Lawrence Cannon

[Canada Post Corporation, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, as we know, Canada Post is responsible for delivering mail to Canadians. Equity is not the issue here. What is expected of Canada Post is timely delivery. It is expected to be an efficient organization which plays a role in the community and is, of course, sensitive to its needs, while fundamentally giving Canadians the assurance that it is doing its job.

[Canada Post, May 31st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to inform the House that I, along with the Prime Minister, will be meeting with the head of Canada Post to discuss the issues and, obviously, the options that will be put forth for rural residents and drivers.

We are very sensitive to the problems raised by our colleagues, not only on this side of the House but our colleagues on the other side of the House.

[Port Facilities, May 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her question, which is not only extremely interesting, but also extremely important. I have been provided with information on these incidents. I have asked officials in my department to look into the matter. We will develop a number of options shortly that will, I hope, meet the needs of her constituents and everyone in the region.

[Canada's Commitment in Afghanistan, May 17th, 2006]

I must add that the Prime Minister explained very clearly in his statement the reasons why we are in Afghanistan. We are there because President Karzai asked us to renew the mission.

The leader of the Bloc Québécois asked for an explanation and he got one. He said we acted too quickly. We know that for the four years the Liberal Party was in power, they were in a position to provide an explanation, but they just beat around the bush. We have enough information to move forward and justify our participation, information that comes directly from President Karzai, as well as from our NATO allies and other partners over there.

My question for the leader of the Bloc Québécois is this: If he supports these values overall, why is he again reneging on his promise to support our forces, our troops in Afghanistan?

[Canada's Commitment in Afghanistan, May 17th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the statement made by the leader of the Bloc Québécois deserves our full consideration. The leader of the Bloc Québécois began by stating that what is at issue is basically whether to prolong the mission. I understand, and I agree with him that that is exactly right. However, he spent 15 or 20 minutes contradicting what he said at the beginning. He called the Prime Minister irresponsible. I wonder what this is really about.

Some time ago, the leader of the Bloc Québécois asked for a debate on this issue. Now we have one. He asked for a vote. We have had one.

[Agriculture, May 17th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, while farmers have had a hard time making ends meet over the last 13 years, this government respects farmers and is committed to taking action. This is why this government, in Bill C-11, is bringing in an amendment to lower the revenue cap. The amendment will pass on savings to the farmers of Canada, who, everybody knows, need it. They will be getting $50 million.

[Grain Transportation, May 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, if the FRCC had purchased the cars, there would have been lease costs. I think everybody can see that. Those lease costs would have been added on and the farmers would be paying more money for the service. We are saying, essentially, that the decision that we have taken has saved the Canadian farmers $50 million. That is performance.

[Grain Transportation, May 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, farmers will benefit greatly from the government's decision to keep the cars. If the amendments to Bill C-11 are adopted in the House, we will be able to work on the revenue cap. As we work on the revenue cap, we will be able to bring down maintenance costs. Those maintenance costs will then be forwarded toward the farmers and those who use the hopper cars. That represents a $50 million saving for Canada's farmers.

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I know the work that has been done by our hon. colleague and her husband, and all the work that was done when he was president of the federation. I was also there as one of the cheerleaders as a town councillor to push for this, so it is not just one member of the House who pushed for it. It is many people in a lot of communities in a lot of town halls and in places across this country who want to support initiatives that give results.

Initiatives that give results are the ones that we spoke about before, initiatives for instance, whereby the government of Ontario, the municipal-regional organization in Toronto, all support public transit. We should be continuing, collectively speaking, to push for initiatives such as those so that we can not only better the health of Canadians but increase their quality of life. Those are the things that count.

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2006]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My colleague is asking me what we have done. I can tell him about my personal experience as a citizen who is concerned about the environment.

I was talking earlier about my experience at the Société de transport de l'Outaouais. Each day, 365 days a year, residents of the Outaouais region use the bridges to go to work in Ottawa. By implementing reserved traffic lanes, we have eliminated the equivalent of over 20,000 cars a year.

These are concrete measures. Unfortunately, the previous government did not support concrete measures. I see the member nodding in agreement. However, if our credits and incentives succeed in convincing people to use public transit to go to work, I think it will be good for everybody.

I congratulate the member on the work he has done. I believe it is important and we must continue.