Mario Silva

[Petitions, May 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to submit a petition signed by many people across the country. The petitioners call upon Parliament and the government to immediately halt the deportation of undocumented workers and to find a humane and logical solution to their situation.

[Aboriginal Affairs, May 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, during the election the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development wrote to the territorial premiers about the need for a strategy for northern development, stating, “an effective environmental plan, balancing ecological protection with economic prosperity”.

Communities in the Mackenzie Valley are working to mitigate the impact of development by protecting key wildlife sites. How does the government plan to deliver on the commitments to complete the system of protected areas and land use plans in the Mackenzie Valley?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear about one thing. I am supportive of our mission and our troops, but the mission we spoke about in the House a little over five weeks ago was to end in February 2007.

The government is asking for a new and expanded mission without even consulting Canadians from coast to coast to coast. As a member of Parliament I am insulted by the fact that we have only six hours to deal with such an important issue as this, an issue that we should be discussing with Canadians and receiving their opinion. My own constituents have not been consulted about this expanded mandate. I am frustrated that, given the limited time, I will not even be able to speak on this issue but only be able to get my views across by asking a question. It is extremely frustrating.

The government is asking for a blank cheque. The Prime Minister likes to talk about the Dutch, but the Dutch had 10 months to debate this issue. The Prime Minister is giving us six hours to debate the merits of this important and critical expanded mission.

I feel that my rights and those of my constituents have not been heard. I feel sad about this particular debate. The Prime Minister talked about the fact that this was requested by NATO. We do not know that NATO has requested it. Has there been a letter from NATO? Has anybody seen a letter from NATO? There has been no request.

The member said he was concerned about our image internationally, but we are being laughed at by the fact that we are not respecting the Kyoto protocol and not going forward on it.

I am curious to find out where the member wants to go in terms of our commitment. Does he not feel that we should have a proper debate instead of just a six hour debate?

[Petitions, May 17th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition signed by many that calls on Parliament to take immediate action, with the help of Canada's allies, using all means necessary to increase intervention efforts regarding the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, so as to actively prevent the ongoing crisis there.

Today we learned that the Security Council voted unanimously yesterday to begin the process of establishing a UN chapter 7 peacekeeping force to end the slaughter of civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan. We, as parliamentarians and of course as government, have to act on this very immediate crisis that is taking place. Also we should send peacekeeping forces and in fact work with the International Criminal Court to arrest the 51 Sudanese individuals so far identified as being responsible for crimes against humanity and other gross human rights abuses.

[National Colorectal Cancer Month Act, May 17th, 2006]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-297, An Act to designate the month of March as National Colorectal Cancer Month.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table a private member's bill that calls on the government to recognize the month of March as National Colorectal Cancer Month. This year alone roughly 20,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer. An estimated 8,500 will die from this terrible disease. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer and the third most common form of cancer among men and women.

I had the opportunity to attend a breakfast lecture hosted by the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada. I would like to commend the organization for its hard work in promoting the cause and I would like to extend special congratulations to Alain Gourd, Barry Stein and Garry Sears for their timeless efforts. On their behalf and on behalf of thousands of Canadians, I would like to introduce this bill, an act to designate the month of March as National Colorectal Cancer Month.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I too share many of the concerns of the member opposite. I had this debate when I was on city council in Toronto. I was one of the people who was very supportive of banning pesticides. We do not yet know the full extent of the dangers of pesticides to our health, environment and drinking water, so we have to be extremely proactive.

Some of the initiatives in the past tried to educate people about the dangers, but we know very well that has not worked. I would certainly be supportive of a motion being put forward to limit pesticides or put some measures in place that would in fact ban the usage of pesticides in our country.

I am the vice-chair of the environment committee and right now it is looking at the CEPA legislation, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which deals with toxic substances that enter the environment and have immediate and long term harmful effects on the environment or human health.

If somehow this motion does not carry in the House, would she be in favour of moving this to the committee or pushing this forward to see if we could put some of those elements into the CEPA legislation as we have a statutory mandate to review it this year?

[Petitions, May 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I rise once again on an issue that is quite important to me and to many people across the country, which is the issue of undocumented workers. I have a petition signed by many.

The petitioners call upon the government and Parliament to immediately halt the deportation of undocumented workers and to find a humane and logical solution to their problem.

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, Kyoto is certainly one of these international protocols that is so important for our planet and humanity. It is sometimes sad to hear the comments of the government. It talks about wanting a made in Canada solution. For years we have talked about the fact that what we really want is for governments and people around the world to think globally and act locally. Instead, we have a situation where in fact we are thinking just nationally and acting if we can. I think that is very sad for the state of our planet.

We see so many important programs that are in fact in jeopardy of being starved to death. It seems that the intention of the government is that we will in fact have no Kyoto plan and also no action plan when dealing with climate change, with CO₂ emissions and with the other need, the need for the education of the people of this country about the importance of the environment.

I also want to thank my dear colleague for his speech. But I am a bit worried considering the present situation concerning the Kyoto protocol and the federal government proposal.

I am sad and very concerned that the Bloc, which has always been in favour of the Kyoto protocol, gave a blank cheque to the government, which is in the process of eliminating several very important environmental programs.

Maybe I want—

[Petitions, May 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition stating that undocumented workers play a vital role in Canada's economy, are usually employed in highly skilled jobs and needed professions and that their removal will significantly damage Canada's economy. The petitioners state that many undocumented workers have built homes and lives in Canada and that many have Canadian born children who would be unfairly burdened by the deportation of their parents. They go on to state that many undocumented workers' lack of citizenship stems from bureaucratic barriers as opposed to lack of desire or eligibility for Canadian citizenship.

Therefore the petitioners call upon Parliament to immediately halt the deportation of undocumented workers and to find a humane and logical solution to their situation.

[The Budget, May 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, there definitely is a difference in vision here. It seems that the Conservatives' vision is being shaped by the neo-cons of the Republican right who have come to Canada to tell them what to do and how we should be running our country. I guess the made in Canada solution is always an American solution to them. As proud Canadians, we should reject some of those very neo-con positions that have been enunciated by the Republicans in the U.S., particularly their anti-choice and anti-gay views. This type of vision is not something that Canada should be welcoming. It is unfortunate that this is the road map that they would like us to follow for the rest of Canada.

In fact, we in our party were building something with Canadians, something that unfortunately has been destroyed. Our child care plan was worked on with our partners across the country, with our provincial counterparts, with the centres, and with Canadian families. It was a workable plan that I think really was essential to create the social building blocks necessary to this country for its future. Unfortunately, that has been destroyed.