Massimo Pacetti

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 24th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to be recorded as having abstained from the previous vote, if possible.

[Festival of Nations, October 24th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on July 14, I attended the first ever Festival of Nations in René Goupil Park in Saint-Michel. The event was organized by Mon Resto Saint-Michel, an organization active in my riding, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel.

I would like to congratulate the organizers of this wonderful initiative, which helps people make connections and brings communities closer together.

I would also like to thank the artists from various ethnic backgrounds who put on an excellent musical and dance performance.

Canada is known throughout the world as a paragon of multiculturalism. Now, with events like this one, Saint-Michel will serve as a model of multiculturalism to the rest of Canada.

This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate that regardless of our backgrounds, together, we are creating a magnificent multi-ethnic country.

[Petitions, June 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of David Marshall of Cornwall, Ontario, I would like to present a petition on the government's broken promise regarding income trusts.

Mr. Marshall remembers that the Prime Minister was bragging about his so-called commitment to accountability when he stated that there is no greater fraud than a promise not kept.

The petitioners remind the Prime Minister that he promised never to tax income trusts, but that he shamelessly broke his promise by imposing a punitive tax of 31.5%, which wiped out $25 billion that more than two million Canadians, mainly seniors, worked so hard to save for their retirement.

Therefore, the petitioners are calling on the government to do three things: first, to admit that the decision to tax income trusts was based on a flawed methodology and incorrect assumptions; second, to apologize to those who were unfairly harmed by this broken promise; and third, to repeal the punitive 31.5% tax on income trusts.

[Italian-Canadian Recognition and Restitution Act, June 19th, 2007]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-461, An Act to recognize the injustice that was done to persons of Italian origin through their “enemy alien” designation and internment during the Second World War, and to provide for restitution and promote education on Italian-Canadian history.

Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a bill entitled “an act to recognize the injustice that was done to persons of Italian origin through their “enemy alien” designation and internment during the Second World War, and to provide for restitution and promote education on Italian-Canadian history”.

The history is too long to explain at this time. It will be done during second reading but during the second world war immigrants and Canadians of Italian origin were incarcerated and designated as enemy aliens. I would like to highlight that no charges were ever laid.

I tabled the same bill in 2005 prior to the Liberals signing a deal with the Italian community to create the well-known ACE program that would have righted these wrongs. However, in typical Conservative fashion, the government has denied the existence of the program and has decided not to honour the signed deal.

Therefore, I have no choice but to retable the bill. The bill is not unique or unprecedented in comparison to deals made with other cultural communities.

Why will the government not do the right thing and apologize to the Italian community for past injustices. Why does the government favour one community over another and pit Canadians against each other?

I thank the member for Eglinton—Lawrence for supporting the bill.

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

[Petitions, June 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition on the broken promise on income trusts. This petition is presented on behalf of Bruce Benson from Calgary, Alberta.

He recalls that the Prime Minister was bragging about his so-called commitment to accountability when he stated that there is no greater fraud than a promise not kept.

The petitioners remind the Prime Minister that he promised never to tax income trusts but that he shamelessly broke his promise by imposing a punitive tax of 31.5%, which wiped out $25 billion that more than two million Canadians, mainly seniors, worked so hard to save for their retirement.

Therefore, the petitioners are calling on the government to admit that the decision to tax income trusts was based on flawed methodology and incorrect assumptions, to apologize to those who were unfairly harmed by this broken promise and to repeal the punitive 31.5% tax on income trusts.

[Petitions, June 14th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I present this income trust broken promise petition on behalf of a petitioner who remembers the Prime Minister boasting about his apparent commitment to accountability when he said that the greatest fraud is a promise not kept.

The petitioners remind the Prime Minister that he promised never to tax income trusts, but he recklessly broke that promise by imposing a 31.5% punitive tax which permanently wiped out over $35 billion of hard-earned retirement savings of over two million Canadians, particularly seniors.

The petitioners therefore call upon the Conservative minority government to, first, admit that the decision to tax income trusts was based on flawed methodology and incorrect assumptions; second, to apologize to those who were unfairly harmed by this broken promise; and finally, to repeal the punitive 31.5% tax on income trusts.

[Petitions, June 13th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Jeff Malcolm of Woodstock, Ontario, I present a petition regarding the broken promise pertaining to income trusts.

Mr. Malcolm recalls that the Prime Minister was bragging about his so-called commitment to accountability when he stated that there is no greater fraud than a promise not kept.

The petitioners remind the Prime Minister that he promised never to tax income trusts but that he shamelessly broke his promise by imposing a punitive tax of 31.5%, which wiped out $25 billion that more than two million Canadians, mainly seniors, worked so hard to save for their retirement.

Therefore, the petitioners are calling on the government to do three things: first, to admit that the decision to tax income trusts was based on a flawed methodology and incorrect assumptions; second, to apologize to those who were unfairly harmed by this broken promise; third, to repeal the punitive 31.5% tax on income trusts.

[Alphonse-Pesant School, June 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on May 31, 2007, I was pleased to attend the closing ceremonies of the “Phonse dans la lecture” project organized by teachers and volunteers at the Alphonse-Pesant school in Saint-Léonard.

I was delighted to tour the exhibition and admire the remarkably creative and varied projects designed to encourage students and visitors to read more. The projects were created by students at this elementary school, which is known for encouraging such programs. Events like these make my proud to represent the riding of Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all participants, staff members, the principal and volunteers for this wonderful initiative.

I would also like to thank all our teachers, who are never given the recognition they deserve for stimulating a desire for learning among our young people.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2007, June 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I find it curious that the NDP is now worried about workers' retirement money when that party was not in favour of the Liberal amendment to no longer tax income trusts. We know that a high percentage of retirement funds and retirees who invest in income trust funds were hit with a $25 billion shot overnight on Halloween. Therefore, the NDP should not be asking questions about the retirement money of Canadians.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2007, June 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I find it odd that a Conservative member, a cabinet minister, would ask me a question that is specific to his own riding and how moneys are spent.

In the budget book there are some comparative numbers. I hope, especially since the member is the President of the Treasury Board, he understands where money is being spent. In this budget book there are comparative numbers where the government has said it spent between $130 billion to $140 billion on programs. I am hoping some of that money is accounted for reasonably and there are some controls in place.

I stated that most of the money was committed for programs. I do not think I have to tell the hon. member how that works, but the programs are developed. These are some of the arguments that we hear from the heritage minister when she says that the details for allocating the money for festivals have not been finalized yet and that is why the money cannot be allocated.

I am not sure where the hon. member is going with this, but in answer to his question, the money had been allocated for project green. The criteria on how the money was going to be spent were to be developed with the industry, environmental groups and stakeholders across Canada.