Ted Hsu

[Business of Supply, April 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague to comment on the remarks made by the member for Halifax, who mentioned during her speech that the NDP was the only political party that could fight climate change.

I find that a little unfortunate because all the political parties, which have never denied that climate change is a very serious problem, can and must work together to fight climate change.

Does my colleague really agree with what the member for Halifax said?

Maybe she did not exactly mean that the NDP is the only party that struggles against climate change.

[Business of Supply, April 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. member for Halifax why the motion is calling on the government to table only an adaptation plan.

Are we giving up? I do not think we should be. Should we not be asking for its mitigation plans to minimize the effects of climate change?

[Business of Supply, April 24th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, if we read the Speaker's ruling from yesterday we could have the following conversation with our constituents. I would tell my constituents that if I wanted to give an S. O. 31 under the current system I would either play ball with my party or if I did not get a chance to speak then it would be up to me to do the work to make a case to the Speaker that I was being prevented from speaking. If we adopt the motion that we are debating now, I could simply tell my constituents that I will get a chance to speak and represent them if I simply wait my turn. That would make a lot more sense to our constituents.

[Business of Supply, April 24th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we are debating an important question today and we are speaking on the record.

I would like to ask the government House leader a very simple question: does he believe that there should be more power given to individual members of this House, as compared to the power that the party whips have? Does he believe that it would be better if more power were transferred from the party whips to the individual elected members?

[Employment, April 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, middle-class families are paying more and more to send their kids to college and university. This year, we have the largest tuition increases in almost ten years. At the same time, the Conservative government is cutting funding for the summer jobs program by 25%. These are jobs that help students pay for their education.

Why is the government doing less to help students work, while families and students are paying more for tuition?

[Combating Terrorism Act, April 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I think that we are below quorum. I think this hon. member deserves more people listening to his speech in the chamber here.

[Petitions, April 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from constituents in my riding of Kingston and the Islands, and particularly in the rural parts of my riding. It is about genetically modified alfalfa.

Petitioners are asking the government to call for a moratorium on the commercial distribution of genetically modified alfalfa until a proper review can be done to study the effects on trade and organic certification and to make sure that we have the tools we need to keep genetically modified and non-genetically modified alfalfa separate

[Business of Supply, April 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from the NDP for mentioning the large budget surplus that the Conservative government inherited from the last Liberal government. I am a bit disappointed at the partisan response, because we are debating a treaty, which has important economic consequences.

I do want to correct the speaker who seemed to be claiming, again in a rather partisan way, that the Liberal Party did not work for trade. The Liberal Party supports trade. I would remind the member that the talks that led to the treaty we are debating today actually began in the years when the Liberals formed government, just a year or two before the Conservatives won the election in 2006.

[Petitions, April 15th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from almost 500 people from my riding who ask the government to take note of expensive crime and punishment policies, which are being abandoned south of the border in the United States; to take note of the government's reliance on double-bunking, which creates a high-stress environment and makes work dangerous for staff and correctional officers; to take note of inadequate rehabilitation programs and the spending of dollars on increased numbers of prisoners without tracking outcomes, such as recidivism, and without spending on the root causes of crime.

The petitioners are calling on the government to adopt rational criminal justice policies and best practices, to not rely on double-bunking at correctional institutions to reduce costs and to increase public safety.

[Business of Supply, April 15th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the riding of my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, is more than 150 kilometres from the border. My own riding, Kingston and the Islands, is next to New York state.

I would like to ask him whether the government has conducted an economic analysis of how small businesses in the riding of Kingston and the Islands and across the country will be affected by increased tariffs at the border.

What is the effect on retailers from the hike in tariffs? Whether it is right or wrong, has the government analyzed what effect these increases will have on cross-border shopping? What is going to be the economic impact on businesses in my riding of Kingston and the Islands?