Peter Stoffer

[Veterans Affairs, April 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Robert Shankland of Winnipeg was a World War I hero, who received the Victoria Cross and other medals for his great service to his country. Now 93 years later, those medals are going to go on an auction block for cash. These medals should be in a place of honour and not on an auction table.

Would the government now do the right thing to do two things: make sure those medals do not leave the country, and more importantly, bring in legislation which prevents the sale of all medals given to all our heroes. That is not currency they have hanging from their chest, those medals are wonderful decorations for the great service they did. Will the minister--

[The Environment, April 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this morning several MPs were excited to meet a wonderful author by the name of Alanna Mitchell, who wrote a fabulous book called Sea Sick, which is about the state of our oceans around the world. I personally want to thank the member for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca and the parliamentary conservation caucus for putting this on today.

Our oceans are in a serious state. All parliamentarians, all citizens of Canada and, in fact, the world must take a new approach to the repair and to the rehabilitation of our oceans. Without our oceans, there would be no life on the planet.

To understand the current state of our planet, I highly recommend that every Canadian get a copy of Alanna Mitchell's book Sea Sick.

All of us want to thank Alanna Mitchell for bringing this to the attention of the House of Commons. We wish her success.

Hopefully the world can act to protect the safety of our oceans.

[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, March 27th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During question period, I believe I used the words “deliberately misleading” when I asked the parliamentary secretary a question. I wish to retract the word “deliberately” and apologize to the Chair for using that word.

[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, March 27th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague is a long-time resident of British Columbia where there are a lot of concerns about this, and not just there but right across the country.

Could he elaborate more on a personal level? Could he tell us of any particular individuals or experiences he has faced, not just as an MP but also as a constituency representative for the previous member of Parliament, Svend Robinson, in some of his dealings with people who are going through the very issue that this bill is trying to address?

[Income Tax Act, March 27th, 2009]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-351, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (herbal remedies).

Madam Speaker, thousands upon thousands of Canadians cannot take pharmaceutical sulpha-based drugs and their doctors recommend alternative remedies for their ailments. I for one, and many others, do not believe they should be taxed. These should be considered a medical expense and people should able to deduct that expense from their income tax. They should not be taxed because fair is fair. For those who cannot take the regular sulpha-based pharmaceuticals, if these alternative are available to help improve their lives, so be it.

We are very pleased to introduce the bill, which would remove the tax and make it a tax deduction for people.

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

[Excise Tax Act, March 27th, 2009]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-350, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (no GST on reading materials).

Madam Speaker, in this time of concern within the country, the last thing any government should do is tax educational reading materials for people to get a decent education, especially for young people who are starting to read, or for seniors who enjoy reading or workplace manuals for people who are learning, et cetera. No government should make money on educational materials that benefit all society.

We are pleased to introduce the bill today, and I would encourage rapid transit of it, from the Senate to the Governor General, and impress upon the Canadian people what a fine piece of legislation this is.

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

[Veterans Affairs, March 27th, 2009]

With great respect to my colleague from Nova Scotia, Mr. Speaker, it was not 40 years ago. The spraying in Gagetown happened from 1958 to 1984. He knows that very well. He also knows that the Minister of Veterans Affairs, when in opposition, promised on four separate occasions to call for a public judicial inquiry to get all those documents and call for the facts of this. He also knows that the Prime Minister was in Gagetown in 2006 and promised that everybody from 1958 to 1984 would be looked after. That is simply not what has happened.

Will the parliamentary secretary now rise in his place and do two things: first, extend the compensation deadline for agent orange--

[Veterans Affairs, March 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, two Fridays ago, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs gave a very cold and deliberately misleading statement to my question on agent orange.

I would now like for the parliamentary secretary to stand, look in the camera and tell Agnes Conrad of Nova Scotia, Rose Gravelle of New Brunswick, Chris Young of Ontario, Fredrick Weaver of British Columbia and thousands of others who have been denied agent orange assistance even though the Prime Minister and the Minister of Veterans Affairs promised that they would get it.

Would he please stand, face the camera and tell those people how happy they should be on what you did on agent orange compensation?

[Alzheimer's Awareness, March 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to advise all colleagues in the House of Commons and the Senate of an event on April 1, in the Parliamentary Restaurant. We will be inviting all MPs to come and meet individuals from the Alzheimer and Dementia Society of Canada.

Alzheimer's disease and dementia affects over half a million Canadians, and it is a growing health concern in Canada.

I also want to send special thanks to Mr. John O'Keefe of the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia for the great job he has done in making us all aware of this terrible condition that inflicts so many in this country.

With the right research, investments and funds, hopefully one day Canada can realize the dream of trying to eliminate or drastically reduce the effects of Alzheimer's disease and dementia in this country.

Again, I invite all MPs and senators to please join their colleagues on April 1 for a great awareness day and to promote the aspects of it, and to give support to those families that are dealing with this terrible disease.

[Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, March 25th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, the comparison with other countries is very different because our benefit packages for veterans and their families are different. The member knows very well that we have conducted studies with Britain and the United States on the various packages. Comparing apples to oranges in many cases. But I would hope if it gets to committee, that we can bring in those other examples to see where we can improve on this action.

I say this very clearly. Depending on which way we go on this, someone is going to have to tell Andre Daoust of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, who served his country, can no longer work again because of his injuries, and gets a Canada pension disability dollar for dollar clawed back from his forces pension. I would like someone to tell him why that happens.