Leon Benoit

[Interparliamentary Delegations, May 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have two reports today.

First, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian Parliamentary Delegation to the Visit of the Science and Technology Committee and the Economics and Security Committee Sub-Committee on East-West Economic Co-Operation and Convergence in Lithuania.

Second, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian Parliamentary Delegation to the 70th Rose-Roth Seminar in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[Petitions, May 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to present, on behalf of my constituents from Vegreville—Wainwright, a petition which notes that the Conservative government was elected with a strengthened mandate to govern this country through the economic crisis; that the opposition are looking to impose an unstable, unelected coalition of Liberal, NDP and separatists; and that Canadians have the democratic right to choose their government and not to have a surprise prime minister chosen through an unseemly and undemocratic backroom deal.

The petitioners, therefore, call upon this House to oppose any political arrangement that would replace Her Majesty's democratically elected government without first consulting Canadians through a democratic election.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, May 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have two reports to table today. Pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation in the standing committee meeting of the Secretaries of Delegations held in The Hague, Netherlands from March 28 to March 30, 2008.

Pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation in the standing committee meeting of the Secretaries of Delegations held in Vilnius, Lithuania from April 4 to April 6, 2009.

[Energy Efficiency Act, May 6th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I listened to the member give her presentation. She made some comments on the Alberta oil sands. Those comments were very negative towards the oil sands.

I do not think she has recognized the really significant improvement in the environmental record of the companies involved in the oil sands, the significant restoration that has already been done on some of the land that has been mined in the past.

Clearly the member either does not recognize or is not particularly concerned about the fact that in her constituency live thousands of workers who depend on the oil sands for their jobs.

She cannot have it both ways. Either she wants the oil sands to continue to develop and therefore for those constituents of hers to continue to have their jobs, or she wants the oil sands to be stopped and is willing to see those jobs lost.

It cannot be both ways. Progress in the oil sands cannot be stopped while still maintaining jobs. It simply does not work.

I wonder how the member responds to her constituents whose livelihoods depend upon development in the oil sands, and as I have said, development that has become more and more environmentally friendly as time goes on?

[Petitions, May 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to present a petition wherein the petitioners note that on October 14, 2008, Canadian voters provided the Conservative Party with a clear and strengthened mandate to lead Canada through the current economic crisis.

The petitioners note that the opposition was looking to impose an unstable, unelected Liberal-NDP-separatist coalition. During the said election, they promised that in fact they would not do that.

These Canadians note that they, as voters, have the democratic right to choose who will govern them and not have a surprise prime minister chosen through an unseemly, undemocratic backroom deal.

[Committees of the House, April 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have two reports from the Standing Committee on Natural Resources.

I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources in relation to the main estimates for the fiscal period ending March 31, 2010.

As well, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. In accordance with the order of reference of Thursday, April 2, your committee has considered Bill S-3, An Act to amend the Energy Efficiency Act, and agreed on Tuesday, April 28 to report it without amendment.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, April 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have two reports to present today.

Pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation in the visit of the political committee, the Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Relations, held in Warsaw, Poland, September 17 to 19, 2008.

As well, Pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation to the visit to the United States by the Defence and Security Committee, held in the United States of America, January 26 to 30.

[Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, April 22nd, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I listened to the member's presentation and found it interesting. I would like to ask the hon. member a couple of questions.

First, I think the hon. member is opposing this agreement mostly because of a concern over corporate responsibility. Does the member not agree that Canadian corporations, as a group, are the most responsible corporations in the world when it comes to how they care for their investments and operations in other countries?

Second, the member seemed to dismiss the issue of an increase in export in farm commodities, particularly in grains, as a result of this agreement. The increase may be a small amount, but with ever-increasing protectionism in the United States, Canada is finding it more and more difficult to move farm commodities in particular to the United States. Any other market we can get is important.

I have a 3,000 acre farm. I rent it out on a crop share basis, but I have my share of the crop from those acres to sell. Even if it is only a relatively small amount of extra market we may gain from this agreement, to me that is important. If that is my grain, a portion of my grain or my neighbour's grain, it is important. How can the member so easily dismiss this increase in market that we would see as a result of this agreement?

[Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, April 22nd, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I listened to the member give these anti-free trade rants now for years. In fact, I chaired the trade committee for about a year and a half when he was on the committee and he is against all free trade agreements.

The member has to answer to his constituents. When he is standing in his constituency with two friends, the three of them standing there, if he cancels out on these free trade agreements, one of those people will lose his or her job. He will need to make the decision on which one of the three of them will lose their job if we cancel out on these free trade agreements. That is the absolute reality and the truth of the situation. Thirty per cent of all of our jobs in Canada result from NAFTA, the free trade agreement with the United States alone. These other agreements add more jobs.

The hon. member claims to be speaking on behalf of workers from time to time. I know that may not be true but he claims to be. How will he explain to those workers why one in three should lose their job because of his anti-free trade stand? He has to explain that to his constituents, and good luck to him in doing so.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, April 22nd, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I have two reports to table today.

First, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation in the visit to Afghanistan by committee officers, held in Afghanistan, October 23 to 26, 2008.

Second, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation in the visit by the defence and security committee, held in Australia, September 22 to 26, 2008.