Rick Dykstra

[Parkinson's Awareness Month, March 31st, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, this year Parkinson Society Canada will be celebrating its 50th anniversary of putting Parkinson's issues on the map, a milestone for which I offer congratulations.

April 1 will mark the beginning of Parkinson's Awareness Month, a month-long celebration to recognize members of the Parkinson's community across Canada. The needs of the men and women affected by this disease are extensive.

In Niagara, we have Canada's only Parkinson's clinic, funded entirely through private donations. I have had the opportunity to work extensively with former NHLer Steve Ludzik, who suffers from Parkinson's himself, to help develop and build the Hotel Dieu Shaver clinic into one of Canada's pre-eminent Parkinson's clinics. In partnership with the United Way, this clinic serves so many because it is a disease that impacts so many.

I would ask all members of Parliament to take the opportunity to recognize Parkinson's Awareness Month, the month of April, as a significant milestone and important aspect of why we should be paying attention to those who suffer from the disease.

[Canadian Heritage, March 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, this memorial will honour the more than 100 million lives lost under communist regimes. It will pay tribute to Canadian ideals of liberty, democracy and human rights. In Canada, over eight million people trace their roots to countries that suffered under communism.

Our government committed to honouring the victims of communism in the Speech from the Throne, and we look forward to fulfilling that commitment.

[Telecommunications, March 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been concerned about this question for years, and this was addressed last week. Our government has said that Canadians should not have to pay for the channels they do not want in order to get the ones they do.

In our Speech from the Throne we promised to provide consumers with more choice in channels. That is exactly what we have done. This will not only give more choice to consumers, it will help Canadian families make the best decision on how to spend their dollars.

[CBC/Radio-Canada, March 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, our government expects the CBC to fulfill its duty to provide quality programming to official language minority communities under the Official Languages Act and the Broadcasting Act. The CRTC has expressed authority to ensure that the CBC is fulfilling its mandate under the law.

We on this side of the House will let it fulfill that mandate. We will not interfere with the day-to-day operation.

It is obvious the other side of the House wants to do that. It is not our mandate to do that.

[CBC/Radio-Canada, March 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House completely understand the role of the CBC, which acts as an independent crown agency to deliver service to people across the country. We understand the role CBC plays in remote and minority language communities. That is why it gets significant taxpayer dollars on a yearly basis.

Let it do its job. It is what their professionals do. They understand how to deliver that service. It is not easy to do in the times we face today. Let the CBC do its job.

[CBC/Radio-Canada, March 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the only party in the House that allows the CBC to do its job and keeps its hands away from interfering on the day-to-day operation is the party on this side of the House, the government.

This proud agency has certainly faced difficulties. The changes in technology, the changes in demographics, the viewership in terms of what people want to watch and how they watch, that is left under the jurisdiction of the CBC. We will let it implement its plan. It put one into place in 2014. Let us let this crown agency do its job and not interfere on a political basis.

It is not what we will do on this side. We know that is what those members want to do on the other side.

[CBC/Radio-Canada, March 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have responded to this question three times.

However, there is something that will strike at the hearts of Canadians, not at the media but at families and children across the country. The New Democrats are prepared to reinvest or say that they will spend all kinds of money on crown agencies. They will involve themselves in the day-to-day operations of them. Where will they get that money? They will stop income splitting. They will prevent pension splitting from happening. They will reverse the child care benefits to all families across the country.

We will not do that. We are about families. The New Democrats can worry about things that are relevant not to families but to anyone else who is not concerned about how they would govern.

[CBC/Radio-Canada, March 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, they can keep asking the question; the answer is going to be the same.

CBC is responsible for its own operations. It is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want to watch and listen to, in both of our official languages. Our government provides the CBC with significant funding on a yearly basis.

If the member, who sits on the committee with me, understood and certainly looked back, he would understand and know that these changes are part of a strategic plan that the CBC went through in 2014 and is beginning to implement.

[CBC/Radio-Canada, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to repeat the answer I gave to this question earlier in question period.

The CBC is responsible for its own operations. It is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want to watch and listen to in both English and French. Our government provides the CBC with significant funds on a yearly basis. Let us be clear. As I stated earlier, the fact is that the CBC has put forward its restructuring and strategic plan for the future endeavours that it will partake in. That plan was tabled in 2014. It is now being implemented.

[CBC/Radio-Canada, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, the CBC is responsible for its own operations. It is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want to watch and listen to in both of our official languages.

Our government provides, on a yearly basis, the CBC with very significant funds. Let us be clear that these changes, and the member is probably aware of this, are part of the CBC's restructuring and strategic plan, which it began implementation of in 2014.