Marlene Jennings

[Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, June 6th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary on its 30th anniversary.

Created in 1978-79, the Coast Guard Auxiliary formalized a long tradition of volunteer maritime search and rescue that existed before Confederation.

Today the auxiliary is made up of close to 5,000 dedicated volunteers. Since 1978, its members have been credited with participation in 36,000 missions and saving 4,000 lives.

Canadians owe a lot to these good Samaritans of the sea. On behalf of the House, I wish to congratulate them on 30 years of dedicated service to Canadians.

[Foreign Affairs, June 4th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, when the documents were recovered, the Prime Minister should have been informed immediately. If the Prime Minister is telling the truth, there was a serious bungle.

Why are the people who made such a mistake the same ones who are conducting the investigation?

[Foreign Affairs, June 4th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the secret documents of the foreign affairs minister, exactly when, how and by whom were they returned to the government?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2008, June 3rd, 2008]

And $1.75 a vote. Don't forget that.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2008, June 3rd, 2008]

I apologize, Mr. Speaker.

What does that member, my colleague, think of such a party--

[Budget Implementation Act, 2008, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, it was very interesting to listen to my colleague.

I have one very short question. What do we call this party that has sat in the House for decades?

We have listened to the party positions of the previous Reform Party and then the Canadian Alliance, which now have morphed into the Conservative Party, and those parties made it clear they were opposed to women's equality rights and the rights of official languages minorities. The Conservatives had every intention of abolishing the court challenges program if and when they ever came to power. They did not support any kind of government financial support for early childhood development and child care spaces. They were opposed to the agreement that the then Liberal government signed with 10 provinces and 3 territorial governments. They were opposed to the Kyoto protocol.

Knowing that was the position of the then official opposition, that other party cooperated with the official opposition to bring down a government that clearly had shown it was in favour of the court challenges program and actually had brought it back to life and that also was in favour of early childhood and child care spaces, the Kyoto protocol and the action plan on official language minorities.

Then that other party turns around and says it is the party of the people. What do you think of that kind of party? I believe it is called the New Democratic Party--

[The Environment, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have just two words to say to him: income trusts.

The Minister of the Environment should admit that it is his government's lack of vision that is forcing the provinces to do his job for him.

Will the minister admit that his so-called pale green plan is inconsistent with international consensus? Does he not realize, as Premier Charest does, that it is better to lead the way rather than lag behind the international community?

[The Environment, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that British Columbia's carbon tax plan was consistent with the Conservative plan.

It is not very often that the Canadian government sends the two biggest provinces packing. Yet that is what the Minister of the Environment is doing by attacking Ontario and Quebec for their joint plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Is it too much for his pride to see Premier Charest and Premier McGuinty succeed where he has failed, that is, in putting forward a viable plan for the environment?

[Foreign Affairs, June 2nd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, we got two different versions from the only two statements the ex-foreign affairs minister has made. In one version he said he informed the Prime Minister on Monday; in the other version he said it was Sunday.

The government cannot have it both ways. Either the Conservatives want us to believe that all of the senior officials kept it from the Prime Minister for over 24 hours, or they are trying to cover something up. Either way, it stinks. Which is it?

[Foreign Affairs, June 2nd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday afternoon, Ms. Couillard returned the secret documents to the government. The documents had been left at her house by the former foreign affairs minister. Yet at noon the next day, we heard the Prime Minister say once again that he was not taking this matter seriously. How could he say that when his government had already known for nearly 24 hours that documents had been left at Ms. Couillard's house? Why was he still trying to cover up this matter the next day?