Pat Martin

[Jobs and Economic Growth Act, June 3rd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, my question for my colleague from the Liberal Party is simple. She says in her final wrap-up of her speech that she does not support Bill C-9. I assume if one does not support it, one will vote against it. Certainly the members of the NDP will vote against it.

Is my colleague speaking on behalf of her party, or is she, as in individual, going to vote against it? Will enough Liberal Party members vote for the bill so it will pass? Will the rest of her party share her conviction that Bill C-9 is not worthy of the support of Parliament and vote against it as a group, or will they leave a bunch of their members at home again or tell them to leave the chamber when it comes time to vote?

On the opposition benches, we all need to know what the Liberal Party will do about Bill C-9. Will it force the government to split it? Will it vote against it at the report stage, knowing that this may mean an end to the Conservative rule of our country?

What are her colleagues going to do about voting on the bill?

[Petitions, June 3rd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, asbestos is the greatest industrial killer that the world has ever known and so thousands of Canadians have contacted me to present this petition calling upon Parliament to recognize that Canada still remains one of the largest producers and exporters of asbestos in the world and also that Canada is spending millions of dollars subsidizing the asbestos industry and even blocking other countries' 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 any workers who are displaced by such a ban, end all government subsidies to 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.

[Canada Transportation Act, June 2nd, 2010]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-523, An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (accessibility in transportation).

Mr. Speaker, I cannot tell members how proud and honoured I am to introduce this bill.

I would like to begin by thanking my colleague, the member Western Arctic, who is the NDP transportation critic.

In introducing this bill, I also wish to recognize and pay tribute to Winnipeg High School student, Sam Unrau, who was the winner of the Winnipeg Centre “Create your Canada” contest. This contest invited Winnipeg High School students to submit their ideas for a private member's bill to make Canada a better place to live.

Sam's thoughtful proposal comes from his personal experience as a person with spina bifida, confined to a wheelchair, and those of his friends and colleagues with disabilities, so that people with all levels of physical ability can travel in Canada with more dignity.

The bill itself requires the Minister of Transport to direct the Canadian Transportation Agency to conduct an accessibility audit of all forms of transportation under federal jurisdiction in order to remove any undue obstacles to the mobility of persons with disabilities and to improve their ability to travel in this country.

This bill coincides with Manitoba's week for persons with disabilities access issues. It also, I note, coincides with the recent move of Canada to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. All of these things combine together to make this a very worthy initiative.

Congratulations to my student from Winnipeg, Sam Unrau.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Ethics, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, one cannot use one's public office to further the private interests of one's personal friends and nobody should have to tell one that. This is not an isolated incident. In fact, these lapses in ethical judgment are becoming the hallmark of the whole Conservative regime. We have not seen such an arrogant disregard for ethics since the Chrétien years.

Will the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister stand up if he agrees with me that the Minister of Industry should be fired?

[Ethics, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it seems the Minister of Industry has a new sideline doing infomercials for his friend's business. All that is missing is the headset and he could be the ShamWow guy. Vince the Slap Chop guy has some new competition.

Celebrity endorsements are not part of a cabinet minister's job description. In fact, they are a blatant conflict of interest. The former minister for status of women got fired for a lot less.

Is the Prime Minister going to make room over there in the hall of shame for the Minister of Industry, or is he safe hiding in the Conservative good old boys' club?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 25th, 2010]

With regard to all government advertising to promote the Government of Canada and budget initiatives, such as Canada’s Economic Action plan, from January 1, 2006 to March 30, 2010: (a) how much has been spent on an annual basis on combined advertising, by department and budgetary initiative; (b) by how much did the government’s overall advertising budget increase or decrease during that period; (c) was any completed advertising audited or rejected for not adhering to Treasury Board rules and, if so, (i) what advertising, (ii) what was the total value of rejected or audited advertising; (d) what advertising was related to tax relief and what was its total cost by year; (e) what companies received contracts to complete this advertising work and what is the total cost, by department and budgetary initiative, on an annual basis; (f) how much has been spent per province on an annual basis; and (g) what contracts were awarded without tender and what is the total amount, by department and budgetary initiative, on an annual basis?

[Ethics, May 14th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, let us sum up this week in politics. A Conservative MP is directly implicated in a massive real estate fraud. A Liberal MP is advertising that he will sell his loyalty to foreign interests, and well-connected lobbyists are holding so-called fundraisers for the very ministers that they are lobbying. This is not exactly the same as handing over a bag full of cash but it is pretty close.

Why does the Prime Minister not call in Derrick Snowdy to make the world safe for democracy again? We know he takes swift action on the flimsiest of allegations from Magnum B.S. Why does he not call in Mr. Snowdy?

[Ethics, May 14th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, if a poor kid in Winnipeg steals our hubcaps, the Conservatives want to lock him up and throw away the key, but when a member of their own caucus is implicated in a criminal investigation in a massive real estate fraud, there is not a peep from the PMO.

Could someone explain to me why the member for Simcoe—Grey was banished from the party, from the caucus and from the cabinet over bad optics, while Conservative men under criminal investigation or who leave secret documents on a bedside table get the full protection from the Conservative good old boy's club? Where are the bad optics associated with that, I would like to know.

[Points of Order, May 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, yes, and I do appreciate your taking under advisement the point made by my colleague regarding the question I asked in question period. To aid you in your deliberations on that point of order, I would like to elaborate on what my intent was in the question that I put during question period today.

My question found its origins in the just released report of the Ethics Commissioner looking into a complaint to the Ethics Commissioner that the former minister for natural resources, and I am not sure what her riding is, but she is currently the Minister of Labour, had a fundraiser put in place for her by a bunch of lobbyists.

One lobbyist, Mr. McSweeney, whose brother is the chief of staff to the then minister of natural resources, in testimony to the Ethics Commissioner, bragged in an email that he bought 40 tickets to the fundraiser at $250 per ticket which would be $10,000. He went on to say in his testimony to the Ethics Commissioner that when he was successfully lobbying the minister at the very fundraiser that he was sponsoring, she said, “That's great. Let's make sure I get a copy--

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2010, May 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, while I have the floor I would like to put forward a motion to make the leader of the New Democratic Party, the member for Toronto—Danforth, the Leader of the Official Opposition for a period of one week.