Pat Martin

[Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act, October 6th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, did the member, when elected to the House of Commons, contemplate that there would be an excessive and almost compulsive use of closure to shut down debate on virtually every issue brought forward in the House? The general public expects that all legislation put before the House will be given the due diligence of vigorous debate to test its merits before it is rammed down the throats of Canadians.

[Petitions, October 6th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to stand today to present a petition signed by thousands of Canadians from all across the country who call upon Parliament to take note that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer that the world has ever known. They point out that more Canadians now die from asbestos than all other occupational and industrial causes combined and yet Canada remains one of the largest producers and exporters of asbestos in the world, spending millions of dollars subsidizing the asbestos industry and blocking international efforts to curb its use.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to ban asbestos in all of its forms and institute a just transition program for the asbestos workers and the communities in which they live, to end all government subsidies of asbestos both in Canada and abroad and to stop blocking international health and safety conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos, such as the Rotterdam Convention.

[Points of Order, October 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, if I was using words that were out of order or unparliamentary, you would have found fault with the words that I chose.

I do not believe the word “deluded”, in and of itself, is an insult. It means that someone may be misunderstanding, has a different opinion, or is missing the point. The fact that he may have had his head in the sand like an ostrich is not, in and of itself, an insult either.

I do not feel the need to withdraw these remarks unless you ask me to do so personally, Mr. Speaker. He has his opinion about what I said, and I have mine.

[Canadian Wheat Board, October 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is deluded. He seems to think that he can dismantle a $6 billion a year corporation like the Canadian Wheat Board without significant closing costs, even though KPMG predicts $500 million in shutdown fees. He also thinks he can turn the complete grain marketing regime of the whole prairie economy on its head by August 1 and not disrupt the Prairies and the agrifood industry in the prairie region.

How could he be so deluded? I am seriously concerned that he might be taking a lead from the ostriches that he raises and he has his head in the sand about the reality--

[Manitoba Election, October 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, last night, the people of Manitoba made history. Not only did the NDP win its fourth consecutive majority government, we won more seats than any party in the province's history. The people of my province voted for leadership they can trust.

After 12 years of NDP, we boast the most affordable hydro rates in the country, the lowest unemployment rates in the country, the cheapest public car insurance in the country, and we have reduced the small business tax from 11% under the Conservatives to zero today. It is no wonder the good people of Manitoba voted to elect a strong, stable, majority social democratic government in the province of Manitoba.

[Business of Supply, October 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Winnipeg for her very sensitive remarks regarding this compelling social crisis that we have, and I do not use the word “crisis” lightly because perhaps it is our greatest failure. The statistics that she outlined and that others have spoken to serve as our greatest social failure because there could be no more revealing or telling social indicator than the depth of despair it must take for a young person to take his or her own life. In many of these cases, mental illness is not the driving issue, especially in the first nation and Inuit communities where the prevalence is so high.

Next to the overrepresentation of first nations people in our prisons, the overrepresentation of aboriginal Métis and Inuit people in these suicide statistics should stop people dead in their tracks. Why do we tolerate numbers like this? There seems to be a wilful blindness, or maybe people put it on the too-hard-to-do pile because the statistics are so appalling and the problem is so complex that there has been an unwillingness for politicians to go there.

I would ask her to expand further on the points she made regarding these alarming statistics, just for the enlightenment of the viewing public who might be tuning in today.

[Business of Supply, October 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her remarks and the obvious sensitivity that she shows on the issue.

What perhaps struck me most about her speech today was the reference to the over-representation of first nations, Inuit and Métis young people in suicide statistics. We know that suicide is the third leading cause of death among 29- to 49-year-olds generally and the second leading cause of death for the 10- to 24-year-old age group in the general population, but that the suicide rate for aboriginal youth is four to six times higher than that of non-aboriginal people.

Surely that should be a statistic that stops everyone dead in their tracks. Could there be a more revealing social indicator than the despair that must strike first nations, Inuit and Métis youth to take their own lives at such an alarming rate?

Other than people taking their lives due to mental illness, can she elaborate on the social conditions that may lead to the despair that young people feel in first nations, Inuit and Métis communities?

[Petitions, October 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today signed by literally thousands of Canadians from all across Canada who call upon Parliament to take note that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer that the world has ever known.

The petitioners point out that more Canadians now die from asbestos than all other industrial and occupational causes combined and yet Canada continues to be one of the largest producers and exporters of asbestos in the world. They call upon Parliament to take note that Canada also spends millions of dollars subsidizing the asbestos industry and blocking international efforts to curb its use.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon the government to ban asbestos in all of its forms and institute a just transition program for any displaced asbestos workers and the communities in which they live. They call upon the government to end all subsidies of asbestos both in Canada and abroad and to stop blocking international health and safety conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos, such as the Rotterdam Convention.

[Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act, October 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Winnipeg North who I know deals with at least as many immigration cases on a daily basis as my overworked office does.

First, I do not understand the government's priorities, that in the first session of the 41st Parliament one of the most top-of-mind paramount issues is cracking down on a problem that by the minister's own admission is only an occasional issue.

There are far more immigration problems associated with, for instance, crooked immigration consultants domestically, charging $3,000 to get a form that is available free of charge at the post office or charging $500 to some poor person, saying that they can get them into the MP and get a letter. That kind of crooked behaviour is rampant through the immigration consultants in our country.

Honestly, our energies would be better used addressing some of those domestic problems.

[Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act, October 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for clarifying the numbers of refugees. I think the minister is aware, as members should be, that sometimes as many as 500 people in a single day get off airplanes at Pearson Airport and claim refugee status. If there is a problem anywhere, it is the undocumented refugees who arrive by air, one at a time. It is not those group sailings that seem to be the focus of the minister's efforts to date. He said that it is a potential problem, but it is not a daily issue that a boatful of people is smuggled into Canada.

The government is overreacting with this legislation because in fact legislation already exists. There can be a sentence of life imprison for human smuggling already. The government is introducing mandatory minimum sentences again. It is introducing measures that experts in the field find abhorrent and unnecessary. It is going over the top.