Pierre Lemieux

[Veterans Affairs, November 18th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, last week was Veterans Week and it was with great pride that I took part in Remembrance Day ceremonies throughout my riding.

As a retired member of the Canadian army with 20 years of service, it was an honour for me to attend these ceremonies in uniform to honour the fallen and show my support for the men and women who are serving and those who have served our country with loyalty and courage.

During that week I had many occasions to talk and listen to our vets. I have assured them of our government's commitment to providing services that meet their needs and those of their families.

Veterans were asking for better support for seriously injured soldiers and their families, and we established the legacy of care fund.

Veterans were asking for extended benefits to better protect their family members, and we increased the benefits to make more family members eligible.

Finally, veterans were asking for changes to the veterans charter, and yesterday we announced changes to ensure our veterans receive the care, services and financial support they need and deserve.

We are on the side of our veterans.

[Agriculture and Agrifood, November 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, some very special guests have joined us in Ottawa today, young farmers from across Canada who are in town for the National Future Farmers Network, which is taking place today and tomorrow.

These young people represent the future of an industry that is a cornerstone of our economy and labour market and one that literally puts food on our tables.

Currently, fewer and fewer young people are getting into farming for a number of reasons including the significant financial investment needed to get started in this sector.

That is why the government is working hard to give our young farmers the tools they need to raise their families and achieve their dream of farming.

We are cultivating a réflexe jeunesse to ensure our programs are developed with the needs of young farmers in mind. We are working with young farmers to build a better future. We are listening and we are putting farmers first.

[Agriculture, November 5th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that it is illegal to use the phrase “product of Canada” when the product contains foreign ingredients. Canadians wanted to know the content of the food they eat and we have responded to their request. We are continuing to consult industry and consumers to ensure that the guidelines are working. The Liberal member for Malpeque said that the regulations will provide consumers with honest information on the content of the products they buy and that these changes could also end up increasing the consumption of Canadian products.

[Agriculture, November 5th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, when Canadian families go grocery shopping, they look for Canadian products. The new guidelines for using the “Product of Canada” label provide Canadians with the information they need. There is nothing ambiguous about it; if it says “product of Canada” on the label, then the food it describes has to be Canadian.

[Saint André of Montreal, November 4th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, on October 17 I had the privilege to be a member of the Canadian delegation to the Vatican on the occasion of the canonization of Brother André, now Saint André of Montreal.

During the canonization mass, the Catholic Church formally recognized the humble Brother André to be a saint.

The canonization of Brother André is an exceptional event for the Catholic community and for all Canadians. At a very young age, Saint André Bessette demonstrated profound devotion to Saint Joseph, the father of Jesus. This devotion led him to build an oratory dedicated to Saint Joseph. Today Saint Joseph's Oratory is the largest church in Canada, and honours the patron saint and protector of our beautiful country.

As a member of Parliament and a Catholic with a special devotion to Saint Joseph, I wish to honour Saint André of Montreal for his life of faith, continuous prayer, service to God and unfailing kindness.

Saint André, Saint Joseph, pray for us.

[Canadian Food Inspection Agency, September 24th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, for the member's benefit, I will read the quote one more time. It says, “Canada is one of the best performing countries in 2010 food safety performance world ranking study. Its overall grade was superior”.

I have explained, three times now, all the initiatives we have taken. What I expect from the member and his party is support for our initiatives to better serve Canadians and to improve our food safety system.

We have had enough rhetoric.

[Canadian Food Inspection Agency, September 24th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I just explained the scenario regarding food safety and how seriously our government takes this matter. I also explained some of the initiatives that we have undertaken to improve food safety and I provided a quote from an OECD report.

The last comment I would like to make on this is that despite all of these measures every time we do something positive in the area of food safety that member, his party, and the opposition vote against it.

[Canadian Food Inspection Agency, September 24th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share a quote that absolutely contradicts what the member is saying, from the OECD report.

That report said, “Canada is one of the best performing countries in 2010 food safety performance world ranking study. Its overall grade was superior”.

As I said, our government takes food safety very seriously. Here are two other initiatives that we have taken. We have established import surveillance teams, which performed 480 border blitzes last year, and we delivered $233 million through the food safety action plan to improve controls on imported food.

[Canadian Food Inspection Agency, September 24th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, our government takes food safety very seriously, and that is why we are continually improving our food inspection practices.

The audit in question was done between 2005 and 2008. Since the audit was completed, CFIA has taken action to improve enforcement, prosecute more offenders, and increase the training of inspectors.

Since taking office, our government has added more than 500 food inspectors. This year alone CFIA's budget has increased by 13%.

[Business of Supply, June 17th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I just heard my colleague on the other side talking about this being a democracy, not a dictatorship, and talking about prorogation.

The question I want to put to him concerns the long gun registry. Will he exercise his democratic right to vote to end the long gun registry or will he bow down to the dictatorship of his leader, the Leader of the Opposition, who will force him to vote against the wishes of his people?

This is important because his people want him to vote against the long gun registry. He said that he would vote against it. Will he do it?