Peter Stoffer

[Offshore Health and Safety Act, November 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, has the hon. gentleman from Avalon had any conversations with the good people of Newfoundland and Labrador in the government regarding recommendation 29?

[Offshore Health and Safety Act, November 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, on March 12, 2009, a very tragic incident occurred off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Would the hon. member elaborate a bit more about that incident? What could have been done to prevent it? What effect did it have on the good people of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, especially on the families of those unfortunate victims?

[Veterans Affairs, November 7th, 2013]

What utter nonsense, Mr. Speaker. I can assure the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs that when the NDP forms government, we will re-open every single one of those offices. Veterans deserve better than that.

The reality is there is a big rally happening in Sydney, Cape Breton this Saturday with all our citizens. All the Atlantic communities want to keep that office open. These veterans and their families deserve to have that one-on-one counselling that they have received for many years, and it is shameful to cut those offices.

We ask the government one last time. To the Prime Minister: Will you stop these cuts and keep these offices open?

[Railways, November 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight to all my colleagues in the House of Commons the tremendous work that railways do in our country. Before I start, I would like to offer my sincere condolences once again to the citizens of Lac-Mégantic for the unfortunate incident they had during the summer.

When I was a young immigrant to Canada, our family boarded the train in Halifax at Pier 21. Through the great Atlantic provinces, through la belle province, through the Canadian shield, the terrific prairies, on through the Rocky Mountains and settling in British Columbia, our family used the train to settle in the Vancouver area.

I highly recommend that all my colleagues make sure to take a train this winter or this summer, because it is a fantastic way to travel. If there is an ambassador from India or China looking in now, I encourage the use of the Port of Halifax to move their freight to our port and on to our rail lines, because this economy moves by trains.

I want to congratulate all the companies and all the workers who work on our railways every single day to build our economy and to give all Canadians a wonderful opportunity to see what a great country this really is.

[Veterans' Week, November 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate the hon. Minister of Veterans Affairs and the government for their kind remarks on Veterans' Week.

I would like to highlight the names of some veterans and their families throughout this country who have given so much. They are not only Canada's heroes, but some are my personal friends. There is Major Dan Gagnon, who served so bravely in Rwanda, and Major Tom Wilson, who retired after 36 years of valiant service. Between the two of them, they have 72 years of proud military tradition in the Canadian military.

Lily Snow, Helen Rapp, Louise Richard and Nichola Goddard, Nichola having paid the ultimate sacrifice, are brave women who served side by side with the men who served so bravely in all the wars and conflicts that Canada has entered into.

There is Murray Brown of the RCMP. We must not forget about our RCMP and their families, who serve so bravely, not only internationally but at home as well. There are great people, such as, Medric Cousineau and his campaign for service dogs, Michael Blais with the Canadian Veterans Advocacy, and veterans advocate Sean Bruyea.

Also worth noting are the Royal Canadian Legion and many organizations that advocate, not only for remembrance of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, but for those who are still with us.

I would also mention Mr. Peter Lahey of the International Transport Workers' Federation, who is going to Liverpool on November 10 to lay a wreath on behalf of all seafarers and merchant mariners throughout the world.

I congratulate Mr. Nathan Greenfield, an author who wrote a fantastic book called The Forgotten. He has written about prisoners of war and those who escaped various conflicts when they were in prison in World War I and World War II.

However, there is one person who stands out. That is Mr. Ed Carter-Edwards, of Smithville, Ontario. He is now 95 years old. I swear, if Canada were at war tomorrow, he would be the first one to sign up. He was in the bomber command that was shot down over Europe. He and his colleagues were in the Buchenwald concentration camp, which went against the Geneva Convention. Somehow he ended up surviving to tell us the story of what happened. Recently, in a book signing at the Armoury in Ottawa, he told a bunch of new officers of the Canadian military about the tremendous experiences of what he went through. When doing so, one could have heard a pin drop. This is one of Canada's true national heroes. He is about five feet tall, but as tough as they get. I personally want to salute Mr. Ed Carter-Edwards, on behalf of all of us in the House of Commons, and all Canadians, for his tremendous fighting spirit and efforts in reminding us of the price of war.

I also want to congratulate the Government of Canada for making this the year of the Korean veteran. We would like to say to all of those who served in Korea, and their families, that the Korean War is forgotten no more. I am very proud that the minister presented the 516 names into Hansard today, so that all Canadians will be able to look upon them as true Canadian heroes, as well as those who have served and sacrificed, were injured, and eventually came home.

We truly will not be able to have peace in Korea until North Korea and South Korea become a unified country. I hope that all of us will be alive when that gracious day comes.

On behalf of the leader of the New Democratic Party and all of my colleagues from coast to coast to coast, we say to each and every veteran who has served, their families, and those who will serve and become veterans in the future, that there is a gravesite in Brussels from World War I. When the individual passed away, the family put something on the gravesite. It states, “This Canadian left his home so that you can live in yours”. I am a Dutch-born Canadian. I know that the minister is from Italy. We know all too well about the liberation that was made possible by what Canadians did so that our families and our countries could be free.

On behalf of all of us, we say God bless to our veterans and their families. May God have mercy on the souls of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

[Canadian Forces, November 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, in a question last week, the minister clearly said, in terms of Corporal David Hawkins, that everybody is released from the military when their time is ready, when they seem fit to leave. The reality is, in Corporal Hawkins' case, that this is not the truth. He had a grievance filed against the defence department, and in the middle of that grievance, he was let go, before his 10 years. It is clear that the government is trying to balance its deficit in the defence department on the backs of our injured heroes.

It is too late for David Hawkins right now, but for the other 200 every year who are medically released before their 10 years, would the minister now put a stop to this process and ensure that the heroes of our country get the benefits they so richly deserve?

[Veterans, November 5th, 2013]

What utter nonsense, Mr. Speaker. He knows very well that the money was only given to those who qualified. Two-thirds of all applicants for the Last Post Fund are still denied. That is what the PBO said. We said that a year ago, that if we did not raise the exemption limit past the $12,000 mark, two-thirds of all applicants would still be denied.

This is the last chance that a grateful nation has to say to a family of a veteran who is now deceased, “Thank you for your sacrifice and service”.

Will the government now increase the exemption limit so more veterans and their families will have access to these funds?

[Veterans, October 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, here is one minor detail. During the summer, lawyers on behalf of the Crown indicated that the Crown has no special or moral obligation to assist veterans.

My question to the minister is very clear. Does the government have a moral, social, fiduciary, and legal responsibility to care for those it asks to be put in harm's way?

[National Defence, June 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Corporal Glen Kirkland is one of the heroes of Canada who served so valiantly in Afghanistan. He appeared before the House of Commons defence committee, telling everyone of his fear that the military would try to release him early to deny him possible benefits. He wishes to be released on September 15, 2015, but the other day, he got a release notice saying that he is supposed to go in a few months.

The minister in the House said very clearly that he can stay as long as he desires, and so my question is quite simple. On behalf of Corporal Glen Kirkland, will the minister now honour his commitment and allow him to stay in the military until September 15, 2015? Yes or no.

[Expansion and Conservation of Canada’s National Parks Act, June 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, if the member wants to read the speech again tomorrow when it comes out, that is not what I said.

I said that we had to ensure we got it right. We have to ensure that every witness, who has a concern about Sable, is offered the opportunity to come to Ottawa and debate this very serious issue. There is no rush to invoke time allocation.

While he did say that, my colleague from Halifax was working with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment on an arrangement to do just that, to get it to the committee. Unfortunately, the Conservatives betrayed that trust and moved time allocation. They did not have to do that.

If I could ask him a question, it would be this. Why did the Conservatives move time allocation on this? Why did they have to do that?