House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 36% of the vote.
Agriculture November 20th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, our government has many initiatives to help our agriculture sector. For example, we have invested $500 million to kickstart the AgriStability, AgriRecovery, AgriInvest and AgriInsurance programs.
We have also delivered $1.2 billion to our livestock sector, through business risk management. We have provided $50 million in slaughterhouse funding to help our slaughterhouse capacity. Of course, there is the pork transition program that we put in place to help the pork sector.
Agriculture November 20th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, our government is working closely with farmers. The agricultural flexibility program is a very strong program and we are providing $500 million for innovation in agriculture.
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide November 20th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I rise on the serious matter of euthanasia and assisted suicide.
The number of people in my riding who have contacted me to express their opposition to euthanasia and assisted suicide greatly exceeds, by far, those who contact me regarding any other subject.
Who are the people most at risk when it comes to euthanasia? They are the vulnerable; they are the elderly, the handicapped and the sick.
At present, the primary role of the doctor is to cure, heal and comfort. This important doctor-patient relationship is built upon trust. With the legalization of euthanasia, doctors would have the authority to take the lives of their patients. In short, the legalization of euthanasia would give doctors the right to kill. Vulnerable Canadians deserve proper medical care and comfort so they will willingly choose life over death.
Let me assure my constituents that I will be voting against each and every attempt to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. Every single human life is precious from the moment of conception right through to natural death, and—
Madam Speaker, the hog industry supports the initiatives that we have launched. In fact, extensive consultations were held between the government and stakeholders in the hog industry, in particular, the Canadian Pork Council. The president, Mr. Preugschas, said, “We think it's going to make a huge difference”. Curtiss Littlejohn, the Ontario pork producers representative, said, “These three programs provide options and choices for producers and ultimately will help to right-size the industry”.
Even producers themselves are saying that this is the right way to go. I really think that the member for Malpeque needs to communicate much more closely with the hog farmers across our nation.
Madam Speaker, I thank the House for giving me the opportunity to respond in greater detail to the question regarding the subject of the three new programs that we have announced for our hog farmers.
The first program is $17 million for marketing our world class pork products and creating new markets for our hog farmers. The other two hog programs the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food announced this August provide additional financial assistance to the hog industry. These new programs help producers to either consolidate and restructure their debt into government-back long-term loans, or to transition out of the industry.
The hog industry loan loss reserve program is designed to help producers with viable hog operations to continue during the difficult economic situation facing the hog sector by providing the opportunity to consolidate short-term debt into long-term loans.
Industry representatives have said they fear that hog producers will not be able to pay back the loans within the prescribed timeframes. The long-term loan program will allow producers to consolidate their short-term debt into long-term loans, granting them up to 10 or 15 years longer to pay back their APP cash advances.
The intent here is not to put producers in more debt but rather to help them restructure their debt so as to ease their immediate financial pressures.
By restructuring their debt, hog producers can access new APP cash advances in order to meet their short-term credit needs.
Since November 13, the minister has signed 18 contribution agreements with authorized financial institutions across Canada in order to grant long-term loans to hog producers.
The hog sector itself recognizes that the market has fundamentally changed as a result of recent developments. The hog farm transition program will help those producers who cannot or do not wish to adjust to the new market realities to transition out of the industry.
Hog producers who had barns in production on April 1, 2009 and agreed to keep all of their barns out of production for a period of at least three years are able to bid on the level of compensation they need to idle production. This program will also help contribute to a reduction in hog production that the industry considers essential for the long-term viability of the remaining producers and the sector. The transition program is being delivered by the Canadian Port Council on behalf of the Government of Canada.
The first tender was held on November 4, and 75 producers will receive $10.9 million once their barns are emptied. The second tendering event is scheduled for December 9, and up to 600 producers are expected to be eligible to participate.
These programs are delivering and they are good for our hog farmers.
Canada-Jordan Free Trade November 17th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, today, our government introduced new legislation to implement the Canada-Jordan Free Trade Agreement.
When this agreement goes into effect, tariffs on 99% of Canadian exports to Jordan will be eliminated and exporters of forest, agriculture and agri-food products will have immediate access to Jordan's markets.
Our Conservative government is working hard to open new markets for our companies. For example, we have entered into free trade agreements with Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Colombia, Peru, Jordan and Panama.
This agreement with Jordan is another example of our government's efforts to provide new trade opportunities for our businesses.
Criminal Code November 5th, 2009
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to add my support to the motion presented by my friend and colleague, the member for Kitchener—Conestoga. It deals with a very serious issue that is every parent's worry, and should anything happen, their worst nightmare: the loss of a child, particularly if it is as a victim to a predator, and in the case of this motion, an Internet predator.
As the father of five children from six to 20 years of age, I can say that this is a very real concern. As responsible parents, we do everything in our power to protect our children from the dangers of the world in which we live. In the early years when our children are young, while we must remain vigilant, the task of ensuring the safety of our children is relatively straightforward.
We are able to set limits on the time of day our children are outside, where they play, who their friends are and with whom they spend time. We are able to limit their access to technology such as the Internet and we are able to filter out much of what might harm our children.
However, as our children grow older into youth and young adulthood, they become more independent. They travel further from home and they have access to all types of technology. It is important to note, however, that even though our children are older, they are still vulnerable, which is why as parents we still worry.
One major concern has to do with Internet usage. This technology has become an essential tool in today's society. Although the Internet offers us new opportunities in the areas of information, education, entertainment and communication, it also provides some degree of anonymity to people who want to harm our children.
Thanks to the Internet, our children can have conversations with people far, far away, including strangers who might have very dubious intentions, despite the fact that our children are physically at home or somewhere thought to be safe.
As responsible parents, my wife and I always try to carefully supervise our children's use of the Internet, but we also recognize that it is not always easy. In many families, both parents work, so they cannot possibly always be at home when their children go on the Internet.
In many cases, children even have computers in their bedrooms, and as we have seen recently, when Internet predators come along, the consequences can be devastating.
I am sure all members here will recall the tragic death of Nadia Kajouji, a young student of 18, who took her own life here in Ottawa after a man from Minnesota encouraged her over the Internet to commit suicide. It was a terrible act that sounded the alarm and worried parents across Canada.
As parents, we had already seen the risks posed by online sexual predators, and Parliament moved ahead by adopting tougher laws to outlaw the luring of children over the Internet. It is also important to note that, in order to better protect our children against sexual predators, our Conservative government moved ahead by raising the age of sexual consent from 14 years of age to 16 years of age.
I am glad that fellow members of Parliament realized the importance of protecting our children and that we worked together to move forward with better legislation to protect them, but there is still a lot more to do. It is becoming much more apparent to Canadians that dangerous people often use the Internet to prey on our innocent and vulnerable youth.
Our youth, who during a difficult time in their lives might typically turn to people they love and trust for support, sometimes seek the anonymity of the Internet and confide in people who do not really know them. The grave concern is that this same anonymity that hides their own identity also hides the identity of dangerous manipulators who seek to take advantage of them and the difficult circumstances in which they find themselves.
In this one case I mentioned, the person who allegedly encouraged Ms. Kajouji to commit suicide was actually a man in his 40s, even though he claimed to be a woman of the same age. This individual is said to have had the morbid fantasy of seeing this poor young woman kill herself online for his pleasure and for the entire world to see.
Nadia Kajouji was only 18. She had just started her studies at Carleton University and had her whole life ahead of her. However, despite her good marks and large circle of friends in her hometown of Brampton, Nadia suffered from a serious illness, as do many people, with symptoms that were not apparent to her family and friends. She suffered from depression, a dangerous condition that can lead to suicide, the second leading cause of death in young adults in Canada.
I had the opportunity to meet with her mother, Deborah, here in Parliament and believe me, it was not easy for her to hear the facts because most parents do not expect it. Children do not always admit to their parents that they are depressed.
Like many victims of depression, Nadia turned to the Internet for support, for advice, for interaction with people who were in the same situation in which she found herself. In other words, she turned to the Internet looking for help. Unfortunately, those looking for help are often those who are the most vulnerable to being taken advantage of. The sad reality is that there are a number of predators with sinister motives who seek out those who are vulnerable. In this case, a man named William Melchert-Dinkel, living almost 2,000 kilometres away, is said to have manipulated her emotions over the Internet, encouraged her to commit suicide, and most unfortunately, her body was found in the Rideau River shortly afterwards.
Our law is very clear with respect to aiding, counselling or encouraging someone to commit suicide. It is illegal and can be punishable with jail time. However, the laws have been on the books long before use of the Internet became so widespread and predators need to know that there are laws that apply very much to them.
Our problem is that the current law, as it is written, makes no reference to acts committed over the Internet. For this reason, I am proud to support the motion of the member for Kitchener—Conestoga, which would amend section 241 of the Criminal Code to better reflect today's reality.
We must do more to protect our children against the dangers lurking on the Internet. Many believe that the law of the land does not apply to the Internet because it is a global network that has no borders. For that reason it is important that we provide clarification by including, in section 241 of the Criminal Code, the Internet and other electronic means as prohibited means of encouraging suicide.
Fairness for the Self-Employed Act November 5th, 2009
Madam Speaker, the initiative being put forward will apply to all self-employed Canadians, whether they are on the low-income end or not. It is a program that will support all of them.
I take the opportunity to invite my colleagues on the other side of the House, particularly in the Liberal Party, to support this initiative. Independent business owners have been asking for this for an extremely long time. We have a government taking action and moving forward, but we need the co-operation of our fellow MPs in the opposition parties to make this a reality.
This is a very important initiative. It is being watched very closely by independent business owners and we should act in their best interests. That is why I invite my fellow colleagues to support this initiative.
Fairness for the Self-Employed Act November 5th, 2009
Madam Speaker, I come from the riding of Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, which is also a rural riding. In fact, I will read a quotation. This is from Richard Phillips, the executive director of the Grain Growers of Canada. He said, “The legislation is very welcome. This has huge potential for quality of life in rural Canada”. He also said:
[This] could be the difference as whether one member of the family has to seek off farm employment because now families will have a choice. With over 200,000 farms in Canada, if even 10 per cent of them choose to take advantage of these programs, this could help ensure another 20,000 more young families staying on the land.
This is a great initiative for all Canadians, but particularly for rural Canadians, as indicated by the quotes from the executive director of the Grain Growers of Canada.
Fairness for the Self-Employed Act November 5th, 2009
Madam Speaker, on the funding for this program, one reason why we ask self-employed Canadians to make contributions one year before they collect is so they help finance the program.
The intention is this is a self-financing initiative. Over time, the money that independent business people put into the employment insurance program will be used to pay their benefits. If there were cost overruns, our estimation is that over time, this may raise premiums for the average Canadian by perhaps 1¢ or 2¢. That is about it.