Olivia Chow

[Petitions, November 16th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I have four petitions. The first petition is with regard to children's health and nutrition.

The petitioners note that the average 12-year-old boy is 14 pounds heavier today than in 1981, and that girls on average are 11 pounds heavier. They note that 26% of Canadian children aged 6 to 11 and 28% of teenagers are overweight or obese. Once children and teenagers get accustomed to eating unhealthy food, it is difficult to reverse this pattern.

Therefore, the petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to support my children's health and nutrition initiative, which would provide a daily nutritious meal of locally grown food to all school-aged children in Canada under the age of 18. This would combat childhood obesity, teach children about healthy eating and provide school-aged children a daily nutritious meal when they are in school.

[November 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the G20 summit budget was approved by the Conservatives with the help of their Liberal friends. The New Democrats certainly did not vote in favour of it.

I note that the G20 summit did not deal with climate change, or make poverty history, or help the children with AIDS who are having trouble in getting new drugs to prevent their death.

I quote a recent article in which the columnist talked about rights:

First it was the anarchists, who deserved the draconian measures. Then the protesters. Then anyone wearing black. Then anyone on Queen Street. Then anyone in a cab who casually said something nice to a police officer. Rights are not easily gained. Nor should they be easily withdrawn, for a weekend, for an evening, for a moment.

It is important for us to remember that 98% of the protesters were there peacefully--

[November 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, many months after the billion dollar Toronto G20 photo op, Torontonians are still waiting for answers from the government.

Businesses in downtown Toronto lost millions in damages and lost revenue, and they deserve answers and they deserve compensation.

Canadians saw the largest mass arrest in Canadian history, and nearly 900 of those 1,100 individuals taken into custody were never charged.

The Conservative billion-dollar security budget was supposed to prevent property damages and keep people's rights protected. Clearly this did not happen and Canadians deserve to know why.

No one has answered for the appalling conditions in the detention facility or for the systematic violations of many individuals' rights to counsel. The government still has not adequately explained the decision making behind the planning of the summits or who was calling the shots for on-the-ground security decisions.

More than 200 people were surrounded by police in a kettling, as they call it, at the corner of Queen and Spadina, right in the heart of my riding on Sunday, June 27. It forced many to spend hours in the pouring rain. Whether they were just walking by, whether they were buying pizza, whether they were minding their business or whether they were just ordinary pedestrians, they were not told what was happening or why they were being held. Some were peaceful protesters and many were just innocent bystanders.

The public needs to know who ordered this confinement and why these individuals' civil liberties were taken from them. Was it the former head of the OPP, who is now the Conservative candidate in Vaughan, or was it the RCMP or was it the Toronto police?

Respected journalist Steve Paikin described the events on Saturday night at the Toronto G20 in real time on Twitter, and his first-hand account demonstrated the heavy-handed conduct of police during a very peaceful gathering on the Esplanade.

He said, via his tweets:

cops tightening their perimeter. why? they are forcing something they don't need to force.... cops moving closer why? ... arresin people.... weapons are rubber bulles....

Why? Who gave this government the right to suspend our civil liberties for a weekend?

The public deserves to know. Ordinary Canadians have the right to a public inquiry to get to the bottom of what occurred in Toronto during the G20. They need to know why the federal government ignored the concerns and suggestions of the City of Toronto in holding the summit in downtown Toronto on a weekend.

What role did federal officials play in the integrated security unit policing the summit? Who made the strategic decisions on how the stores were protected and how peaceful demonstrators and journalists were treated?

When and how will the government compensate Toronto for damages, and why is it that if there are broken windows, owners are not compensated? Who made the decision on these boundaries, in that ordinary business people outside the boundaries are not compensated, even though a recent survey said 93% of downtown businesses lost a tremendous amount of money in those few days? They are told there is no guarantee they would get compensated, even if they put in an application. That is—

[National Defence, November 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, in 2008, the Prime Minister made a promise to the people of Canada and our brave soldiers serving in Afghanistan. He promised to end Canada's military mission in 2011. He and his Liberal backers promised to refocus the mission on training.

The wording approved in Parliament at the time was that “the military mission shall consist of...training the Afghan National Security Forces so that they can expeditiously take increasing responsibility for security in Kandahar and Afghanistan as a whole”.

Seventy-two Canadian soldiers have died since the promises to train the Afghan forces and to end the mission in 2011 were made. Wounded soldiers return home to a government that seems indifferent to their suffering and more concerned with saving money than providing real help.

After nine years of fighting, life has not changed much for two out of three Afghans, who are still living in poverty.

It is time to end the war, not extend it. I am calling on the government to keep its promise and bring all our troops home.

[G20 Summit, November 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the so-called process the Conservatives have set up is slow, complicated, expensive, bureaucratic and does not even guarantee anything. Many business owners just gave up. Ninety-three per cent of downtown businesses suffered staggering losses in sales.

They tell me that the boundary for compensation must be expanded. They want a fast, fair and transparent application process. They want to be compensated.

When will the government cut the red tape and get the compensation done?

[G20 Summit, November 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, after sinking a billion dollars into gazebos and fake lakes, not a single penny has been given out to the downtown Toronto businesses who suffered huge losses from the Conservative G20 photo ops.

There is nothing for broken windows, nothing for damages, nothing for lost sales, absolutely nothing for these business owners and their workers, not even an apology.

When will the government pay up and apologize for the mess it created in downtown Toronto?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 3rd, 2010]

With regard to individuals detained due to the lack of residency status in Canada, from 2006 to present: (a) what is the total number of individuals detained, broken down by location, detention center or jail and the demographics of each detainee, including how many are under 18 years of age; (b) what is the maximum duration of detention; (c) what is the average duration of detention; (d) how many detainees are housed on the floor, using sleeping bags and blankets; and (e) what is the operation plan of the Canada Border Services Agency to ensure the facilities meet the standards prescribed in the Auditor General’s 2008 report?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 3rd, 2010]

What is the total amount of government capital and operation funding, since fiscal year 2008-2009 up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of Trinity—Spadina, listing each department, agency, funding transfer to provincial and municipal governments and arm's length agency, such as Waterfront Toronto, detailing in each case the initiative and amount, including the date the funding was allocated?

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 3rd, 2010]

With regard to Export Development Canada (EDC) financing or loans provided to Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. for the purchase of 16 aircraft from Bombardier, from 2007 to present: (a) what is the amount of any financing or loans provided; (b) how does that financing fit within the mandate of EDC for Canadian exports, given that only 21 percent of Porter's flights are cross-border; and (c) has the Minister responsible waived the normal EDC requirements for Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. and, if not, what plans exist to enforce the EDC mandate?

[Copyright Modernization Act, November 2nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, in Trinity—Spadina and all across this country, many of the most creative artists, be they actors, actresses, singers, songwriters and writers of amazing literature, award winners, and I have a large number of artists living in my riding, tell me that they have to work second or third jobs in the service sectors because they just cannot make ends meet.

If we look at the average annual income of artists, we see that many of them live below the poverty line, even though they collect a lot of awards on behalf of Canada. They make Canada proud on the international stage and we often see them acting on television and hear their songs, yet they are paid so poorly, which is why this bill is very flawed.

My question for the member is whether there are amendments that he would support that will come from the New Democrats to make sure artists, writers, singers, songwriters and actors would be able to make better livings, because after all, they help create the Canadian identity. They help define who we are. They are really the soul of our country.

Are there some amendments that we could put in so that artists would get some of the income they help generate through their creative work?