House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 57% of the vote.
Hydroelectric Dams February 16th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, anyone at all can get into a power plant. From Kitimat to Churchill Falls, hundreds of major dams are exposed to the al-Qaedas and Hezbollahs of the world.
Unaware, even yesterday of the Radio-Canada revelations, the minister is getting lost in her explanations. North America' s energy is threatened, and she is asleep at the switch.
What role will she give CSIS in this matter, this very day?
Public Security February 15th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, the CBC is again reporting that the Liberals are not taking terrorist threats seriously. Our borders are like sieves, and our major dams are open to attack at any time. The Liberals are cutting back on the number of RCMP in Quebec and ignoring all the alarm signals.
The minister needs to wake up. She needs to tell us what steps she plans to take, without further delay, to protect Canadians.
Justice February 15th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino said on the weekend that hard-core, gun-crazed gangsters were perpetrating a frenzy of violence and bloodshed in Toronto on the weekend. When the smoke cleared, two were dead and six were injured. Seventeen of these 18 crimes involved guns.
Alarmingly, Chief Fantino made a damning assessment that criminals have no fear of the justice system and that it neither deters nor rehabilitates. He and many others are calling on the government to take action to crack down and restore safety on the streets. When will the government legislate mandatory minimum sentences for the criminal use of firearms and end this ineffective gun registry, putting the money into front line policing?
National Defence February 14th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, the forces have been waiting for 12 years for the government to act.
General Hillier's planned reorganization of the Canadian Forces will require new soldiers and equipment. The promise of 5,000 troops and 3,000 reservists is critical to the plan, but he has said that before that happens, we have to fix the base. That clearly means reinvesting in training, weapons, ammunition, spare parts and infrastructure.
Will the finance minister commit that this federal budget will contain sufficient resources to allow General Hillier and our forces to obtain the personnel and equipment that they need to do the important job that we ask of them?
National Defence February 14th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, that is what the Liberals said about helicopters.
General Hillier plans to start his military reorganization immediately. He is calling for heavy lift helicopters, Hercules transport replacement aircraft, precision munitions for our CF-18 fighters. He noted that a number of parliamentary committees called for the government to reinvest in the Canadian Forces.
The Liberal Party's abysmal lack of commitment to the forces is well chronicled: cancelled helicopter contracts, used submarines, inadequate armed vehicles, the list goes on and on.
The Conservative Party, in fact most Canadians, support properly equipping our military. When will the government start to listen to the advice of its top people and stop--
National Defence February 14th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, during the last election campaign the Prime Minister ridiculed the Conservative plan for greater airlift and sealift capacity. In fact the Liberals even ran television ads attacking the Conservatives for advocating the purchase of hybrid carriers.
The Prime Minister said, “We are not interested in getting aircraft carriers”. General Hillier, Canada's new chief of the defence staff, stated that he needs a large ship to enable Canada to meet the challenges from humanitarian aid to armed conflict.
Will the government now follow the advice of its top soldier and that of the Conservative Party and proceed with the purchase or procurement of large troop transport vessels?
Sponsorship Program February 9th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, yesterday Jean Chrétien's highly publicized, highly scripted ball juggling routine at the Gomery commission revealed just how arrogant and corrupt this government is, and all efforts to get to the bottom of the ad scam will be averted.
Prior to embarking on his mad as hell tour, the Prime Minister repeatedly denied knowledge of the sponsorship or unity programs. Yet in testimony, Mr. Chrétien clearly stated that the Prime Minister was his ad scam partner, in charge of setting aside $50 million annually. Why is the Prime Minister not--
Sponsorship Program February 9th, 2005
And now, Mr. Speaker, he is a member of a corrupt--
Sponsorship Program February 9th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, ironically, let us talk about where that member was. He was a member of this party and a vocal critic of the man he now defends every day in the House of Commons. What a hypocrite.
The Liberals' real post-referendum strategy was to keep Jean Chrétien quiet. The masquerade is not over. Every time he opens his mouth, he sows the seeds of discord and contempt for institutions.
Tomorrow, will the Prime Minister finally dissociate himself from this sabotage and work in good faith with the inquiry?
Sponsorship Program February 8th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, that Liberal's lips are moving, but I can actually hear Herb Gray. John Manley is saying that the cost of revealing the information at the Gomery commission is too high for the amount of money it is costing.
Clearly, the toll that he is talking about is not on the public treasury, it is on the Liberal Party. Continued comments by prominent Liberals to discredit the Gomery commission are an indication that this testimony is hurting the Liberal Party.
Will the Prime Minister just admit that this mantra about the sponsorship scandal, and the ends justifying the means, is really about the ends which the Liberal Party intended the sponsorship program to do, which was to fill its pockets?