House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was liberal.

Last in Parliament October 2015, as Conservative MP for Calgary West (Alberta)

Won his last election, in 2011, with 62% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Species at Risk Act May 8th, 2002

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am wondering whether or not there is a quorum.

And the count having been taken:

Species at Risk Act May 8th, 2002

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am wondering whether or not there is quorum in the House.

Species at Risk Act May 8th, 2002

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I wonder if we have quorum.

National Defence April 30th, 2002

Mr. Speaker, members of our armed forces have gone into one of the most hostile areas of the world and they have made us all proud. They have proven their dedication to our country.

I only wish that the government would show the same level of dedication to them. The government's apathy and indifference toward our Canadian soldiers goes all the way to the top. The Prime Minister's own senior aide once said, “Being a soldier is not that demanding a task!”

Would he like to repeat that statement to our troops in Afghanistan, fighting a deadly enemy without proper camouflage or equipment? Would he like to repeat that statement to our pilots flying in 40 year old Sea Kings?

The government's disrespect and outright hostility toward our armed forces is an embarrassment. It is time for a serious reinvestment.

National Defence April 17th, 2002

Mr. Speaker, actually the truth speaks something else. The auditor general has reported that these problems go all the way back to 1990. What has happened? More Liberal cuts and Liberal mismanagement.

The truth is in the numbers, and the auditor general reported that even the recruiting centres were short of recruiters, which is probably why they missed their goal of 4,800 new soldiers by almost 25%. These shortages are a direct result of the government cuts in the mid-nineties and it will take 30 years to recover.

Why has the minister not given the department the resources it needs to do the job?

National Defence April 17th, 2002

Mr. Speaker, since the government was first elected our military has lost twice as many troops as it has brought in. National defence has lost 31,500 troops and only gained 14,700. That is a scary number. That is a lot of engineers, a lot of pilots and a lot of doctors. The problem will only get worse.

My question is for the Minister of National Defence. Why has the government lost twice as many troops as it has brought in?

Species at Risk Act April 16th, 2002

Madam Speaker, for those who may be in our galleries today or who may be watching at home, I want to tell them that a girl named SARA is about to steal my land. We could have amended SARA so she would have been less of a thieving kind but, as it turns out, we have a minister who, as I have been told by people who have worked for him, has more ego than common sense.

Unfortunately, we have a scenario where even though the minister does not have the budget--I understand his own cabinet colleagues have not given him the budget to actually implement the bill or enforce it--he is bullheadedly pushing ahead with it.

Today I actually had people from my riding in Calgary travel to Ottawa, a long way from here, about 3,000 kilometres or so, to speak to me about the species at risk act, SARA, and what it would do to their properties. They were very mindful and very watchful of SARA.

These people, who represent the Calgary Real Estate Association, know about private property and understand the concerns very intimately. They asked me if I knew that if any of the 198 endangered species were found on a piece of land that the owner could lose control over his or her property.

I want people to know that if any of those 198 endangered species are found on their land they could lose all control of their private property. It is a very dangerous thing.

I think back to the very foundations of the party that sits across the way, the Liberal Party. When I think back to the turn of the century and the times of Wilfrid Laurier, that party stood for free trade and classical liberalism. It believed in private property and in property rights.

Today we see an odd scenario where that party did not enshrine private property rights in our constitution and today is passing legislation that would severely restrict our freedoms and personal liberties and would actually allow for confiscation, expropriation, regulation and interference without any form of compensation.

SARA would give the government the power to deprive landowners of the use of their property. It is very dangerous stuff. It has a lack of commitment for compensation when citizens are deprived of their property rights. There is no obligation whatsoever under the act to provide compensation and the affected landowner could face a long, costly struggle with no assurance of compensation. The sanctions basically amount to either expropriation or partial restriction.

These are not my words, even though I happen to like them a great deal. These are the words of the people who are involved with the Calgary Real Estate Association. These people know property. They came all the way from Calgary today just to speak to me with regard to this particular issue.

A lot of people are very upset with SARA. They are worried about what she just might do.

I will go through what I consider to be important questions that the government or anyone should always ask with regard to legislation.

First, will the legislation actually solve the problem? Let us say the problem has to do with endangered species. If we were to actually put forward legislation that did not offer compensation to farmers, ranchers and others with a direct vested interest in these things, then we would wind up with legislation such as they have in the United States where people choose to go ahead and liquidate. I think the United States describes it as shoot, shovel and shut up. People would actually go ahead and get rid of endangered species on their land out of fear that it would somehow restrict their ability to use the land.

The legislation would actually make the problem worse. It singles out these endangered species for landowners to go ahead and get rid of them as nuisances.

Second, what fruit will it bear? This is an important question we should always ask when putting forward legislation. If the fruit it bears means that it actually impinges on the endangered species, results in restriction of personal freedoms in the use of private property, increases transaction costs and all these nasty things, then what fruit does it bear? I would say that it bears bad fruit. As a result, why would we pass something that bears bad fruit? Why would we put time, effort, blood, sweat, tears and political equity into it?

Third, who wants it? Do I hear a cry, a cacophony from the veterinarians across the land saying that they want to see this legislation? No.

Do I hear ranchers who deal with huge amounts of beasts on a regular basis and who have an obvious vested interest in stewardship of the land crying out to see this legislation? No.

Who do I hear crying out? I hear some city dwellers who do not actually live among many animals but who are particular fans of given cabinet ministers who are emotionally attached to this idea. However, I believe that if they are in favour of this, and I know many of them actually are not, they have wrongly placed their faith in the legislation because without fair compensation the legislation would do far more harm than good. In terms of the nitty-gritty of the legislation, I do not see all those people who want it.

Fourth, is it based on an exotic case? Is the government bringing forward the legislation based on a small incidence of success? As I have said in one of my previous speeches, out of all the species in the United States that have been listed as endangered species and animals, which are supposed to be protected with this type of Canadian legislation that has been modelled after the legislation in the United States, it was effective in only three-tenths of I think 1%. That basically means that the legislation was approximately 99% ineffective. It actually missed by such broad strokes that when one considers the amount of money that could be involved with this, the cost makes no sense.

Fifth, how much will the bill cost? Here it is doubly insidious because it is not only a question of how much money it will cost the Canadian economy as a whole but it is also a question of who pays for it that is very dangerous. Even though it is government legislation that is depriving people of the use and enjoyment of their private property, of their land, actually it is not the government that pays for it because the cabinet colleagues of our ego driven cabinet minister in this case have not provided any money for it. As a result, who will be responsible? It will come off the backs of the Canadian taxpayers. It will come off the property owners. It will be an attack on property owners.

It is funny when we think of the Senate having been set up as a body of sober second thought in a sense to guarantee private property rights. What a twisted fate this is.

The sixth and final question, what or who will slip through the cracks? The legislation would allow the very group that it says it is out to defend, the animals, the endangered species, to be the ones who slip through the cracks. It sets up an incentive structure for the farmers, the ranchers, those who own those large lots of property, to actually get rid of endangered species. The legislation does endangered species more harm than good. They would be better off without the legislation.

Let us quickly go over to economics because I have touched on some moral and ethical questions that one always needs to take into account with legislation. In economics, for prosperity we require a recognition of private property rights. It is one of the fundamentals. It is kind of a Jeffersonian classical liberal idea. When he wanted to write the constitution he wanted to have private property rights rather than the pursuit of happiness because he believed in it so strongly. However this legislation is directly contrary to that fundamental understanding of economics and actually attacks private property rights. Rather than reducing costs it increases transaction costs for those who own the land because of all the regulations involved.

The legislation bears bad fruit. It does not accomplish what it was supposed to do. If enacted it will be incredibly costly, and even cabinet colleagues across the way do not support the minister on it. I ask the government members to show courage and vote against it.

National Defence April 12th, 2002

Mr. Speaker, I wish they would not borrow each other's answers.

Last August the government put a rule in place saying that soldiers were not allowed to leave the service without six months' notice. Why was the government locking our soldiers into the Canadian forces? Today we found out. One soldier, asked if he would return to the forces, responded “Not if I was eating from a dumpster”. The social engineering policies and the lack of funding has our soldiers voting with their feet and they are marching out the door.

Will the minister admit that he is a complete disaster?

National Defence April 12th, 2002

Mr. Speaker, the minister has been at his post for five years. There is no new equipment. The Sea Kings are no closer to being replaced. Social engineering of the forces has accelerated. Personnel are leaving in droves. Instead there are Challenger jets to fly the Prime Minister and his cabinet around in luxury.

How does the minister respond to a soldier who says “the military has lost its mental and physical toughness to be an effective force”?

An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Cruelty to Animals and Firearms) and the Firearms Act April 11th, 2002

Mr. Speaker, I have listened to most of the debate here today. I always like to pose questions with regard to government bills.

First, what fruit would the animal cruelty legislation bear? I predict the following. People who see themselves as do-gooders would try to crack down on people running family farms and other operations. Farmers or ranchers practising what they consider to be normal animal husbandry would wind up being called criminals. They would face having to go to court or preliminary hearings. They would have to pay a lot of money to lawyers. The legislation would impose on them yet one more burden in addition to those they already bear in trying to maintain their family farms, cattle ranches or other operations.

Some ministers across the way may be able to eke out a couple of extra campaign workers or votes from their urban constituencies. However at the end of the day the bill would be another pain for the people who deal with animal husbandry on a regular basis. People in urban constituencies think they know better but they live in cities and do not deal with animals that much.

Second, who is asking for Bill C-15B? Who demands this type of legislation? I do not hear veterinarians going hog wild about it and saying we need this type of legislation. It is being promoted by a bunch of people who see it as their moral crusade. I have met with some of these people. They do not deal with animals on a regular basis, certainly not to the same extent as farmers, ranchers, veterinarians or others who make their living dealing with animals.

Again, what fruit would Bill C-15B bear? It would be a burden and a cost on average ranchers and farmers. It would be one more regulatory nightmare they do not need. As a result more of them would face difficulty, financially and otherwise, and we would see an increased corporatization of farms.

Who is pushing for the legislation? The Liberals across the way would fall victim yet again to special interests instead of dealing with the broad cross section of the Canadian public, a public which happens to live in a lot of rural areas on the prairies. These are our votes so why should the Liberals care? They did not care about the wheat board. They did not care about Bill C-68 and the long gun registry. They do not care about farmers or ranchers with regard to Bill C-15B. I guess that is the way the cookie crumbles. That is too bad.

One question I have been asking throughout the day has to do with private property rights and search and seizure. I will relate a story to the House. I recently took in a gun auction on my birthday and was told about someone who had been raided. The police had arrived at the door.

Hon. members should try to imagine this. It is a true story. The person had purchased a firearm at some point. The paperwork was fine. It was absolutely tickety-boo because the person had done everything right. All of a sudden a bunch of police officers in S.W.A.T. team tactical gear arrived at the door at 10 o'clock at night demanding to see all the paperwork and go on a search of the house.

As it turns out, in that case the person was lucky enough to have all the paperwork at hand to show them. That way they did not have to be kept up throughout the night with the police searching farms. Imagine that someone who had their paperwork in proper order had police arrive at their door at 10 p.m. to hassle them. It could potentially have turned into an affair of several hours rooting through that person's home. That is a real consequence of what the government has done with regard to firearms registration. A shame is what it is.

There are a couple of other things I would like to add to the debate which I have not yet done today with all the questions I have asked on this subject. There are things the government can do that will actually go after either the criminal misuse of firearms or terrorists or real criminals. Those are some of the things I would like to see the government focus on. It is a shame it does not.

I have been down to our border posts between Quebec and the United States. There are eight of them along the Quebec border. I have visited them a number of times. Some visits were previous to September 11 and I did not bother to ask very many detailed questions at the time. Subsequently I took the time to ask some of our customs officials what changes they would like to see as we do not seem to get straight answers from the ministers across the way. They do not like to tell us what the problems are or be honest about the problems in their departments or what they actually need.

The customs officials on the front lines say they want sniffer dogs. I do not know if anyone will believe it but for eight border crossings there is one little dog's nose, which is only worth a couple of hours because it gets fatigued and is not able to distinguish between various substances after a few hours of intensive work. One would think that perhaps there would be enough dogs to cover every single border crossing if we were really serious about apprehending criminals.

If people were not just trying to buy votes or looking for a band-aid solution and were really trying to apprehend people who smuggle substances across our borders and if they were really into nabbing criminals and terrorists, there would probably be enough dogs to cover our manned border crossings. But no, instead of having eight dogs, let alone having more for different shifts at 24 hour border crossings, there is just one sniffer dog for all of them. It is ridiculous.

Imagine it is late at night. A car is crossing the border crossing and the customs officer would like to check underneath the vehicle as he or she suspects there may be something wrong. Not only is there a lack of light but it is also drizzling, raining or snowing and visibility is greatly reduced. Perhaps there is even fog, a haze or blowing dust.

Customs officials would like to have a vehicle lift. Rather than relying on a mirror which a person has to use light refraction with in dimly lit circumstances as no one can really see anything, an officer would like to put a questionable vehicle on a lift, raise it up and look underneath. That is entirely reasonable to me.

What customs officials are asking for are not things that aggrandize their own personal titles. They are not asking for executive curls on their uniforms or gold buttons. They are asking for sniffer dogs and vehicle lifts. These are very practical things.

I am going to recap some of the things that have been raised today by my various colleagues, what I think are the best aspects that have been brought forward with this debate.

The government is spending huge amounts of money, $700 million plus, close to $1 billion, on a long gun registry instead of twinning highways or irrigation. Those are things that people in rural communities, the farmers and the ranchers could really use. It is practical, tangible stuff. It provides real, long term benefits. It is actually an enhancement of the Canadian economy and our productivity. For some reason, the government is not considering those things.

The government is continuing to spend money on court challenges programs that allow prisoners to use taxpayer dollars to challenge the government with regard to how many types of toothpaste they have.

Imagine how crazy that is. People would think that prisoners in Canada would be happy just getting one brand of toothpaste. No, they have launched court challenges using our taxpayer dollars over the issue of their not having enough brands of toothpaste to choose from.

I see that my time is up and I have so much more that I could communicate to the House. I will leave hon. members with this thought. This system of either registration or dealing with animal rights aspects of things that interferes with animal husbandry on farms and ranches is ridiculous and is only going to wind up in more red tape and a waste of taxpayer dollars.