Scott Simms

[Fisheries and Oceans, June 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as we have just heard, the media reports now confirm that the Conservative government is closing down the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I am absolutely shocked at what I just heard in QP. The minister just said, “No way will it impact safety. Efficiencies will be achieved through closing this call centre”. I have never heard a distress centre being called a call centre in my life. Nobody has. Achieving efficiencies was in the budget.

Could the minister please show us in this budget, where that—

[The Budget, June 7th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I welcome my colleague to the chamber. I have a question for him.

It is very difficult for our sons and daughters to be involved in the fishery these days. We are looking at a situation where most management decisions based on science are going to go through a pattern of quick decisions and last-minute decisions. The people who are serious about the fishery, not only in Newfoundland and Labrador but throughout the rest of the country, will be in a position where there is complete uncertainty, uncertainty for my riding and for his riding. Therefore, the government has to get serious about this. The cuts that the Conservatives talk about proves that this will be a bad situation that will become worse in the very near future.

My colleague has a point. Where is that $4 billion going to come from?

How badly will this impact the management decisions, particularly in science, in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans?

[The Budget, June 7th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member on his arrival in the House.

I want to discuss the high unemployment numbers that he talked about. I come from a riding that has above average unemployment. We have discussed pilot projects in the House for quite some time. One particular pilot project provides benefits for the best 14 weeks of employment, which calculates the best weeks a person has produced as opposed to the last 14 weeks, which would give them decreased benefits. The government talks about small business but, in rural Canada especially, this is one of the things small business is claiming that it wants and need but it has been extended for only one year.

We have a pilot project that has been going on for approximately five years, so the government should do it or get off the proverbial pot, as it were. In this particular instance, does the member believe that these pilot programs under employment insurance should be made permanent?

[The Budget, June 7th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I certainly appreciate the comments regarding the valuation of our Canadian dollar as it is now at parity or slightly above, not just for manufacturing but certainly for raw resources, such as the fishery on the east coast and the forestry. As we get an appreciation in price of a particular species it seems that many factors negate that value coming back to the fishermen and certainly one of those is the value of the Canadian dollar.

A headline I read this morning said that finding $4 billion to cut from the federal government's $80 billion in program expenses is “no big deal”, our finance minister said Tuesday.

Of course it is not a big deal because it has not been done yet. I suspect it is going to be a much bigger deal as time goes by and the cuts need to be made.

I would like to specifically ask the member, in light of the large deficit that we have and in order to get to that balanced budget figure by 2014, how he would propose the government do that?

[The Budget, June 7th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague for coming back to the House and on his fine speech starting out with his family. I wish him and his family all the best.

I will start with the copyright legislation that will be, as the member pointed out, reintroduced. If memory serves me correctly, I believe he was on the special legislative committee that was struck in the last House. If not, my apologies. However, I do want to ask about that because a great deal of input came into the committee about the legislation at that time, which I believe was Bill C-32. A lot of that input was about the balance between the creators and the users.

Specifically, what will be absorbed from that input that will be brought into the reintroduced version of the copyright legislation?

If the member has time, my second question concerns the influence of foreign ownership over telecom. I am wondering what the member's thoughts are about protecting the cultural industries, like broadcasting, from foreign ownership for the sake of Canadian culture.

[The Budget, June 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I was so impressed by my colleague's speech that I wanted to nominate him for an Order of Canada medal but my colleague pointed out that he already has one. I will need to think of something else.

I want to touch on the first part of my colleague's speech concerning climate change. There is no doubt that the facts on climate change drive this debate. On the east coast of this country, specifically Newfoundland and Labrador, we experienced hurricane Igor which devastated hundreds of communities. In the aftermath of that, we realized that climate change is for real and the facts point that way.

The federal government is putting forward regulations for the smallest of communities to get in line with current environmental regulations. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities met over the weekend and discussed climate change. Eighty-four communities in Newfoundland and Labrador need to come up with millions of dollars to fix their systems when it comes to waste water management. Unfortunately, these smaller communities do not have the capacity to do that. Where is the federal government on this? Other than imposing regulations, it is nowhere to be found when it comes to the funding mechanism.

I wonder if my hon. colleague could point out how the current Conservative government has abandoned these smaller communities and how in the future it could help.

[Petitions, June 6th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I present a petition from members of the community of Twillingate Island who want more science being infused within the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Over the past 20 to 25 years, science has taken a back seat in many of the managements decisions. The result of all this comes down to last minute decisions that affect all the communities involved in a social way detrimentally. I have 193 communities in my riding and they are affected, especially along the eastern coastlines.

Therefore, the petition calls for the government to initiate a public inquiry into all aspects of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans with emphasis on fisheries management, dismantling the current state of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and put in place a model that takes into account fisheries science. Indeed, this is essential for these communities, not just for the east coast, but for the west coast as well.

[Petitions, March 25th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, for the final time in this Parliament, I am honoured to rise and present six petitions concerning the EI pilot projects.

Despite the mention in the budget, the petitioners from Twillingate, New West Valley, as well as Bonavista Peninsula, want permanency to the pilot projects, while working on claim and also best 14 weeks.

[Excise Tax Act, March 25th, 2011]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-644, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (funeral arrangements).

Mr. Speaker, if my career continues I am sure that no one would say in my riding that there had been such zeal and zest as you have done over these past few years, and I thank you for it. I thank you for the tremendous example you have given me as a parliamentarian.

On my private member's bill, I do not mean to make light of the situation, but death and taxes are always a certainty. Unfortunately, when both are combined it is unjust, in my opinion. When it comes to funeral arrangements, I propose that the government get rid of the federal portion of the taxes required. It is an indignity.

I want to thank my hon. colleague from Random—Burin—St. George's who feels as passionately as I do about this. She is seconding this bill.

I leave this with the House as what is seemingly my final moment here to bring forward some legislation.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[A. Frank Willis, March 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the town of Dover in my riding is celebrating its 40th birthday this year. Recently, however, Dover had to say goodbye to one of its own. I rise today to pay tribute to a Newfoundlander and an east coast music legend, A. Frank Willis, who passed away at the age of 60.

He was born into a musical family and started playing the guitar and button accordion at an early age and played with his brothers in a band that performed locally. He went on to become an accomplished folk and country musician and was known as a one-man band. He entertained audiences all across our great country, bringing with him a sincere love and admiration of his home province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

He was a master showman and an accomplished writer who could paint a picture and tell a story in every song. In 1981, he won the People's Choice Award for the best country solo artist. He was also voted Newfoundland's entertainer of the year.

A. Frank Willis, known as one of Newfoundland's greatest exports to the mainland, will be sadly missed by his many friends, family, fellow musicians and audiences around the world.