Mark Eyking

[Employment Insurance, May 31st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, when welders are laid off from a pipeline in northern Alberta because of weather, it is not their fault. When substitute teachers in Toronto have no work between classes, it is not their fault. When hotel and fish plant workers in Cape Breton are laid off at the end of the season, it is not their fault. These employees and their employers have paid into the EI system and contribute greatly to our economy.

Why is the Prime Minister calling them repeat offenders and destroying their livelihoods?

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2012]

Madam Speaker, I am very glad the member from Newfoundland has made those comments. We have communities in Cape Breton that are in a similar situation.

I have an interesting point when the Conservatives talk about full-time employment. We have welders from Newfoundland and Cape Breton who weld pipelines in Alberta. There are shutdowns there due to weather conditions or permafrost. Are the Conservatives saying that these welders have to build condos in Toronto now? Where are they going to get the jobs? How are we going to make our economy in Canada prosper with the pipelines and other things if we do not have these people available to come back and forth to work?

[International Cooperation, May 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, besides the $380 million cut for poor countries, the Conservative government has denied funding for most NGOs doing hard work in these areas. One of the most dedicated and effective among these groups is the Canadian Nurses Association. Through its global health partnership program, Canadian nurses have worked with groups in over 40 countries over 35 years. This year, the Conservatives have given them the axe.

If the nurses are not good enough, who is?

[Co-operatives, May 10th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, during the hard days of the depression in Cape Breton, Reverend Moses Coady started the co-op movement. This effort helped rural communities across the Maritimes and improved their economic and social circumstances.

The influence of the movement Moses led spread across Canada and around the world. Today, these co-operatives are celebrating 75 years of success. The Coady International Institute at St. François Xavier University is teaching this to many around the world.

I was a proud member of Bras d'Or Farmers Co-op and the United Farmers Co-op. In Cape Breton, there are now 14 co-ops along with 9,000 across Canada.

Recently, the Conservative government decided to cut this $4 million co-operative development program. Ironically, 2012 was also the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives.

These co-operatives provide stable employment for hundreds of families. At a time when rural Canada is struggling, the co-operative movement should be given due recognition and deserves much more support from the government.

[Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act, May 10th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, I have two questions on the budget. I see two big hits. The first is in Cape Breton, where the Conservatives are cutting jobs in Parks Canada and Veterans Affairs.

The other is with CIDA. There are over $380 million in cuts. Many NGOs will be unable to help Canadians develop and deliver aid. Recently I heard about the Canadian Nurses Association that does great work around the world with CIDA, and the Conservatives have cut its funding.

Where is a good part for Cape Breton or international aid in the budget? I do not see it.

[Atlantic Canada, May 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we all know what the Prime Minister's attitude toward Atlantic Canada is, and it is with disgust and anger that I give the one-year report card of what the Conservatives have done in Cape Breton.

Last fall, there was no money for our northern Cape Breton rink and 100 jobs were cut from Service Canada. This spring, we have 185 Parks Canada jobs affected and 10 Veterans Affairs jobs gone. This is on top of pickpocketing our seniors.

There is nothing left for the Conservatives to plunder. Should we hide our fiddles before they take our music?

[World Malaria Day, April 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to recognize World Malaria Day. Many may not know that malaria was one of the biggest causes of death during the construction of the Rideau Canal. It was widespread in the southern regions of Ontario up until the late 1800s.

Today malaria affects millions of people in over 100 countries. However, the spread of malaria is something we can control for very little cost. We in Canada have an ongoing responsibility to ensure that underdeveloped countries have access to control resources. One way is through specialized nets. In 2010, 145 million nets were distributed in Africa, up from 88.5 million the year before.

The World Health Organization's 2011 report states that there were 216 million cases of malaria in 2010, causing 655,000 deaths, and 86% of the victims were children.

Even though the report also shows progress in the fight against malaria, it is not over yet. I ask members, if they can, to please buy a net.

[Ethics, April 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister of CIDA fires employees, throws NGOs over the cliff and cuts $380 million of foreign aid, she is off blowing $5,000 on luxury rooms and chauffeurs. Think about what that money could do for someone surviving on $1 a day.

This is not the first time the posh minister has been caught, and Canadians know she is a repeat offender. How many times does a minister have to get caught before the Prime Minister fires her?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 23rd, 2012]

With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' (DFO) cuts to the Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP): (a) how many jobs will be lost due to this cut and in what regions will any and all job losses occur; (b) what, if any, similar resources are available to small and medium sized businesses in the aquaculture industry for research and development; (c) what has been the total budget allocated for the ACRDP over each of the past ten years; (d) what is the total breakdown of all money spent by DFO on the ACRDP over the past ten years; (e) what companies has the ACRDP worked with and where are they located; and (f) what tangible benefits have arisen from research done by the ACRDP?

[Questions on the Order Paper, April 23rd, 2012]

With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' (DFO) planned modernization of fisheries management: (a) how many jobs will be lost and/or relocated due to the move to an online web-based license renewal and payment system; (b) what offices will be affected and where are they located; (c) does the government have a plan in place to assure that every fisher in every fishing community, including those who live in predominantly rural areas of the country, many of whom do not have access to high-speed internet, will have equal service standards; (d) what is the government’s plan to provide equal service to those fishers who do not and will not have access to the internet; (e) how will services be affected for those who do not and will not have access to the internet; and (f) what is the government’s plan to allow fishers who do not and will not have access to the internet to make the kinds of last minute changes in their files that could previously be made by telephone?