Peter Stoffer

[Budget Implementation Act, 2009, March 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I must admit that I always enjoy listening to one of my favourite Liberals in the House of Commons and a long-time member. I have one very simple question for the Liberal Party.

Liberal members stand in the House and criticize the government for the budgetary process, for what is not in the budget and for everything else but what do they give us? They have put the Conservatives on report. They are telling the Conservatives that if they do not deliver the goods they will write a letter and tell everybody about it.

They had an outstanding opportunity and if they had pushed harder I am sure they could have made changes. The member and his party must be getting the emails and questions about the Navigable Waters Protection Act. This could have a very devastating effect on the future of our waterways in the country.

Instead of a report card system, why would the Liberals not have pushed for something as significant as changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act which would have protected the integrity of our natural water systems?

[Criminal Code, February 27th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I am grateful the hon. member brought this very sensitive and serious subject to the House of Commons where it should be.

Whether we agree with the bill or disagree with the it does not matter. The hon. member is absolutely correct that this is a serious Canadian and worldwide problem, and she has every right to bring it to the forefront to explain to us her motivations, her experiences and how we can move forward in order to tackle the problem that is before us.

It is obvious to some that the intent of the bill is to add mandatory minimum sentences, strong deterrents and penalties for those who commit this heinous act.

I wish to go into some personal stories of my upbringing in my family

. When we came to Canada, one of the things my parents did in Richmond, B.C. and in Burnaby, as part of the Christian Reformed Church, was run a group home. In over 20 years, my parents had 300 to 400 children come through our doors. Some came for a few hours in the middle of the night, some stayed for a weekend, some stayed for months and some stayed for a couple of years.

I will share the experience of one young lady who was 12 years old and who was in a house fire in British Columbia. She was severely burned from the waist down and could never have children. For whatever reasons, her parents abandoned her to the British Columbia government.

She ended up in our group home. When she turned 16, my mother suggested she send her mother a Mother's Day card to see if she could rekindle whatever there was. My mother always believed that a mother could never totally abandon her child.

This girl made a beautiful hand-made Mother's Day card and mailed it to her mother. It came back a month later. She opened up the envelope and inside was the card she had made, ripped up in a 100 pieces, and a note saying, “Don't ever try to contact me again”.

The problem is a lot of these children do not have love in their lives. They have been abandoned by the state, by their families and by brothers and sisters. They are easily exploited by the first person who comes along and tells them their life can improve, that they will receive this or receive that.

The movie Slumdog Millionaire was a fabulous movie. It showed how these children were easily exploited by the first kind person to give them a bottle of Coke on a hot day, or give them a nice meal and a place to stay. How quickly they were exploited. That happened in India, but this kind of activity happens around the world.

I have had a private member's bill for years, by my former colleague, Chris Axworthy, a long-time member of Parliament and former Attorney General of Saskatchewan, on child Internet pornography. I have asked the Conservative government, and I asked the previous government, to take the bill and run with it in order to stop the effects of the Internet on vulnerable children. They are easily exploited. They can meet at a ballpark, or a school or somewhere else. The next thing we know, they are in the clutches of these pedophiles and exploiters of children.

I appreciate the fact that the member for Kildonan—St. Paul came to my office. We had a very heart to heart discussion on this issue. I pledged her my personal support for the bill.

Now there are concerns with the bill, and she is aware of this, such as, is it absolutely fundamental that judges have that power taken away when we put in mandatory minimums? Is that the most effective way?

The bill should go to committee to have that frank and thorough discussion, to get it out in the open. Bring in the experts from the legal side, from the child services side and others so we can have that concrete debate.

If the way to go is mandatory minimums, that means additional costs for correctional services. I would hope the government would back up the legislation, if it goes through, with the financial resources to the provinces, et cetera, so they could have the funds in order to carry out the intent of the bill.

There is a deeper-rooted problem, and I believe the hon. member from Quebec mentioned this. It is a societal problem. There is more to this than just the end. We have to get at the roots and the beginning of what happens.

Are we ever going to root out pedophilia in the country or exploitation of children completely? No. Can we reduce it greatly? Absolutely. Members of Parliament and Senators are here for that.

The first priority of government and the opposition is to ensure the safety and security of its citizens, not just in terms of military and policing but also, most important, that they have shelter, a good job, the ability to drink the water in their community, good food to eat, entertainment and freedom and security in their lives for themselves and their families. Regardless of whether they live on an aboriginal reserve or if they live in a small community, of if French or English or if they live in our larger urban centres, it does not matter. From coast to coast to coast citizens should be allowed to be free, to express their opinions and to live their lives in a normal democratic way, or what we call a social democratic way.

For many families that just is not the case. Usually what happens is when parents or the communities have difficulties, the children end up suffering. Children will very easily turn to the first kind face or the first warm person who pays them any kind of attention. We all know how it works. These people work with them in kindness and end up exploiting them in the end. It is society that has to deal with it at the end.

I would encourage the hon. member, and I am sure she would be more than welcome to do this, to also open up the discussion to get at the root problem of why children are so acceptable to this. What expertise do these mostly men, but there are women who do it as well, have to exploit these vulnerable children? What is the role of the family and the provinces and everyone else?

I honestly believe we have the capability to understand this issue. We have the capability to move this issue forward. The end goal is not necessarily incarceration of the criminal. That will happen one way or the other. The main goal is to ensure that we get at the root of this problem, to understand this issue and to see what we can do in education in our schools, our churches, our mosques and our synagogues, working with the provinces and aboriginal groups and all sectors of society so they have a clear understanding of the dangers out there.

I am one of Canada's biggest supporters by saying this is one hell of a country. It is a great country. However, there are many faults within our society where the most vulnerable are either left alone, abandoned or exploited for a variety of reasons.

That is why I rose to speak to this. Not only did my parents want to thank the Canadian people for their liberation, but they also wanted to serve their community in the Lower Mainland. That is why they ran their group home.

I know my fellow Dutch colleague over there knows of other Dutch families in the Lower Mainland that did the exact same thing as did many other families across the country. They did that because they loved those children. They had nine of their own and they had hundreds more come through the door.

The common thread through all of them was the lack of love in their lives. Anyone can listen to George Chuvalo, the great heavyweight champion of Canada who lost three children and his wife in various circumstances. He goes around to schools and across the country and he says one thing: love. If we love one another and care for one another, regardless of our differences, then we will not be so easily tempted by the experts out there in terms of exploitation or whatever it is.

Sri Chinmoy once wrote, “World peace can be achieved when the love of power is replaced by the power of love”. I like that saying. I have it at home and I understand it. This is at the root of what the hon. member is trying to do.

I welcome sending the bill to committee to have that thorough analysis. My hon. colleague from the Bloc had questions and I am sure others will as well. There are concerns, but this is the type of debate that we should have in the country. At the end of the day, whenever it happens, if we can protect one child, then it would be a good thing to do.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2009, February 27th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, we know what the Conservatives are doing, but the sad thing in all of it is they are being propped up by the Liberals. It is completely unbelievable why they would do that when they had an opportunity to make serious amendments to change some of the budget for the betterment of all Canada.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2009, February 27th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member was here when the NDP re-wrote the federal budget of 2005 and put in $4.8 billion of a stimulus for public transit and everything else. We re-wrote the federal Liberal budget, which the Liberals accepted, and yet the Conservatives ripped that up and told us we were irresponsible. The government was still in surplus for a time after that and paid down the debt, as that hon. member knows, and he is a great member of Parliament.

I wish to tell the House that I learned by oratory skills from working in the airline industry for many years.

The hon. member knows that 96% of packages promised in 2006 and 2007 were never delivered.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2009, February 27th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, first, I thank the hon. member for his service as a police officer to our country.

I assume by his comments that he will support my Bill C-201, which would end the clawback of the military and RCMP pensions. Debate on the bill at second reading starts on March 25. I look forward to that gentleman's support.

It was not the NDP that issued confidence votes; it was the Conservatives. What government tells our most honoured citizens of the RCMP, in an email prior to Christmas and without any consultation, that they will get an increase of only 1.5%. That was after six months of negotiations that ended in an agreed collective contract of a 3.5% increase. What a slap in the face to the men and women who serve our country.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2009, February 27th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, you are correct and I regret having said it in that sort of exuberant tone. I will try and tone it down a touch.

On September 9, 2008, the Prime Minister told a group of Polish veterans, who are allied and Commonwealth veterans, that when the Conservatives got elected, they would institute the veteran's war allowance, which was ripped away from them in 1995 by Paul Martin and the Liberals.

We applauded that. In fact, we wrote a letter to the Prime Minister the next day asking him to get a special warrant from the Governor General to issue those funds immediately. These veterans, on average, are 86 years old. Some of them have already passed away since that September promise. Where was that in the budget? There was not a single word.

We have already seen what they did to the VIP and agent orange. Today in the papers, a group of veterans who had to clean up the Chalk River site are suing the government, the fourth lawsuit by veterans against the government in three short years.

However, that promise was something we were excited about and we congratulated the Prime Minister for making that promise, but it is not in the budget. We heard from the veterans affairs minister that the government was committed to this. When? They are 86 years old on average. What in heaven's name is this Parliament waiting for?

There is not one member of Parliament or one senator from any party who would say to the government, “No, do not do that”. We would do it immediately, in a heartbeat. If I had a motion that I could pass to get the government to agree and get it done tonight, I would do it, but the government completely ignored that.

There are all kinds of other things we are concerned about, navigable waters being one. The Conservatives are asking us to trust them when it comes to the protection of the environment, on our most precious system , our water. Many people from across the country have written me and written the MPs on both sides and have asked us what the heck the government was about to do to our rivers, lakes and ponds. What is it doing?”

I know I only have a minute left and I know that the audience in this room will be disappointed that I have to be quiet now, but where are the true Conservatives in this House who wanted fiscal accountability and fiscal responsibility? Where are those things?

I will say this much. We know that a stimulus package needs to be there to help those workers and families in those businesses and we know that credit needs to get flowing out fairly quickly, but we just cannot open up the vault and tell them to help themselves. There needs to be accountability because somebody must pay for this.

As an aside, it is my daughter's birthday tomorrow and I just want to wish her a happy birthday. One of my children is 21 and the other one is 18. They will be handling this debt. They will be paying for this and my mom's pension and her concerns are going to be looked at as well.

We need to be accountable and honest and help the people who truly are in need. Before the Conservatives get up, I did read the budget. I read it very carefully and I did send my submissions to the finance minister. The parliamentary secretary should not be saying that they did not get any submissions. One of the submissions I made was for us to show leadership by freezing our salaries for the duration of this Parliament. I asked the government to do that and I did not get any response. If we were to take a zero per cent increase that would show leadership.

As well, on law and order, the RCMP personnel are the ones who maintain that law and order. What did the government do? It ripped up a contract with them and flattened out their wages to 1.5% when they agreed to 3.5%. How can it do that to the brave men and women who wear the red serge and protect our citizens on a daily basis?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2009, February 27th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I rise with anticipation of what may be a lively debate in the future. We are talking about the expenditure of billions of dollars. Although it has not been mentioned a lot lately, the deficit and the continuing debt will be passed on to our children.

It only stands to reason that opposition members would hope for accountability and transparency from Conservative members in these discussions. I can just see the Auditor General and her staff working overtime in years to come analyzing these expenditures to ensure that taxpayers receive value for their money. We simply do not know.

This is not a question of the NDP wishing to delay assistance to workers and their families in this country. I remind the House that not long ago it was the Conservative government that prorogued Parliament. We did not throw out Parliament. Before that, it was the Conservative government that quit in the middle of governing, It said that it was tired and did not want to govern anymore so it called an election. Nobody asked the Conservatives to do that. They Conservatives spent $300 million, money that could have helped a lot of autism cases in Canada, helped a lot of veterans, helped a lot of students with the cost of their education, helped a lot of seniors and could have cleaned up the environment. Instead of using that money for important issues, the Conservatives called an election.

After the election, the Conservatives painted a picture of no worries. I can hear that song in the background. They said that Canada would not go into deficit, that there would be no recession in Canada, even though everybody else in the world was having financial troubles. In fact, they said that they had provided a stimulus package with their GST cuts and everything else. They said that Canada was in great shape, that no one needed to worry because we were in great shape. They told everyone to sit back and relax.

The Prime Minister told everyone that this was a good buying opportunity. Thank goodness he is not a stockbroker because a lot of people would have lost their shirt and their underwear if they had listened to him.

However, the idea of a coalition scared the living daylights out of the government and all of a sudden Canada had a $34 billion deficit. The Conservatives said that the money needed to go out to Canadians right away, even yesterday, but it would go out without any accountability. That is what amazes me.

I had the privilege of sitting in this place with Preston Manning. Preston Manning and I may have disagreed on a lot of issues but the one thing he and I agreed on was the fact that accountability was important to the taxpayer.

I have heard a countless number of Conservatives over the years say that people should never vote for the NDP because we are a reckless bunch and have no idea how to handle the economy. Who were the top three, most fiscally responsible premiers in the history of this country? They were Allan Blakeney, Roy Romanow and Tommy Douglas. I am taking this information from a Conservative Party report. Who were the three worst premiers of all time? They were Joey Smallwood, Grant Devine--and where did half of his cabinet go--and John Buchanan of Nova Scotia. We are still paying off the debts of those premiers.

We now have a Conservative bunch of people over there and they are not bad folks really. I have said many times that there is not one Conservative, Liberal or Bloc member who I would not want as my neighbour. However, the Conservatives are twisting themselves into pretzels that we cannot even eat because they have completely reversed every one of their principles. It is incredible to think that those members can sit in the House and try to bully us into what they think we must do. When they were in opposition they were very good at attacking the Liberals.

I well remember the HRDC boondoggle. I do give the member for Calgary—Nose Hill a lot of credit for her excellent attacks on the human resources minister when she said that accountability was paramount. Now we have a government saying no, that we need to get it out right now. It is asking us to forget about accountability, forget about transparency and to trust it.

I wonder what the investors of those trust agreements thought. I wonder what those veterans, when Mr. Harper, on September 9, 2008, promised those allied veterans that we would--

[Budget Implementation Act, 2009, February 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for bringing up a very serious subject, the Navigable Waters Act. All of us in the House know that the Fisheries Act is one of the oldest pieces of legislation in the country. It should also be one of the strongest to protect the habitat and integrity of natural water systems in our country. Yet, time after time, my office hears from fishermen, kayakers and everybody else who uses those waterways. They are very concerned about what this act will do to protect the integrity of those waterways.

If possible, could my colleague take another moment to explain the dangers of what the government will do to our natural water systems?

[New Democratic Party, February 10th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to advise all my colleagues in the House of Commons of a glorious springtime coming to Canada.

In British Columbia, Carole James and the B.C. NDP are on the precipice of victory in the provincial election coming in May.

Better than that, my home province, the great province of Nova Scotia, is on the verge of electing the very first New Democratic government in Atlantic Canada. Under the wise leadership of Darrell Dexter, it is time to take Rodney MacDonald and the Conservatives, throw the bums out of Nova Scotia and replace them with an accountable, progressive, social democratic government in Nova Scotia.

We want to say to all the citizens of British Columbia, as Tommy Douglas once said, “Courage my friends, 'tis not too late to make a better world”. That day will come soon to the great people of British Columbia and especially to the wonderful people of Nova Scotia.

[Veterans Affairs, February 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, on September 9, 2008, the Prime Minister told a bunch of Polish veterans that if the Conservatives were re-elected, they would have their veterans war allowance for allied and commonwealth veterans reinstated. However, that promise was not in the economic statement. It was not in the budget.

I would ask the right hon. Prime Minister when that promise will be met. I remind him that these veterans are 86 years old. Since that promise, some of them have already passed away. They do not have much time left. When will the government honour that commitment or will this be just another example of a long line of broken promises to our veterans and their families?