Mark Warawa

[Trinity Western University, March 23rd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to offer my congratulations to Trinity Western University in my riding of Langley, British Columbia, which has been honoured by Maclean's magazine as one of Canada's top three universities.

In the National Survey of Student Engagement and the Canadian University Survey Consortium study, Trinity Western University was at the front of the pack.

As a Trinity alumnus, I could not be more proud. Out of 56 universities, the school ranked first for offering an enriched educational experience. Seventy-four per cent of Trinity's senior student population evaluated the experience as excellent. It was also ranked second in following best practices and offering a supportive campus environment.

Trinity has surpassed all other universities in Canada in all categories. I congratulate President Jonathan Raymond, the faculty and the student body of Trinity Western University for their outstanding achievements. Go Spartans go.

[Petitions, March 19th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, my other petition deals with human trafficking.

The petitioners say that the trafficking of women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation should be condemned. They say that it is the duty of Parliament to protect the most vulnerable members of society from harm, those from being victims of human trafficking.

They request Parliament to amend the Criminal Code to include a minimum punishment of imprisonment for the term of five years for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of 18.

[Petitions, March 19th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present from my riding of beautiful Langley.

The first petition deals with those who counsel people to commit suicide. The petitioners say that people who experience depression and mental illness need to be protected by the law. They say that predators are both encouraging and counselling suicide without penalty through the Internet.

They call upon the House of Commons to enable prosecution of those who encourage or counsel someone to commit suicide.

[Science and Technology, March 17th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we support good science and science research.

The member may not be aware, but Canada is part of the Copenhagen accord. We have worked with our international partners and with our provinces. We have moved on now with a new global agreement. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Environment, we are making Canada proud. We are acting. Why will that member not support good environmental legislation?

[Environment Canada, March 17th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that his allegations are false. He also knows that Environment Canada has the same media relations policy as every other department across the government.

Climate change science is valuable and important work that this government supports. We will continue to support good science.

[March 16th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I do not think the member is being fair. I have known the hon. minister for a number of years. I was her parliamentary secretary in environment for many years. She is very bright, very committed and one of the best ministers this House has ever had.

She said very clearly to the member that she finds the expenditures unacceptable. The Minister of Public Works and Government Services has asked her deputy minister to review these expenditures to ensure taxpayers' dollars are being used correctly. She has asked for an independent third party, and one has been appointed to carry out this task. The Auditor General is aware of the direction the minister is taking, and she is happy with it.

The member needs to support the House, be an active and positive participant and work with the minister.

[March 16th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, as the member well knows, the minister has answered this question, and, like all Canadians, we find the expenditures unacceptable. What has the minister done about it?

As a first step, the minister instructed her officials to undertake an immediate review of expenditures in question. Her second step was to ask for a broader examination of the expenditures related to SNC-Lavalin ProFac. This broader examination will be carried out by an independent third party. Her third step was to undertake a review of the SNC revenue expenditure and transaction controls. That is under way and will be completed later this year. This review will also be conducted by a third party.

Canadians can be assured that this government takes the spending of taxpayer dollars very seriously. The minister has taken the necessary actions to ensure that the expenditures surrounding this contract are thoroughly scrutinized.

[March 16th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, budget 2010 includes new investments totalling $190 million to support a cleaner, more sustainable environment. These investments serve to enhance our strategy of combatting climate change.

It is obvious that the statements made by the NDP environment critic are not based on fact. At a time of overall fiscal restraint, the commitment of resources by this government to support environmental programs and to sustain existing ones is encouraging.

Canadians can rest assured that the environment remains a key priority to this government. Our climate change strategy is top of mind and we are taking action in many different ways to strengthen it.

It is high time the NDP realized that it is not the only political party that is a good steward of our environment. If the member really cares about the environment she would support the programs that we are implementing in part of this budget and stop voting against these good environmental programs.

[March 16th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, it is clear that the member has not done her homework. The hon. member claimed the budget shows no commitment to clean electricity. The Speech from the Throne, on the other hand, for budget 2010, reiterated our government's commitment to ensuring Canada is a clean energy superpower.

The budget includes new funding totals of $190 million to support a cleaner, more sustainable environment as part of this government's overall climate change strategy. These new resources build on the important ongoing investments initiated under Canada's economic action plan to help make our economy more sustainable and strengthen Canada's position as a clean energy superpower.

The budget includes $1 billion over five years for the clean energy fund in support of clean energy research, development and demonstration projects, including carbon capture and storage. It also includes $1 billion over five years for the green energy infrastructure fund for priorities such as clean energy generation and transmission infrastructure and carbon transmission and storage infrastructure.

Canada's electricity supply mix is already one of the cleanest in the world, with three-quarters of our supply emitting no greenhouse gases. We are committed to building on this strength and leading the world in clean energy generation as part of our overall climate change strategy.

The member claimed the budget shows no commitment to greening our economy. That is not true either. This budget has allocated $100 million for the next generation renewable power initiative to support the advancement of clean technology in the forestry sector, making this industry more sustainable and competitive. It will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change by supporting the development, commercialization and implementation of clean energy technologies in the forestry sector.

In addition, almost $3 million has been allocated for consultation by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency with aboriginal communities around green initiatives. Budget 2010 also includes an expansion of the accelerated capital cost allowance for clean energy generation equipment. This facilitates private investments in technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

I would like to remind my NDP colleague of Canada's economic action plan, which she unfortunately voted against. Budget 2010 builds on the important work initiated by our action plan to support a cleaner, more sustainable environment and help Canada meet our global climate change objectives. This includes the clean energy fund for clean energy research and the green infrastructure fund for green energy generation and transmission infrastructure, as well as the carbon transmission and storage infrastructure that I mentioned earlier.

In addition, budget 2010 extends our economic action plan with a commitment of an additional $80 million to the eco-energy retrofit homes program, helping Canadians save money while making their homes more energy efficient.

Finally, the member claimed that the government slashed funding to the environment department. Again, that is simply not correct.

In fact, the government just tabled in Parliament the main estimates outlining the government's spending plans of over $1 billion for the fiscal year 2010-11. While it gives a snapshot of the annual planned spending for the department, these main estimates outline more planned spending at the beginning of the year in the environment department than any main estimates tabled in Parliament in recent years.

The member needs to do her homework, and she also needs to vote for this budget.

[Criminal Code, March 16th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, the seniors that the hon. member just spoke of are not trash. They are treasures.

I would like to state from the outset that I do not support Bill C-384 which proposes the legalization of physician assisted suicide and euthanasia under specific conditions.

The bill raises a number of serious concerns and I propose to outline the ones that I consider the most troubling.

First, Bill C-384 is too broad in terms of its scope. Bill C-384 proposes to amend the Criminal Code to provide an exemption not only for the offence of assisted suicide but also for the offence of murder. These amendments would represent a substantial change in the current state of law on a matter that touches life and death.

The proposed legalization of medical euthanasia and assisted suicide would not only apply to terminally ill patients but also to persons who suffer from severe physical or mental pain without a prospect of relief.

Therefore, under the bill, persons who suffer from depression could request that a doctor help them to commit suicide. They could also request that the doctor carry out the act itself that would cause their death.

When I articulated earlier that Bill C-384 is too broad in its scope, this concern applies to both the fact that it would permit physician assisted suicide and euthanasia, and to the fact that it would allow a vast array of persons to make a request to a doctor for assisted death.