Peter Stoffer

[Income Tax Act, November 1st, 2004]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-253, an act to amend the Income Tax Act (expenses incurred by caregivers).

Mr. Speaker, the expenses incurred by people who care for their loved ones or those who are infirm in their own homes or the caregiver's home should be tax deductible. We are the sandwich generation. We are an older population. Many seniors are looking after other seniors. Many family members are looking after seniors. The bill would allow the expenses that they incur to be tax deductible in order to alleviate the financial strain that they are under when it comes to caregiving.

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

[Income Tax Act, November 1st, 2004]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-252, an act to amend the Income Tax Act (physical activity and amateur sport fees).

Mr. Speaker, it is quite fitting that today we have with us the athletes with disabilities, those who won medals for us at the Olympics. However, our government needs to concentrate on those people throughout the entire country.

This bill pertains to families and individuals who register either themselves or their children in sports or other physical activities. For example, if they spend $400 to register a child in hockey, they should be able to claim it as a tax deduction similar to a charitable donation. This would put money back into the hands of working families to become more physically active and become a much better society in terms of sports and physical activity.

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

[Parliament of Canada Act, November 1st, 2004]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-251, an act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (members who cross the floor).

Mr. Speaker, this is now the fourth year that I have had this bill on the books.

If an elected member of Parliament wishes to cross the floor from his or her current position to another party, or as an independent to another party, that member of Parliament should be made to resign his or her seat, seek nomination for the new party he or she wishes to fly under, go back to the constituents and allow the people of the riding to determine if they wish to be represented by a different party. That is what we call democracy.

I am sure that with careful consideration the bill will have great support from all members of Parliament in the House.

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

[Overseas Memorial Sites Student Visits Assistance Act, October 20th, 2004]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-234, an act to propose and examine a program giving financial assistance to high school students visiting overseas military memorial sites.

Mr. Speaker, Remembrance Day is approaching and one of the great faults in this society is the inability of our provincial and federal governments to teach our children what happened during the wars that Canada was involved in. It is quite astonishing that people in Holland, Belgium and other countries know more about Canadian military history than our own children do.

The bill basically wants the federal government, the provinces and the school boards of the country to examine ways of getting this country's children over to the battlefields in Europe and around the world. In that way, they themselves could learn what happened on those tragic days during the war. It would enhance the remembrance of the bravest people in our country, our veterans.

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

[Income Tax Act, October 20th, 2004]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-233, an act to amend the Income Tax Act (community service group membership dues).

Mr. Speaker, this is the reintroduction of a bill that has great support among volunteer groups throughout the country.

We all know that this country could not operate without the valued effort of those millions of volunteers. The bill is asking that any volunteer of a registered organization who donates 250 hours of his or her time per year be able to claim a $1,000 one-time income tax deduction. This would benefit all the volunteers in this country tremendously.

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

[Income Tax Act, October 20th, 2004]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-232, an act to amend the Income Tax Act (herbal remedies).

Mr. Speaker, I introduced this bill in 1998 and am reintroducing it one more time. For the millions of Canadians out there who cannot take sulpha-based prescription drugs, if a licensed physician prescribes a herbal alternative, they should be able to claim that alternative as a medical tax deduction.

I seek a very quick adoption of this fine piece of legislation.

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

[Workers Mourning Day Act, October 20th, 2004]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-231, An Act to amend the Workers Mourning Day Act (national flag to be flown at half-mast).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from the Bloc Québécois as well as the hon. member for Sarnia—Lambton and the hon. member for St. John's East. The bill has all-party support.

The bill honours those workers who went to work in the morning or at night but did not have a chance to go home.

April 28 is the day of mourning in this country. We are making a request on behalf of Kim Wild-Lewis, a woman who lost her husband as a result of an occupational problem and he died at work. We request that the flags on all federal buildings throughout the country be lowered to half-mast on April 28, the day of mourning in Canada.

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

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 19th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the hon. gentleman on his victory and I welcome him to the House of Commons. My question for him is quite straightforward. Seeing that he is new, I will be gentle with him the first time.

The party of the Reform and the Conservatives have always talked about a triple-E Senate, an elected Senate. We in the NDP have always asked for an abolished Senate, completely eliminate it.

The 10 provinces and 3 territories do not have senates. For better or for worse, they seem to operate in a normal democratic fashion. They do not need a second chamber to do the business of government in the provinces or territories.

Why does the member think that we need an elected senate? Here is what will happen. We will have legislation from this House brought over to the other place, and those elected people, if indeed it is an elected Senate, will wrangle, fight, argue, delay and do all kinds of things, which will slow down the business of opposition and government for even longer.

I do not like the system they have in other place now. That is why people like myself think it should be abolished. I would like the members comments on that intervention.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 19th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the new member for Kenora, a beautiful riding, and welcome him to the House of Commons. I also wish him well.

He talked about development for his riding. When one represents a riding as diverse and as rural as his, who could not agree to having economic opportunities so that youth in his area will not have to go somewhere else. We in Atlantic Canada know that problem all too well.

We on this side of the House have been pushing for a long time for a proper shipbuilding policy. We were quite pleased to hear the Minister of Transport talk about the need to assist Bombardier and Canadair in the development of aerospace technology and the aircraft industry. We in the New Democratic Party agree with that. It is a good idea to use Canadian tax dollars to keep Canadians employed and competitive.

The problem in Canada is that the government does not apply that same ethic to a shipbuilding policy. New military vessels are needed. Coast Guard vessels need to be replaced. The lakers on the Great Lakes need to be replaced. The ferries on both coasts need to be replaced. All of that work could be done right here in Canada.

In 2001 the then industry minister, Brian Tobin, had a task force made up of industry and labour and invited it to go across the country to develop a shipbuilding policy. That task force produced a very good report, “Breaking Through”, one which we on this side of the House support. The problem is the Liberals put it on a shelf and have kept it there.

If the Liberals are going to apply that type of strategy to the aerospace industry, would my colleague not think it prudent that they also apply that same ethic and same standard to a shipbuilding policy as well?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 19th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, being the chair of the citizenship and immigration committee, I have a specific question for the member. In Halifax we have the case of Sanja Pecelj, a woman from Kosovo who came to Canada and had to seek sanctuary in a church. After 400 or more days she left the church but the government still was not moving on her case so she ended up going to Mexico in order to reapply to enter Canada.

She had a job lined up, she is fluently bilingual and she would have been a great asset to the country, but we made her and others like her across the country go through hoops and unbelievable hurdles in order to achieve their goal of coming to Canada as a bona fide and legal immigrant.

Is the member aware of that case? Will his committee, which is obviously a master of its own destiny, be looking into situations such as hers in order to reduce the efforts of that heavy burden of Canada's immigration laws when it comes to someone of her particular stature?