Ted Hsu

[Drug-Free Prisons Act, June 17th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, many people in my riding of Kingston and the Islands would like to see drug-free prisons or at least prisons with less drug use, because they work in the prisons.

The Prime Minister has said that what we do not measure we cannot manage. Is there any provision in this legislation to provide funds to measure the effect of the bill, to measure a baseline for drug use and the change in drug use in prisons? Is there any provision in the bill to measure its effect?

[Democratic Reform, June 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the so-called fair elections act needs amending. Yesterday Liberal supporters from across Ontario received letters from the Ontario Conservatives reminding them to vote, but at the wrong polling stations. One of these letters was even signed by the assistant of the Conservative MP for London North Centre.

The letters from the Conservatives' Ontario cousins suppressed votes, just like Conservative data were used to suppress votes in the 2011 federal election. Will the Conservatives give the elections commissioner the powers he needs to protect Canadians?

[Portugal Day, June 10th, 2014]

Today is Portugal Day, when Portuguese communities around the world commemorate the death of Luis de Camões, the author of Os Lusíadas, Portugal's national poem celebrating Portuguese history and achievements. Camões captured the sentiment of the age of discovery, when Portuguese explorers led the world in mapping the coasts of Africa, Asia, and Brazil.

In Toronto, over 200,000 Portuguese Canadians celebrate Portugal Day with a week-long festival in Little Portugal. Portuguese immigrants have helped to build strong communities and successful businesses throughout Canada. The highest per capita Portuguese immigrant population is in my riding of Kingston and the Islands. Centred around Nossa Senhora de Fátima and the Portuguese Cultural Centre, the Portuguese immigrant story is an important part of Kingston's history.

In 2010, the Portuguese Cultural Centre hosted World Cup games, drawing soccer fans from all over. I look forward to World Cup excitement and Portugal's first game next Monday.

Boa sorte e feliz dia de Portugal!

[Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, June 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that was an interesting response to the last comment.

It is not always the case that if people need to get a post-secondary education, they should delay it. Sometimes the right thing for people to do is to borrow some money and get that education so they can have that earning potential and quality of life.

My colleague from the Conservative Party said that there was no higher calling than raising children. I agree with that, but the problem is that many Canadians are struggling to raise their children because of their income level. The tax credits that my Conservative colleague mentioned are just that, tax credits. They are not refundable. People have to be making a good amount of taxable income to benefit from those tax credits.

If raising children is so important, and even more important for people at the lower end of the income scale who are aspiring to reach the middle class, why can we not make some of those tax credits refundable?

[Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, June 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I know that Canadians will have listened with interest to the remarks from the member for Saskatoon—Humboldt.

However, just to accompany those remarks, I think Canadians also should know that I think the member's view of history is a bit coloured. He referred to the “Trudeau recession” in the early 1980s, but I think he will know that what happened was that in the United States the federal reserve chairman, Paul Volcker, decided to deal with inflation by targeting the total amount of money in the economy instead of targeting interest rates. That resulted in a sharp rise in interest rates. The prime rate got up to something like 21% in the United States, and in other countries as well, because the currencies are linked, and there was a very sharp contraction in the economy in the United States. That was the cause of the recession.

I know the member is trying to pin it on the Liberal Party. The Conservatives might as well pin all of Canada on the Liberal Party because they go back in history so often to do that, instead of looking forward and trying to decide what to do.

I just want Canadians to be aware that the member for Saskatoon—Humboldt, as sincere as he is, is making partisan remarks and his speech should be looked at carefully and analyzed with that in mind.

[Infrastructure, June 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, instead of talking about the equivalent of taking cars off the road, why not actually take some cars off the road by investing in sustainable transportation infrastructure? Right about now thousands of GTA commuters are dreading the voyage home. Not only are they tired of congestion, but the C.D. Howe Institute says gridlock costs the Toronto economy up to $11 billion a year.

However, the Conservative government has decided to delay billions of dollars of infrastructure investments even though investing in sustainable transportation would protect the environment and secure jobs. Why?

[The Environment, June 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, during his first major speech, the U.S. ambassador singled out Canada for its lack of action on climate change. While the U.S. government is showing real leadership by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the Government of Ontario has closed coal-fired power plants, Canada's overall emissions are on the rise.

When will this Conservative government take seriously the fact that this is an urgent issue?

[Petitions, June 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition calls for the creation of a legislated ombudsman mechanism for responsible mining companies operating overseas.

[Petitions, June 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls upon the government to consult with Canadians and issue a suitable form of proportional representation after the consultation.

[Petitions, June 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today from constituents of my riding of Kingston and the Islands.

The first petition calls for a moratorium on genetically modified alfalfa.