Randy Kamp

[Petitions, March 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present this petition signed by residents of the Lower Mainland, in British Columbia. The petitioners call upon Parliament to condemn discrimination against females that occurs through sex-selective pregnancy termination.

[The Environment, March 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the department is making operations more efficient by simplifying its management and organizational structure. This means reducing administrative expenses for management and overhead, reducing duplication and improving our decision-making processes. I wonder which of these the member is opposed to doing.

This will not put our front-line staff or our services to Canadians in any worse condition.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thought the member opposite would be rising to congratulate our government on the significant investments in the Canadian fishing industry in economic action plan 2013. If he reads it, he will see that it includes support for first nation fishing enterprises, improving the conservation of fisheries and enhancing regulatory certainty for the agricultural sector. All of these enhance the sustainability of commercial, recreational and aboriginal fisheries, to which we are fully committed.

[Business of Supply, March 20th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I listened attentively to the comments from my colleague from Cardigan. From what I heard, it was not clear to me that he was aware that DFO has been spending $200 million or so every year on science, and it continues to do so. I just wondered if he was aware of that.

Could I also ask him if he would not agree that the nature of science requires us to look at what we are doing from time to time and ensure that it is focused on the things we need to know and the priorities we have set for ourselves as a department and as a country?

That is what we have been doing. As my colleague, the Minister of State, has said, we have been adding money every year as we have identified those priorities and have become more focused than the previous government.

[Blanket BC, March 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my constituent, Gregory Ould, the founder of Blanket BC, a charity that collects blankets and distributes them to those in need in our local communities. Recently, Blanket BC reached the milestone of having distributed 100,000 blankets to those who find themselves out in the cold.

I also applaud Ben Ould, one of the unofficial co-founders of Blanket BC and its most active volunteer. As a warm-hearted blanketeer, Ben works several hours every week to help those in need. When he is not volunteering for Blanket BC, he might be found every day out picking up garbage on his Adopt-A-Block route, or this remarkable young man might be found at elementary school, because he is just nine years old. Ben and his five-year-old sister, Emma, who also volunteers, are setting a good example for us all to follow.

I invite all members of the House to join me in thanking members of the Ould family for their compassionate leadership with Blanket BC. They are making Canada stronger and better.

[Petitions, March 1st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by residents of Mission and other areas of the Fraser Valley that calls upon the House of Commons to condemn discrimination against girls through sex-selective abortion and do all it can to prevent sex-selective abortions from being carried out in Canada.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 1st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the department has made a decision to modernize its library services and take advantage of the increasing availability of information resources in digital form. Most requests are received and delivered electronically today. Library collection and services continue to be provided to departmental staff and other users in both official languages.

Work to consolidate the facilities is under way and is expected to be completed by the fall of 2013.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 1st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member that our government recognizes the importance of safe and functional harbours to support the commercial fishing industry.

I cannot give him the actual figure in that fund. I will be happy to get it to him later. It is my understanding that the Gabarus seawall does not qualify for that funding.

[Search and Rescue, February 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I will continue to stress to my colleague and fellow Canadians that marine safety remains a top priority for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In spite of the member opposite's misgivings, the consolidation of the marine rescue sub-centre in Quebec will not impact public safety. Mariners will receive the same high-quality search and rescue coordination response they have in the past, in both official languages. The appropriate steps are being taken to ensure this.

Additionally, there have been no changes in the standard of search and rescue response as a result of this initiative. Services will continue to be provided by the highly capable Coast Guard crews in conjunction with the volunteers of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and our other emergency response partners. We want to reassure Canadians that bilingual marine search and rescue coordination services will always be available, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in Canada.

[Search and Rescue, February 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity to address again the issue raised by my hon. colleague, the member of Parliament for Québec. This is the issue of consolidation of the marine rescue sub-centre located in Quebec City with the joint rescue coordination centre located in Trenton.

In April 2012, we witnessed a similar, successful consolidation of the marine rescue sub-centre in St. John's into the joint rescue coordination centre in Halifax. Search and rescue coordination and response continues to be provided at the same level of service today as it was when the marine rescue sub-centre in St. John's was in place. This is proof that the consolidation of one centre into another can be done safely.

The Coast Guard continues to undertake all efforts to recruit qualified search and rescue mission coordinators at both joint rescue coordination centres. Currently, bilingual services are provided by two centres: Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax and the marine rescue sub-centre in Quebec. The consolidation project will ensure that bilingual capacity is enhanced in both Halifax and Trenton before the Quebec centre is closed.

Significant progress has been made on this initiative. The joint rescue coordination centre in Halifax has undergone extensive renovations and now has a state of the art communications management system. Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton will undergo a similar renovation in the near future. Both centres have recruited bilingual staff who have been trained and are now on the job. Additionally, search and rescue staff have been working with our emergency response partners to ensure that the transition will be seamless and that the current level of co-operation between partners will continue.

The government is fully aware that the provision of bilingual services is critical, particularly when it comes to the safety of mariners. As a result, the Coast Guard has increased the required level of language proficiency for the maritime search and rescue coordinators at the rescue coordination centres and developed language training and maintenance plans. These steps will ensure that we are meeting our official languages obligations in the most effective way.

These changes to search and rescue coordination service delivery would not be made if there were any evidence that they would negatively impact the safety of Canadians, whatever their official language of choice. As we have stated many times before, these changes do not affect the availability of search and rescue resources and the level of response during a distress incident. Coast Guard crews and the volunteers of the Coast Guard Auxiliary will continue to respond to emergencies as they have under the coordination of the joint rescue centres.

I can assure members that search and rescue coordination services will still be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in both official languages.

Canada is an international leader in marine safety and the Canadian Coast Guard's search and rescue program is among the best in the world and will remain so. We will continue to ensure that timely and appropriate maritime search and rescue coordination and response services are available to all mariners.

I assure the member that the Quebec marine rescue sub-centre will only be closed when we are fully confident that the same level of services can be provided and public safety assured. The safety of Canadians remains this government's top priority. The excellent standard of maritime search and rescue that Canadians have come to expect, and indeed depend upon, will be maintained.