House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 64% of the vote.
Government of Canada November 18th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has revealed that in the past year and a half the federal government has added nearly 30,000 bureaucrats to its payroll, yet another indication of the complete loss of fiscal control over there.
My question is very simple. When Canadians are saying to the government that they want to see more soldiers in uniform and more doctors and nurses in hospitals, why is it the priority of the government to create a bloated bureaucracy?
Terrorism November 18th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, perhaps I will ask that minister. The Minister of Foreign Affairs was asked in the House of Commons about this file. He acted as if he knew absolutely nothing and said he was going to consult the United States because he had no justification or information.
The minister's department has an agency under him, the RCMP, which had that information. When was that information passed on to the Minister of Foreign Affairs?
Terrorism November 18th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, he said he did not know. It would be nice if there were somebody here to actually answer a question on this.
While the minister participated in high level consultations to defend a suspected terrorist, it apparently took a trip by the U.S. Secretary of State for the minister to admit what he really knew.
Officials now acknowledge that they have had evidence on Arar's activities for weeks. Why did it take a newspaper article to correct the record? Why did the minister and the government not reveal these facts to the House before today?
Terrorism November 18th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the government's right hand does not know what its left hand is doing when it comes to national security.
The foreign affairs minister said for two months that the United States had offered no justification or information for the deportation of Maher Arar. Yet we now know that the RCMP knew of Arar's activities. They questioned him nearly a year ago and they were notified weeks ago by the FBI of its information.
My question is, when did the minister know of the RCMP's holding of information on this matter?
Justice November 7th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, there is not a single person who is not sitting over there who thinks the government has a plan.
The government has known about the clear need for certain criminal justice reform and yet again it has done absolutely nothing. The government has allowed the artistic merit escape clause for child porn to stand for months, and by its silence it appears to endorse voting rights for hardened criminals. The government has delayed dealing with age of consent legislation, giving a bizarre explanation of social and cultural considerations.
When is the government going to act on these criminal justice matters?
Kyoto Protocol November 7th, 2002
Of course, Mr. Speaker, the government also delayed the budget for several months.
Nine years ago, the government first committed to a treaty on climate change, at Rio. Five years ago, the government put forward the Kyoto commitments. We have been in session for six weeks, yet Canadians, the provinces and businesses do not know what action the government is going to take to meet these commitments.
When will the government put forward a full implementation plan, a plan on the targets, the costs and the policies necessary to put the Kyoto accord into effect?
National Defence November 7th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the government has been in office nine years yet it had to delay the recall of Parliament until October to come up with an agenda.
Now we have been here for over five weeks and the House has virtually no new legislation.
Let us take national defence. The U.S. mid-terms are over and the possibility of military intervention in Iraq grows, yet the government's ultimate position is unknown. Two reports have told us that the military is declining rapidly. For nine years the government has delayed decisions on equipment purchases, including helicopters.
When will the Prime Minister and the government put forward a concrete plan on national defence to revitalize our military?
Supply November 6th, 2002
Madam Speaker, our party was founded on the notion that we would get more votes if we listened to people. That is a healthy thing. I would say to the hon. member for Brandon--Souris that I understand his party has essentially the same position as ours, that it favours dual marketing on Wheat Board issues. The member should work with us to change the law and change the government rather than aligning himself with the NDP.
Supply November 6th, 2002
Madam Speaker, it has been clear in my travels in recent years that most of the growth in the western grain industry has been in grains not covered by the Wheat Board monopoly. It is not just oats, but the growth of the lentil industry and the organic industry, within the grain industry that have been seeking to stay outside the Wheat Board monopoly.
We believe there is a clear majority opinion for a dual market, but there is debate among farmers about whether certain grains should stay within the Wheat Board monopoly. One of the fascinating things is that once the grain is outside of it, nobody ever demands that it be put in the Wheat Board monopoly, because as the hon. member says, that is where all the growth is.
Supply November 6th, 2002
Madam Speaker, I am unclear why the hon. member of the NDP would think that marketing choice would not work here as it does in so many other industries in this country.
If the NDP got away from this single desk, socialistic philosophy and instead got back to its roots, listened to western farmers and listened to the options that western farmers want to deal with the difficult situation that their industry faces, it might find once again that it would have western farmers interested in voting for it.
The reason why this party has gradually lost favour in rural areas of western Canada is because it simply is not open to the views of farmers on these issues and keeps raising these completely unrealistic scenarios that somehow all options would collapse if farmers had a choice.
I think what would happen is that the Wheat Board would be forced to modernize itself and deal more openly, fairly and efficiently with its customers. We would see not only marketing choice, but a strengthened cooperative, which is in the interests of the industry.