandate to disrupt—and that is the key word, “disrupt”—the actions of Canadian citizens.

In question period, the minister has refused to explain what kinds of actions this new mandate would allow. The Conservatives have also been unable to explain why these and other new measures in the bill are necessary or how they would have prevented past attacks.

We cannot save our freedoms by sacrificing them. We cannot do as the Liberals are and pledge a vote for draconian legislation before even reading it.

The New Democrats have a different vision. We will stick to our principles and oppose this bill. We will not allow anyone to bully us away from standing by our principles and defending the freedoms and liberties that define our Canadian way of life.

[Anti-terrorism Act, 2015, February 19th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the speech of my colleague across the way with great interest.

As we know, there is a brand new oil pipeline slated to be built through my riding of Burnaby—Douglas by the Kinder Morgan company. The government on that side of the House will stop at nothing to push this pipeline through, the Liberals are also supporting it, and everybody in Burnaby is dead set against it. In fact, the mayor of Burnaby, Derek Corrigan, said he would lie down in front of bulldozers to stop this pipeline.

I am wondering if the member can help me. That seems to be something that could be construed as a threat to our economic development in Canada, which would be covered by this act. Would Mayor Derek Corrigan of Burnaby be considered a terrorist under this act, and with the new powers being given to CSIS, would it then be allowed to disrupt the mayor's activity and anybody else's in the city of Burnaby? As members know, there were 126 people arrested there who were trying to stop this pipeline. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip crossed the exclusion zone in the protest area. Would this new bill have any impact on that, and would the mayor of Burnaby be a terrorist?