Ralph Goodale

[National Defence, April 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, according to the Auditor General, the F-35 affair is just riddled with lies.

The government cannot dodge responsibility. It is not credible and simply not true for Conservatives to say that they did not know until today. They were told by the Liberal opposition 21 months ago. They were told by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

The government's own internal figures were similar to the PBO's, but denied that and is misleading Parliament. Even worse, it has not fixed the problem. Why is there still no open competitive bidding?

[Persons with Disabilities, March 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, to qualify for a registered disability savings plan, one must first qualify for the disability tax credit. What about those people with a debilitating disease like MS, for example, that takes a long time to develop? That person may not be severely disabled today so they would not qualify for the DTC and, therefore, cannot have a savings plan. However, they know for sure that their disability is coming. They want to save for that sad reality but the government will not help them. This is short-sighted. Will the government fix this unfairness?

[Roy Nelson, March 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, loyalty and service are two good words describing the late Roy Nelson of Glentworth, Saskatchewan. Maybe it was the gutsy generation to which he belonged. Maybe it was his experience in the Royal Navy and then a veteran. Maybe it was his deep Prairie roots as a farmer and rancher. Whatever influences shaped his character, they produced in Roy an extraordinary individual, dedicated to his family and all those around him.

Roy's passion for agriculture was evident in his support for the Wheat Board. He fought for fairness for those affected by the Poplar River Power Station and the Grasslands National Park. He was national president of the Canadian Piedmontese Cattle Association. He was an authentic rural voice.

A lifelong Liberal, Roy Nelson served in the provincial legislature. He personified the bedrock strength of Saskatchewan. We just knew for sure he would never let us down.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his loving wife Kay and their family.

[41st General Election, March 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the government says that hundreds of people with irrefutable evidence of election fraud are just smears. If that is true, give Elections Canada full access to CIMS and produce the scripts used by Conservative callers. How did the callers know which specific individuals to target with disinformation to keep them from voting?

On top of that, even Conservatives have alleged funny money and fishy bank accounts in Vaughan, and voters' lists were padded in Rouge River and Nipissing.

When will we get a royal commission to restore faith in Canada's electoral system?

[41st General Election, March 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, coast to coast, victims of election fraud are now telling their stories. Tim McCoy in Ottawa, Charles Cochrane and Lori Bruce in New Brunswick, Peggy Walsh Craig in North Bay, Astrid Dimond in B.C. and hundreds more in at least 31 ridings all got calls from Conservatives, Conservatives who tried to stifle Canadians' basic right to vote. There is one common thread: the Conservative database called CIMS.

Will the government give Elections Canada and the RCMP full access to that little chamber of horrors known as CIMS?

[Syria, March 15th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, in relation to the matter that the House has just dealt with, could the minister confirm that the Canadian government is in close contact with the Syrian Diaspora across Canada? They are represented from one end of this country to the other and have useful ideas to offer. I just want to confirm with the minister that he and his department are in communication with these Canadian citizens of Syrian ancestry and are taking their views closely into account.

[Foreign Affairs, March 15th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, backsliding on democracy in Ukraine is getting worse. Yulia Tymoshenko has been denied medical care and a twisted judicial system has been used to jail another political figure, Yuri Lutsenko.

Will the Canadian government do three things: one, provide the 1,500 observers requested to oversee Ukrainian elections this fall; two, reset CIDA's focus on democratic development; and, three, fund Radio Canada International to resume broadcasting in Ukraine? Will these three things be in the budget in two weeks?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, last year we warned the government that foreign takeovers in the grain business would inevitably follow the destruction of the Canadian Wheat Board. Exactly that is now happening. Fifteen months after their frantic flip-flop on potash, the Conservatives have still not turned a wheel on their promise to clarify the rules.

How exactly do the Conservatives define net benefit? What constitutes a strategic asset? How will farmers be better off with control vested in Minneapolis, Decatur or Switzerland rather than Regina, Calgary or Winnipeg?

[Petitions, March 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to file today signed by a number of people across a broad swath of central Saskatchewan, including the great constituency of Regina—Qu'Appelle, who are expressing their concern about chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency.

The petitioners call upon the Minister of Health to consult experts who have practical experience in dealing with CCSVI. They urge the minister to proceed with phase III clinical trials on an urgent basis. They also urge the minister to require follow-up of patients with Doppler ultrasound and clinical examinations in the period after their treatments, whether those treatments happen in Canada or abroad.

This is one of a long series of petitions from the Saskatchewan people expressing concern about this very difficult condition because one of the highest incidents of MS and CCSVI in Canada occurs in the province of Saskatchewan.

[Purple Day Act, March 9th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order with respect to the last item and the vote that was just taken. Did you observe that the motion was adopted unanimously? That would be an appropriate observation.