Mike Allen

[National Revenue, June 14th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of meeting with representatives of the New Brunswick Teachers' Federation a few weeks ago. We discussed the refund of the GST overpayment that the federation had made. The federation has asked that these funds be reimbursed.

I agree with the federation that this matter needs to be settled immediately.

Could the Minister of National Revenue tell us if she has made a decision about reimbursing these funds?

[Committees of the House, June 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's speech and his comments on this issue. It is quite a big issue in my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac, where we have a number of dairy producers.

The concern I have with the motion as it is presented right now goes to one of the points the member made in terms of standing up for the entire industry, which we are trying to do at the WTO. When we talk about putting this strictly around the concentrates, are we getting ourselves to a point where we are going to be raising motions and negotiating this one motion at a time over a period of two to three weeks? What kind of mess is that going to get us into? Or is it? I would ask the hon. member for his comment.

[Business of Supply, June 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I listened quite closely to the comments made by the hon. member. He continued on at great length about the commitments that the Liberals were going to make. I hope members will forgive me if I do not hold my breath waiting for any Liberal commitment that will ever be delivered after the last 13 years.

When we think about what has happened over the last 10 to 13 years, we had continual cuts to our health and social transfer, the dedicated education transfer was cut. While the Liberals might talk about this tuition thing, they was treating a symptom. In fact, one of the reasons tuition has gone up so much is because of deferred maintenance on the buildings at these universities.

Could the hon. member to comment how that band-aid would help and why he did not come up with real programs over the last number of years when the Liberals had an opportunity to deal with that deferred maintenance problem?

[Hockeyville, June 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, today is the final day of voting for this round in the CBC Kraft Hockeyville Canada challenge. I want to take this time to remind all the residents of Tobique—Mactaquac and people across Canada to support the hard-working team from Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, home of the official World Pond Hockey Championships.

Teams from all over the world come to Plaster Rock each year to experience the great hospitality on the Tobique River. This dedicated group of hockey fans has worked tirelessly to promote Plaster Rock, including raising money for a new arena that will open next hockey season.

Plaster Rock truly is Hockeyville. For more information in an easy link, visit www.mikeallenmp.ca. Good luck to Plaster Rock.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, June 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the hon. member's comments and would like to pick up on the last part of her speech, in which she talked about the environment. Certainly over the last number of years we have seen our emissions go up by 35%. Canada went into Kyoto without a plan, and every time we go into one of these things without a plan, things happen. We have not had integration between our energy policy and our environment policy, which is something we need to work toward. We heard in our natural resources committee this morning that the only way we could meet Kyoto would be to buy our way there.

Does the member not think that it is better to spend money on programs and technology right here in Canada, such as agriculture and alternative fuels? Does she not think that EnerGuide needs to be reviewed? Does she not think that any program where 50% of the money spent does not go to the end user should be looked at?

[Veterans, June 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, veterans and civilians who were subject to the spraying of agent orange and other chemicals at Gagetown, New Brunswick, know that, unlike the previous government, this government is committed to resolving this issue.

I know that many veterans and civilians in my riding of Tobique--Mactaquac are very concerned about the outcome of this case. While reports out this week examine what may have happened, we know there is still work to be done. Can the Minister of Veterans Affairs update the House on the issue of agent orange in Gagetown?

[Business of Supply, May 30th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for taking us on a stroll down memory lane. Some of the comments and some of the questions he brought up are not even addressed in the motion. There is so much missing from this motion.

Having said that and putting that aside, there are a couple of things, item (a) and item (c), which I could probably go along with in the motion. Item (c) is a particular concern of mine, being from a rural riding in New Brunswick, where the CBC has a significant impact on the rural programming as well as in the francophone area of the riding.

This is very important for the Acadians and the Brayons in the northwest region.

For my riding, that is a very important deal.

When it comes to item (b), does the hon. member really believe that we can guarantee success? Does he also believe that item (b) is really the only way to ensure access to capital that will allow our cultural sector to grow?

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, we all can be very concerned about the use of pesticides. We all want to ensure that in the future we have a safe environment for our families and our children as well.

I have a couple of concerns and then a question. I tend to concur with my colleague from Selkirk--Interlake with respect to what the ultimate objective of the motion is and where it might go in terms of the thin edge of the wedge.

I also have another concern. The member who spoke previously used words like “I think” when asked about her interpretation of the motion. In anything we introduce in the House, we should know where we want to go with it.

I also have a question on the apparent inconsistency in the clauses which states in paragraph (a)(v):

...customarily used by members of the public as visitors, licensees or in any other authorized capacity for recreation or entertainment, including but not limited to parks and sports grounds.

Then in (c) it says that it does not apply to control or destroy pests that could have caused an infestation. It either is or it is not. If there is infestation in a field, does that mean we can use the chemical or pesticide?

What is the hon. member's interpretation of that.

[Child Care, May 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in support of government's universal child care plan that will start flowing to parents in July. One of the elements of this plan is Canada's universal child care benefit. This benefit will provide all parents with $100 per month for each child under six, even those who do not or could ever hope to benefit from a nine to five daycare setting.

The benefit will help Canadian parents choose the kind of care that is best for their children because moms and dads are the real experts. Only they know what is right for the unique needs of their kids and their families. In contrast to the previous government's plan, which offered nothing in direct support to parents, our universal benefit will help all Canadian families in a real tangible way.

In my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac our program provides real help to shift workers and farmers as well as young professionals.

On January 23 Canadians voted change for parents. We offered it, they voted for it and we will deliver.

[Fisheries, April 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the past government, this government will keep its promise to salmon farmers in New Brunswick. The Liberals talked about it, but just like they did on other promises to New Brunswick, they failed to deliver the funding promised to salmon farmers.

Could the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans tell the House about the package being delivered to salmon farmers in New Brunswick?