Michael Savage

[Business of Supply, May 28th, 2008]

Mr. Chair, I am pleased to participate tonight. I will be sharing my time with my great colleague from Ottawa South and my dynamic new colleague from Vancouver Quadra. I thank the minister for mentioning the score in the hockey game. I think that is apropos. I will just add that both of those Pittsburgh goals have been scored by Sydney Crosby from Coal Harbour.

I would like to ask the minister a simple question referring back to a black day in history, September 25, 2006, when he announced $2 billion in cuts. Does he recall how much he cut from literacy in that cut?

[Rae Austin, May 28th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, my community lost a special man this past week. Rae Austin died on May 22 after a short illness.

Rae was born in Tuft's Cove in 1936, was a graduate of Dartmouth High and StFX and began working for CMHC, which took him and his family to Toronto, Ottawa and Thunder Bay.

He returned to Nova Scotia and continued his career as a public servant serving under the dynamic and progressive minister of housing, Scott McNutt, in the reforming government of Gerald Regan. He became a very successful businessman and a well-known developer.

He enjoyed politics and ran for federal political office in 1980 when he came very close to wresting the federal seat from long-time MP and senator, Mike Forestall.

Most important, was Rae's dedication to his family. He leaves behind his wife of 47 years, Joan, as well as his daughters, Raeanne, Catherine, Corrine and Sarah.

Last night in Dartmouth we remembered a dedicated citizen, a reforming public servant, a man with a big smile and a bigger heart. Nova Scotia lost one of the best in Rae Austin.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 26th, 2008]

With regard to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, for each year the Program has been in operation, broken down by province, what is: (a) the total number of workers admitted under the Program; (b) the average processing time for successful applications; (c) the total number of workers admitted under the Program for jobs in the oil and gas sector; and (d) the average processing time for workers admitted under the Program for jobs in the oil and gas sector?

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 26th, 2008]

With regard to the recent decision to discontinue the Millennium Scholarship Foundation when it expires: (a) what is the reasoning behind this decision; (b) who was consulted internally within the Deparment of Human Resources and Social Development, within other federal departments and agencies, in addition to any stakeholders, regarding this decision; (c) how does the government intend to reconcile the issue of compatibility between the Quebec student assistance program, that is based on need, and the new federal grant program, that is based on income; (d) how will this impact on the government of Quebec's practice of opting out with full compensation; (e) was this issue of compatibility contemplated prior to the announcement of the 2008 federal budget and, if so, how; and (f) on what exact date did the government decide not to renew the Millennium Scholarship Foundation?

[Committees of the House, May 16th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

[Post-Secondary Education, May 16th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, last week I asked about the decision of the U.K. government to cancel the Commonwealth scholarships for Canadian students.

We know that the government spends a lot of time trying to shape and distort the news, but there must be somebody over there who reads it now and then, yet the parliamentary secretary to the minister responsible for higher education told the House last week she had never even heard of the scholarships. Last night the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and to the Minister of International Cooperation admitted his government was not even consulted and now it is scrambling madly to make up for this snub.

The government needs to stand up strongly for Canadian students. When is it going to start?

[May 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged that the Government of Canada is at least now aware of this situation. I asked the question two days after it appeared in the Globe and Mail and the parliamentary secretary to the minister responsible for post-secondary education knew nothing about it. I appreciate the fact that the government is scrambling, recognizing that it was caught asleep at the wheel on this one.

I ask my colleague in all sincerity: How is it that Canada was shut out? Who was asleep at the wheel? Who neglected their responsibility on the Commonwealth scholarships?

[May 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, last week I asked a question in the House about the Commonwealth scholarships and the answer I received was, to say the least, unsatisfactory. The reason I asked the question is that the government of Britain has indicated that Canadian students will no longer be eligible for the Commonwealth scholarships. It is cause for concern.

People know the government is an embarrassment in its conduct of foreign affairs. The Prime Minister says on occasion that Canada is back in international affairs. I think what he means is Canada is back of the pack in international affairs.

We have the current Minister of Foreign Affairs embarrassing Canada by calling for the ouster of the governor of Kandahar. At the same time that the chief of defence staff was saying he was doing a great job, we were interfering in the internal affairs of another country.

We have another embarrassment on the issue of capital punishment. The Conservative government is overturning a long held position of the Government of Canada that we would oppose capital punishment for Canadian citizens abroad.

The member for Calgary West once called Nelson Mandela a terrorist, and compared China to Nazi Germany.

We have Canada now apparently backing away from seeking membership in the UN Security Council because it is afraid it will not win the seat.

I could go on and on, but let me highlight the Commonwealth scholarships. These are prestigious scholarships that were set up for the Commonwealth nations by the government of Great Britain. Many great Canadian scholars have been the beneficiary of them, including the current Governor of the Bank of Canada, the Clerk of the Privy Council and many others.

We have had in Canada a great history of international champions: Nobel Peace Prize winner Lester Pearson; Mr. Trudeau; Mr. Clark; Mr. Mulroney and the work he did in South Africa; Jean Chrétien and the work he did for Africa; and the current member for LaSalle—Émard.

This decision by the government of Great Britain was called a slap in the face to Canada by Jennifer Humphries, the vice-president of membership and scholarships at the Canadian Bureau for International Education. It is of great concern. Jim Fox, the president, said, “We're hoping our government will put pressure on the U.K. to reinstate the program”.

When I asked the question last week, the answer I got from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development was, “Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of the scholarships”. That is unbelievable when we consider the importance that these scholarships have held for Canadian students.

I am pleased to see that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs is here. Canada has been given a slap in the face by our longest and closest ally, Great Britain, which said that Canadians will no longer be eligible for the Commonwealth scholarships.

My question is simple. Will Canada stand up for Canadian students? Will Canada stand up for Canadian inclusion in the Commonwealth scholarships?

[Atlantic Canada, May 12th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Defence are in Halifax today.

Now those are two guys with a long history and a lot to answer for in Atlantic Canada.

A “culture of defeat” is the way the Prime Minister described Atlantic Canada and Atlantic Canadians.

However, Atlantic Canadians are not being defeated by the Prime Minister. Let us take the member for Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley who stood up to the Prime Minister and showed hm that Atlantic Canadians were not as easily defeated as the Prime Minister would like.

Tracy Parsons, soon to be our Liberal candidate in that riding, would agree. She is yet another former Progressive Conservative who sees nothing progressive about the Conservatives.

The governing Conservatives do not understand Atlantic Canada, as highlighted by the trashing of the Atlantic accord and the frantic cover-up, trying to convince Nova Scotians that this deal was as good as the Atlantic accord.

We want what we had: the Atlantic accord. In fact, when the next election rolls around, the words “culture of defeat” may only apply to Conservative candidates in Atlantic Canada.

[Post-Secondary Education, May 9th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, we are not talking about Canadian government spending. We are talking about the spending of another government that always included Canada and specifically the Commonwealth scholarships.

Many of Canada's most influential leaders in industry, public service and education have benefited from these. The government was asleep while Canada was shut out again. How does this happen?

Can the minister tell us when he was made aware of this situation, which will have a dramatic and negative impact on Canadian students and more importantly, what will he do to stand up for Canada and the Commonwealth scholarships for Canadian students?