Marlene Jennings

[Black History Month, February 25th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, every year to celebrate Black History Month the Government of Canada holds the Mathieu Da Costa Challenge. I am pleased to acknowledge the presence in the House of Commons today of the winners for 2005.

The 11 winners in the 11 to 17 age group for the best drawings are Peter Millman, Sarah Robert and Tae-Kyung Kim and for the best essays in French Benoît Beaulieu, Roman Blomme, Jean-Daniel Bergeron and Ariane Brun.

For the best essays in English, the winners are: Julia Spears, Kristi Martin, Varman Koneswaran and Kaitlin Wood.

Mr. Speaker, congratulations to all of them.

[Seniors, February 24th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the government for increasing funding to the New Horizons for Seniors program from $10 million yearly to $25 million yearly by the year 2007.

This program promotes our seniors' continued involvement in their community by keeping them active and socially engaged. The projects, which are funded, harness their skills and experience to benefit other seniors and vulnerable groups.

The Liberal government is aware of the great debt we owe our seniors. They survived the Depression, they went to war to fight for our freedom and they built the Canada of today.

Now it is our turn to be there for our seniors.

[Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, February 18th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member on the other side might have a bit more credibility if she would admit that the NDP government in B.C. made its independent choices as to where it would put its money. It was responsible for any of the problems that now exist in terms of various social health programs.

Why is the hon. member not prepared to admit that the provincial NDP government was responsible for the problems in the health care system? That government was a disaster. Why will she not admit that?

[Paul de Monchaux, February 18th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, today, I wish to congratulate a Quebec sculptor, Paul de Monchaux. He was recently chosen to create a sculpture in honour of Sir Winston Churchill, who, in a contest organized by the BBC, was identified as the most famous Briton of all time.

Mr. de Monchaux's sculpture, called Song , was unveiled in Parliament's historic Westminster Hall on Wednesday, February 9, 2005. It is the first contemporary sculpture ever to be displayed there.

Paul de Monchaux is a former lad from Lachine. It is wonderful that he has been chosen to create the sculpture celebrating the greatest Briton of all time. He is, in my view, a fine example of Lachine's great artistic heritage.

Congratulations to Paul de Monchaux for his remarkable work.

[Supply, February 8th, 2005]

No, Mr. Speaker, I would like my vote to be recorded as a vote in favour of this motion.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 14th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[Government Response to Petitions, December 14th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 14 petitions.

[Order in Council Appointments, December 14th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, a number of order in council appointments recently made by the government.

[Université du Québec à Montréal, December 6th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Université du Québec à Montréal is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. Apparently, I am the first female member of Parliament to have graduated with a law degree from UQAM. I am proud to take this wonderful opportunity to recognize the contribution of this university to the transformation and growth of Quebec society.

Since its creation in 1969, UQAM has awarded over 200,000 degrees. This dynamic and innovative university, founded on the values of commitment, openness and accessibility that continue to guide it today, favours an interdisciplinary approach to education. It values research and creation, leads the way in a wide variety of fields and encourages its graduates to get involved in their community.

I want to congratulate my alma mater and wish it a long and successful future.

[Food and Drugs Act, December 1st, 2004]

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the member for Mississauga--Streetsville, given the question that he was just asked about the extension of the patents, is the issue of Internet pharmacies equally important for generic drugs?

It is my understanding that one needs a prescription for patent medicines and also for generic drugs that are legally on the market. The issue of the extension of a patent does not have anything to do with the bill, if I am correct.

I would like to hear from the member on this.