Michael Savage

[Petitions, April 5th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to table a petition from residents of my community who want to voice their concerns about the government plan, or lack of plan, for child care. Among other things, they indicate that 84% of parents with children are both in the workforce, that 70% of women with children under the age of six are employed, that a taxable $100 a month allowance amounts to a child benefit and will not establish new child care spaces, and that child care is an everyday necessity. They call upon the Prime Minister and the government to honour the early learning and child care agreement in principle and commit to fund it for a full five years.

[Paul Davis, April 5th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I often speak about the great honour accorded me to represent a riding with a large military population. Today, as our men and women undertake a dangerous mission in Afghanistan, we are more mindful than ever of the sacrifices they make on our behalf. When a life is lost in the pursuit of peace, we all feel that loss.

No one feels that loss more profoundly than the family members of these heroes. On March 2, Corporal Paul Davis was killed while on patrol outside Kandahar. Shortly after hearing the devastating news, I spoke with his father, my good friend Jim Davis, of Bridgewater. In spite of his grief, he affirmed his absolute commitment to and support of our mission in Afghanistan and our military personnel on the ground. He addressed them the same day of his son's death saying, “I want them to know I'm 100% behind all of them”.

These words of a grieving father remind us that the men and women of our armed forces stand up for us and that we should stand up for them and support their work to build a better and more peaceful world.