Peter Stoffer

[Human Resources Development, December 6th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the human resources minister.

There is another group of people in this country who could really use some good news and those are caregivers who deliver care to thousands of families across the country, and most of those caregivers are women.

Two throne speeches, a Romanow recommendation and a private member's bill delivered by the NDP and to be debated on Thursday, deal with that specific issue.

Will the human resources minister at least announce a program before Christmas that will help these people in the financial stress that they undergo and alleviate the pain that they are going through?

[An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Cruelty to Animals and Firearms)and Firearms Act, December 6th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from the Bloc for his comments, especially his point that no matter whom people vote for on Monday, it is important for the people of that riding in Quebec to get out in full force and vote for the candidate of their choice.

I want to give the member an opportunity to speak a little more on the Bloc's idea of what should take place in Senate reform.

[Veterans Affairs, December 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the New Democratic Party of Canada to recognize and thank the hon. Minister of Veterans Affairs for his statement today in the House, and what this must mean for Lieutenant Colonel Elmer Al Trotter.

I also want to thank the hon. member for Kamloops, Thompson and Highland Valleys as well for bringing this very serious and sensitive issue to the House.

The $20,000 figure which has been granted, although no small figure in any way and is tax free, has been arbitrarily calculated. It is the same sort of compensation received by our merchant mariners and our aboriginal veterans, and now Mr. Trotter. For one reason or another the $20,000 seems to be the figure that veterans affairs is using to settle outstanding concerns.

It would be a worthy debate in the future to ask the minister on a separate day why that particular figure has come forward in these various compensation packages. Again, I cannot help but thank the hon. minister for his comments today in the House.

My father was a prisoner of war with the Dutch Resistance during World War II. I know Mr. Trotter and other former prisoners of wars know what it was like to be taken away and held captive. He served his country with bravery. He is an honourable and decent gentlemen. We are proud to call him a fellow Canadian. I am proud today to stand in the House and thank the hon. minister and other members in the House of Commons. Mr. Trotter's recognition is finally due.

We wish him the very best of luck and continued health in his future years.

[Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, December 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. Last week in committee Mr. MacNaughton, the CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said very clearly that the pension dollars of Canadians were going into supporting tobacco companies. The reason this is done is because there is no ethical screen at the pension board.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister invoke his cabinet to tell the Canada Pension Investment Board to put in an investment screen so that Canada's pension dollars do not go to aiding and abetting the killing of thousands of Canadians on a yearly basis?

[Petitions, December 2nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise on behalf of the citizens of the great city of St. John's, Newfoundland, and surrounding communities, who are praying upon Parliament to support the standing committee's recommendation to move expeditiously toward Canada's taking custodial management of the nose and tail of the Grand Banks and the Flemish Cap, a wise suggestion indeed and one the government should take seriously.

[Coast Guard, December 2nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, no matter what kind of spin the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans puts on it, our Coast Guard is in a mess right now. John Adams, the commissioner of the Coast Guard, stated the obvious.

The fact is there are many other aspects of duty that the Coast Guard is responsible for, such as overfishing and environmental pollution. It is not capable of doing that job right now because it simply does not have the equipment, materiel and personnel to do the job.

Will the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans go to the cabinet table, as I asked him to do last month, to fight for the men and women of the Coast Guard and get the resources required so that the Coast Guard can do the job it has been asked to do?

[World AIDS Day, December 2nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday around the world was World AIDS Day. This terrible disease has a way of ravaging populations throughout all countries. It knows no borders or class of citizen.

We encourage the government and all parliamentarians not to rest on their laurels and become complacent over this terrible and ravaging disease.

We encourage the government to do all in its power to ensure that the resources are there for the research and for educating and making this terrible disease known throughout the country and throughout the world.

AIDS is wiping out generations upon generations of people in southern Africa. It is working its way into China, Thailand and throughout this country, especially those most impoverished in our society.

We in the New Democratic Party again encourage all citizens and the government to do all in its power to put a stop to this disease once and for all through research and education.

[Kyoto Protocol, December 2nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I will ask the hon. gentleman this question one more time. His environment critic, who I assume speaks on behalf of his party, said that the Alliance cared about the environment of course, but it cared about money first, which means money first, environment later.

Does the hon. member support his environmental critic spokesperson for his party on that point because the Canadian people want to know exactly where the Alliance stands?

[Kyoto Protocol, December 2nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the hon. member a very simple question. I want to read a quote, tell him where it came from and ask him if he agrees with it. “We care about the environment, of course we care, but we care about money first”.

That was a quote from the environment critic of the Alliance Party made just the other day. Does the hon. member support his colleague in that statement or not?

[Kyoto Protocol, December 2nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the great job you are doing in refereeing the debate today.

I asked the member for LaSalle—Émard about this, and I will ask the hon. member as well. The CEP union has wholeheartedly endorsed the Kyoto protocol and ratification, but it knows that some of its workers may be displaced by current conditions if Kyoto goes ahead. It is asking the government to put in place financial transition programs to make sure that the workers who are put out of work in a particular industry have a soft landing.

Will the hon. member be supporting those initiatives?