House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2021, with 46% of the vote.
Fairness for the Self-Employed Act November 5th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member a quick question again about the working group that he spoke so eloquently about and has much disdain for. Could he provide for the House once again information about how the situation of self-employed benefits was handled by the particular working group and how the whole process was held in contempt by the current government?
Employment Insurance Act November 3rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Dartmouth—Cole Harbour--or Sydney Crosbyville as I and many people like to call it nowadays--on his work.
During the summer, after the working group was set up, there was a miscommunication, and I am putting that mildly, regarding the numbers that were put forward by the government, on the issue of 360 hours, as to how much the program would cost compared to what the Parliamentary Budget Officer said it would cost. I would like the member to tell that story as he was closely involved with it. The Conservatives brought up an issue of voting against that because it helped out x amount of workers. In 2005 when we put in a measure that extended weeks for workers, the member will never guess what the Conservatives did: they voted against it.
In that vein at some point I would like to see some honest, earnest effort by the government to practise what it used to preach, which would be the orders of the day given that in the past the Conservatives railed against any of these extensions, and now all of a sudden it becomes our responsibility to vote for this because it helps out so many. This just does not go far enough. I would like my hon. colleague to comment on that and especially on his work with the working group.
Employment Insurance Act November 3rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my hon. colleague on his speech.
In his current function as parliamentary secretary certainly he has had a lot of conversations with stakeholders on this issue. When the government was formulating Bill C-50 I would imagine at that point the government would have addressed the issue of seasonal workers.
My question comes from an illustration in my riding that talks about a group of individuals who work in a shrimp processing plant. They are seasonal workers. They have been doing it for 35 years in some cases, for an extremely long time. The average age is above 50, so the member can well imagine how long they have been working at those jobs and how much they depend on them through their daily lives.
The problem is that because the work is seasonal in nature they do not qualify under Bill C-50 because of the rules stated, that if they claimed so many weeks in the past five years, per year, they are ineligible.
How does the parliamentary secretary square that issue? What is it that I should say from him to the individual shrimp worker on the Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland?
Tina Moores October 27th, 2009
Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and honour a truly heroic person, Tina Moores, of Grand Falls--Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador.
On August 15, 2009, Ms. Moores, at 35 years of age, bravely lost her life in saving a 9-year-old girl from drowning at Red Indian Lake near the community of Buchans.
She was known as a kind and giving person. If she saw someone in need and was in a position to offer assistance, she was there to lend a helping hand.
Tina was an operating room nurse at the Central Regional Health Centre, a career she dearly loved. She was a certified lifeguard for many years, and she was a Red Cross water safety instructor. She was also a Special Olympics coach.
Tina was a person who had a heart of gold, a person with a great sense of humour and a great smile. She was loved by all who knew her and she did what she had to do in a difficult situation to save a young girl's life.
In the true definition of a hero, Tina Moores fits that description. She made the ultimate sacrifice and will not be forgotten. Tina will be sadly missed by her large circle of friends and her family. My thoughts and prayers go out to them all.
Investigative Powers for the 21st Century Act October 26th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin my question with a little background by saying that I have always been inspired and very interested in speeches in the House where people draw upon their previous experience before arriving here. Many people bring compassion and some very reasoned arguments as a result of their previous experience.
I thought one of the interesting parts of the member's speech was about cyberbullying, which is close to my heart because in this century, certainly with the advent of technology and social networking on the Internet, that is a very pertinent issue.
I would like the hon. member to draw upon his previous experience as a front line officer, as he has in his speech, and perhaps provide the House with an example of why this bill is needed now.
Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime Act October 23rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the member a specific question. He mentioned some amendments that he was bringing forward. Some of them involved the Criminal Code and sanctions for those who commit environmental offences.
I would like to describe an event that happened in my riding. I want to explore his amendment and how it would take effect and be implemented. In one particular case, land in the town of Buchans was contaminated with high amounts of lead. AbitibiBowater is responsible for that and they are going through the process of remediation.
How would his amendment affect that particular company, which affected the land on which the people of Buchan live?
Mr. Speaker, granted, in some of these situations, the situation and programs the member is describing may prove to be beneficial, or not. However, the situation is the Grand Falls-Windsor mill. It is gone. There are no markets to explore. There are no research grants to be given. It is gone.
Let me switch gears slightly and talk about the fact that there has to be an investment in environmental remediation. This is a mill that has operated for over 100 years. Within the Department of Natural Resources, will there be an opportunity for the Grand Falls-Windsor mill to receive federal money to help it clean up environmentally?
Mr. Speaker, some time ago, back in May, I asked a question. Circumstances have changed slightly. Allow me to explain what I had asked about at that time.
Workers were laid off from the mill in Grand Falls—Windsor and like any person working in that type of industry or any industry, for that matter, they would be in receipt of severance payments. Unfortunately, AbitibiBowater declared bankruptcy in the U.S. courts and therefore, because it was in trusteeship, it could not pay the severance payments.
However, since then the government of Newfoundland and Labrador has paid these workers in the absence of AbitibiBowater doing so and now there is negotiation, as I understand it, between the two parties as to what the selling price of the assets are going to be.
However, I do have a question and it pertains to the Minister of Natural Resources. In this situation, it involves a smaller community. There are roughly 13,000 people in Grand Falls—Windsor. I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary the following question.
In that situation, the workers want to diversify their economy and they want to do it through some of the wood products that they harvest. There is still a lot of forest and still permits at play and many of the loggers and wood harvesters are doing the job they had been doing for decades. In their situation, what programs are available for them to help the community diversify?
Let me leave the member with this thought. What specific programs are there within the department that they could avail themselves of to help the loggers and harvesters find gainful employment?
Business of Supply October 19th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for Yukon who certainly has done a great deal for rural affairs since I have known him in 2004.
In the meantime, let us talk about the sabotaging of the EI bill. I will go back to the point that they keep missing. A lot of long tenured workers in the forestry sector will not benefit from Bill C-50 as the Conservatives claim they will.
Business of Supply October 19th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, let me see if I can follow the path here. We are talking about a softwood lumber agreement that the Bloc supported. I will leave that as is. He talked about the incentives that we want to do. I repeat: November 24, 2005. I will give him a date and details. I listed $60 million to $80 million investments in improving machinery and loan guarantees, subsidies for many of these mills to clean up, and environmental remediation. All of these were in there. He was elected in 2004. I am sure if he were to check the records he would find out all about it.
As a matter of fact, I would love to sit down and talk about the forestry industry with my colleague all day. We could talk about these things that we did. There were mills back in the early part of this decade that took advantage of environmental cleanups and to this day many of the mills are still standing.
As I pointed out for the member at the beginning, if he has issues with the softwood lumber agreement he should perhaps talk to the leadership of his party.