Paul Calandra

[Pope John Paul II Day Act, April 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today on this bill. It is an important bill for a lot of reasons.

Before I begin, I would like to recognize the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville for bringing this bill forward in the House. He is a gentleman who has a very important success story, and he is one of those people Canada seems to attract.

The member for Mississauga East—Cooksville was born in Poland. He lived under a Communist dictatorship and understood how hard life was. He wanted to do something better to support his family. He came to Canada and built a better life for his family. Ultimately, living the Canadian dream, he has now been elected to the Canadian House of Commons and is able to give back and contribute to his community.

He is doing spectacular work here, and this bill is just another indication of it. How nice it must be for the people in Mississauga East—Cooksville to have a member of Parliament who brings forward their issues and has finally restored that community to some excellent representation. I want to congratulate him for bringing this bill forward, because it is so important that we talk about this extraordinary person, Pope John Paul II.

I was a student in Scarborough in 1984 in the second class of Pope John Paul II Catholic school. The year 1984 was a very interesting time, because I believe it was the Pope's first visit to Canada. It was an extraordinary time for us students as we got to wait in line in the procession as the Popemobile came by. I can remember all of the people being there in downtown Toronto, waiting to see the Pope for just a split second as he drove by in the Popemobile. It was not just Catholics; hundreds of thousands of people were waiting to catch a glimpse of this person. At this point, we did not really know how important this pope would be, not only to those of us of Catholic faith but in changing the world as we know it.

I already mentioned how the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville endured a Communist dictatorship and how he was able to make a better life for himself, but I would also like to talk about my French teacher in my riding.

He is a Polish immigrant who came to Canada two years ago. We have been talking a lot of about how he grew up, the life he led under a Communist dictatorship and how important the Pope was in helping them break free. We talked about how important the Pope was in helping the Polish people understand that they had freedom and could aspire to be better than they were. His stories of the importance of the Pope in helping Poland come out of Communism are very inspiring to me. It is another reason I am glad to have this opportunity today to talk about this bill.

A lot of speakers have already talked about all of the accomplishments of Pope John Paul II, but I think it bears repeating.

We know that Pope John Paul II led a difficult life. His mother and father died when he was quite young, and his brother thereafter. He lived through the Nazi occupation of Poland. During that time he started to understand and feel the call toward the priesthood. He was educated in secret, from what I understand, and was ultimately ordained in 1946. Despite being in a Communist dictatorship and despite all the challenges he faced, he was able to grow the faith in Poland. He was always able to grow the faith and give people the inspiration they needed while balancing what was obviously a very difficult government and a very difficult circumstance for the Polish people.

I remember being a young boy when the first Pope John Paul unfortunately passed away shortly after he became pope. It was a time when Catholics were very uncertain. I think the first Pope John Paul had a 30-day reign, and I remember watching for many hours as we waited to see who the next pope would be.

Being of Italian-Canadian descent, we assumed that the person who would be coming out would be another Italian pope, because that is just the way it had been for 400 years. I remember being in my home with an uncle who had come to Canada in the 1950s. He was a very proud Canadian but also a very proud Italian. I remember seeing his reaction to seeing someone who was not an Italian come through those doors and that momentary disappointment that the next pope was going to be Polish and not Italian.

I tell this story because many years later, I was sitting with this very same uncle watching a mass when the Pope was much later on in years and struggling to carry on his duties. I listened to my uncle explain how this Italian pope had made such a difference in the world. I reminded him that the Pope was Polish and not Italian. He said, “That all changed over the years. He has now become a very proud Italian pope.” That speaks volumes of how this pope was able to cross all kinds of boundaries.

The 1980s and 1990s were a difficult time period in world history. We were growing up at a time when there was a great deal of uncertainty. We still had east versus west, and much of the world and eastern Europe was under a Communist dictatorship. It was a time when the west was afraid of the east and the east was afraid of the west, but here was a pope who was not afraid to break down those barriers, who was not afraid to take on the Communist dictators of the east, because he understood how important it was and how important his role was to bring freedom to the world.

If we look back, despite all the incredible things that he did for Catholics and to help expand the Catholic faith, no matter what one believes, I think we all would agree that Pope John Paul II made a significant difference in changing the world because he was not afraid. During the Second World War, he was not afraid to struggle and fight for what he believed in. He became a priest despite Nazi occupation, after having understood all the difficulties that dictatorship and lack of responsible government meant to the people and how it was bringing the people down. He struggled and persevered, and when he had the opportunity when he became the pope, he made sure that he was going to make a difference.

No matter what one believes, we can all agree that this gentleman made an incredible difference in the world. I cannot thank my hon. friend from Mississauga East—Cooksville enough for bringing this bill forward so that we could take one day to recognize and honour how hard this person worked, the difference he made and, ultimately, the changes he made to help bring democracy throughout the world. We still have a long way to go, but if it were not for this person's example, for his leadership, for the strength of the Polish people who seized on the opportunity to break free, we would have a much different world today.

I am very excited to be able to support the member's bill. I want to again single out the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville. He is someone who can make a heck of a difference for all immigrants who come to this country who work hard and struggle the way my parents did.

I look at the example of my parents, and it is sad that neither of my parents was able to see me elected. They did not live long enough to see me elected to the House of Commons, but I look across the aisle and see people like the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville making a difference and becoming elected and bringing bills like this forward. I congratulate him, and I congratulate his constituents for having such an incredible member of Parliament.

[Business of Supply, April 15th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I listened very intently to this member's speech. I wonder if the New Democrats' idea of helping our manufacturers is to give our competitors an advantage that our own Canadian manufacturers do not have. We know that the New Democrats spent the entire weekend trying to convince Canadians they are what they are not. That is free traders, people who understand how the economy works; people who understand that reducing taxes for families, businesses, and individuals helps spur economic growth, the type of growth that we have seen here, with over 900,000 jobs created.

Does this now mean that the New Democrats are in favour of free trade? Do they actually now agree that free trade helps create business and boost the economy? Are they supportive of free trade with the United States? Are they supportive of North American free trade? Are they supportive of our efforts on free trade with Europe? Do they support our entrance into the trans-Pacific partnership? Is this what the New Democrats are saying? Since they want to reduce and take off all the tariffs across the board, are they now finally free traders, and do they finally understand how important it is to have an economy that can trade with the rest of the world?

[The Economy, February 27th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, hard-working Canadian families know they can count on our Conservative government to look after their interests. Under our government's economic action plan, we have created some 900,000 net new jobs since July of 2009. Moreover, our tax reductions have saved the average family $3,400 a year, and when we add the universal child tax benefit on top of it, that is an extra $2,400 a year for kids under six.

While we are focused on keeping Canadian taxpayer dollars where they belong, in the pockets of Canadians, the NDP is focused on wasteful new spending, higher taxes and increased debt. We have seen this before. This is the exact type of mismanagement that has got so many parts of Europe into such trouble.

For instance, take the NDP's proposed national social housing program. This one demand will cost taxpayers $5.5 billion each year, and that translates into $162 for every man, woman and child in this country every year.

Canadians can count on this government to continue to put the focus on jobs and the economy.

[Canadian Heritage, February 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear to me that the hon. member is troubled by the fact that he has to vote against so many great initiatives that this government brings forward in our budgets and economic action plans, and I get that. There have been very many good things in the economic action plans when it comes to arts and culture, creating jobs and investing in communities, and I can understand why he would be troubled and upset that he is forced by his whip and his leader to vote against those things.

Here is a different initiative. If the member does not like the budgets, here is the new museum of Canadian history with a $25 million investment that will encourage museums across this country to become part of the national museum network celebrating Canadian history. It is a stand-alone bill, a $25 million investment that will obviously do good things for Exporail in his community. If he really supports that, I hope he will do what his leader and the critic has said and vote with us and not against us, as they have already said they would do.

I understand how upset the member has been. Here is his opportunity to do what the rest of his party will not do: support arts and culture, support his local museum, vote in favour of this bill, vote in favour of that $25 million investment and let all Canadians share in Exporail.

[Canadian Heritage, February 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot say how excited I am to hear my colleague talk about celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary in his remarks. We have known that since the government decided it was going to make 150 a turning point, one of those times when we could celebrate all the people, places and things that have helped make our country spectacular, the NDP has been against almost everything that we have said in that vein. We talked about celebrating events such as the War of 1812. The NDP said that it was something we should not be celebrating.

When we talk about Exporail, here is the good news. I am even more excited to hear that the member wants to make Exporail part of a national museum because we recently announced the new museum of Canadian history. This was a $25 million investment that we were making in helping Canadians better understand their history. It was going to help repurpose the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Part of that is an opportunity for museums across the country, including the Exporail, to become part of Canada's national museum, part of that structure.

We heard, unfortunately, that the NDP has already said that it will not support the new museum of Canadian history, that it thought it was a waste of time. I hope the hon. member will do what he says he wants to do, work with us, work with his colleagues to help him understand how important it is to create a national Canadian museum of history network across the country, which could include Exporail, should it choose to come on board to this very important initiative.

He also mentioned some of the other things we did. He is quite correct. We have brought in two new national museums. One is the Museum of Immigration, Pier 21, in Halifax, which is a spectacular new museum. It was a great investment and we are very proud of that. The Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg is another great museum.

We increased funding for our national museums and through our economic action plan we have actually stabilized and have ensured that the funding is guaranteed going forward.

It is not just in our museums; it is across heritage. The Minister of Canadian Heritage has done some spectacular work in helping promote arts and culture across the country. We have made very important investments because we understand on this side how important it is to invest in arts and culture. It is an important economic driver in our country. It is responsible for thousands of jobs and a lot of economic activity.

Therefore, I am really excited to hear how important the member thinks Exporail is to his community, and it is. It is very important that we work to help people understand Canadian history. We can also work through the Museum of Science and Technology, which also has a responsibility in helping preserve our rail history.

Ultimately, I hope he will work with us, support the new museum of Canadian history, support that $25 million investment and ensure that Exporail becomes part of the national museum network. He is saying that he thinks that would be important for Exporail. It would be a good idea. I encourage Exporail and the member to work with us to ensure it becomes part of that network.

[Public Works and Government Services, February 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, of course, we are reviewing that, but as the hon. member knows, we have made significant investments in arts and culture across the country and have been working very hard with the Minister of the Environment to make sure our national historic sites are preserved. Through all of our economic action plan, we have made sure that historic sites, arts and culture lead to positive outcomes for Canadians. We know that it creates jobs and economic opportunity across the country. Unfortunately, the NDP has always voted against that.

[Mental Health, February 12th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, today is Bell Let's Talk Day.

At least one in five Canadians will suffer from mental illness in their lifetimes, but the unfortunate reality is that most will not seek treatment because of the continuing stigma around the disease.

Bell Let's Talk Day sends a message to those who struggle with mental illness that Canadians want to listen and want to help. I would like to join national spokesperson Clara Hughes in inviting all Canadians to talk about mental illness in order to fight the lingering stigma that keeps too many people from seeking the help they need.

By tweeting and social media or through long-distance phone calls, I am encouraging all of us in this House to join the conversation and help end the stigma.

On the previous two Bell Let's Talk Days, Canadians answered the call with more than 144 million text messages and long-distance calls. This added more than $7.2 million to the $50 million already donated by Bell to its charitable programs on mental health.

I want to thank Bell and its leadership under George Cope, and all the Canadians who participate in helping shed the light on this horrible disease.

[The Economy, January 31st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, numbers released this morning by Statistics Canada show that Canada is staying on the right track for economic growth.

In fact, November's economic growth and the more than 900,000 net new jobs created since July 2009 show that our government's economic action plan is working and working very well. In fact, both the IMF and OECD project Canada will continue to be near the head of the pack among all G7 countries for economic growth in the years ahead.

Countries around the world are looking to Canada's economic leadership as a model they should follow. We are proud of this record, and we will continue to stay on the right track to create jobs and growth across the country.

Contrast that to the NDP leader and his caucus and their plan for a $21 billion dangerous carbon tax that would kill jobs and hurt the economy. That is bad news for Canada's economy. It is bad news for Canadian families. We will not let that happen.

[Income Tax Act, December 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I understand the bells had started ringing earlier and we did not actually proceed to a vote. Could you explain why we did not proceed to a vote after the bells?

[Committees of the House, December 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I move:

That the hon. member for Ajax—Pickering be now heard.