Peter Stoffer

[Committees of the House, June 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my colleague from Burnaby—Douglas who worked very hard on the committee, the New Democratic Party supports this motion.

I also wish to bring to the attention of the House my gratitude because my own father-in-law is Hungarian. He was born on the Pest side of Budapest. He came to Canada in 1952 ahead of the invasion of Hungary.

On behalf of my father-in-law, we thank the hon. member and my colleague from Burnaby--Douglas and all members who support this motion.

[Canadian Forces Housing Agency, June 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, during question period the veterans affairs minister said that a letter that I quoted was not signed by the Prime Minister, but I would like clarification for the House and the government that if a letter is signed on behalf of the Prime Minister, does that not still constitute a commitment from the government in terms of the VIP program?

[Veterans Affairs, June 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, in October of last year a letter was sent to Joyce Carter, who is a widow of a war veteran in Cape Breton. In the letter the Prime Minister states that a Conservative government would immediately extend the veterans independence programs for all widows of all veterans regardless of the time of death. However, we hear from Veterans Affairs Canada that may not be so.

I want to give the Prime Minister and the government an opportunity to look at the camera, talk to Joyce Carter through the media and tell her that we will immediately extend the VIP program for all widows of all veterans regardless of the time of death.

[Judges Act, June 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague pointed out the government's attitude toward the Supreme Court. We all know too well the Marshall decision in 1999 and the concerns about same-sex marriage. Many members of that party indicated that the notwithstanding clause should be used because in their eyes it was politically popular to do that. However, it would not have been respectful of the court's decisions.

Could my hon. colleague discuss this a bit and give us his point of view about using the notwithstanding clause when it comes to basic human rights and aboriginal rights?

[Federal Accountability Act, June 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I quickly glanced through this and I have followed the debates of Bill C-2 within the committee.

Because that gentleman is very experienced in terms of accountability when it comes to legislation and all of that, I must say to him that the bill is missing one very serious aspect. The bill can be passed tonight and through the Senate tomorrow, for example, but it would still not stop myself or someone else from becoming a member of another political party tomorrow without going back to our constituents.

We talk about accountability but the entire House has ignored or forgotten the aspect of stopping floor crossing.

I would like to ask the hon. member why such an important aspect of accountability to our constituents would not have been included in Bill C-2?

[Federal Accountability Act, June 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Since we have given the member three minutes, could I ask for the permission of the House to ask him one small question?

[Committees of the House, June 14th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, when referring to this government, the Conservatives always talk about openness, transparency, honesty and responsibility to the taxpayer. We hear that coming from these guys ad nauseam, but the problem is that these are the same people who, when in opposition, said that when people cross the floor, it leads to corruption of government.

In fact, the Prime Minister's words were, when he was in the official opposition and the member for Kings--Hants crossed, that anyone going over for 30 pieces of silver leads to the corruption of government, and the first thing the Conservatives did was accept the floor-crosser from Vancouver Kingsway without asking him to go back to his constituents.

They then appointed an unelected, unaccountable, Conservative friend from Quebec, who by the way could not be bothered to run because he was too busy. He had other things to do. He was appointed to the Senate as the Minister of Public Works, which means that hon. members cannot question him here in the House, which is really in itself a slam at democracy.

This is coming from the Conservatives who preach openness and transparency. The reality is that the first thing they did was break their own moral ethics in this House when they formed government.

Does the hon. member give any credence to what these people say at all when it comes to the issue of Minto?

[Nova Scotia Politicians, June 14th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the federal New Democratic Party, I wish to extend our condolences to the family and friends and to the Conservative Party on the passing of the great Senator Mike Forrestall.

Senator Mike Forrestall served this country, this House and the other place, and the province of Nova Scotia with great distinction.

I would also like to congratulate Premier Rodney MacDonald and Francis MacKenzie on their elections yesterday in Nova Scotia. But the night truly belonged to Darrell Dexter and the NDP. The NDP won 20 seats, seats in Queens, Shelburne, in the capital district, in the Pictou area and in Cape Breton, with people of diversity and more women in the NDP caucus than in the other caucuses.

This is a party in Nova Scotia that is on the move. In fact, the Chronical-Herald said that we are the government in waiting. When that day comes, it will be a glorious day in Nova Scotia.

[Committees of the House, June 13th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, during the last lockout of the CBC employees by the CBC, the Conservative representative in the Senate, Marjorie LeBreton, was very nasty toward the employees in their efforts to strike a better deal for working conditions within the CBC. Now that person is the leader of the government in the Senate.

When this legislation heads to the Senate, does the hon. member have any confidence that it will receive a fair hearing and a fair adjudication from within the Senate from people such as Marjorie LeBreton who was so nasty toward the employees of the CBC during their recent labour strike?

[Committees of the House, June 5th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, there is one area that the money could come from. We always hear about how the government wants to give back some gas tax money to municipalities for roads, water and infrastructure. These fishermen also pay gas taxes on their fuel, so some of that money could be allocated to small craft harbours in order to upgrade the wharves.

The reality is that the situation is worse than it has ever been. I know that the member for Malpeque certainly would not want to stand up in the House and say that it was all the current government's fault, because the government has inherited the problem through years of neglect.

We cannot rewrite history and turn the clock back, so we have to work together to encourage the government to find the resources applicable. There are ways, through gas tax allocation and municipal allocations or from somewhere, to ensure that some of the money that gets transferred to municipalities and provinces--and to increase the budget of DFO through small craft harbours--can assist those fishermen.