Todd Doherty

[Business of Supply, June 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I almost felt I had to come to the defence of our hon. colleague from Scarborough Southwest, but he corrected himself. I know our colleague from Scarborough Southwest is a long-time police chief with a distinguished career. I appreciate his influence in the House. I know he has a great ability and an incredible amount of experience in policing, maybe not in marijuana use but in policing marijuana use.

Is the hon. member for Mount Royal aware that the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has come out against the legalization of marijuana?

[Business of Supply, June 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I find it humorous that we are coming to the defence of those who choose to do something illegal. They choose to do something that they know is illegal and the NDP is standing up for them. I am sorry, but I have a hard time with that.

I want to ask a question again on driving impairment. The NDP motion calls for the immediate decriminalization of marijuana. Does my hon. colleague know what the level of impairment is? Is it one joint, half a joint, or a quarter of a joint? How do we judge? This is important. As we move forward with the decriminalization of this drug, our police agencies are on the side of the road trying to enforce laws and judge individuals' impairment.

Is my hon. colleague aware of any of the studies of the effects of marijuana and what the level of impairment is?

[Business of Supply, June 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Scarborough Southwest for his comments because it is exactly where I want to go with mine. I followed quite closely the hon. colleague's presentation. I find it farcical that decriminalization will lead to better study in the impairment of drivers.

Is my hon. colleague aware of the technology that exists for impaired driving for our police agencies, as well as the training and the time frame for implementing that new technology in order to know whether somebody is impaired and the level of impairment through marijuana?

[Questions on the Order Paper, June 10th, 2016]

With regard to court cases between the government and Aboriginal communities and organizations, as of April 22, 2016: (a) how many court cases is the government currently engaged in with First Nations, Métis or Inuit communities or organizations as either an appellant, respondent or intervenor, and what are these cases; (b) how many court cases is the government currently engaged in with First Nations, Métis or Inuit communities or organizations in which the government is the respondent; (c) how much is the government paying to engage in court cases with First Nations, Métis or Inuit communities or organizations as either an appellant, respondent or intervenor, broken down by (i) year, (ii) case; and (d) how many lawyers does the Department of Justice employ to work on Aboriginal court cases?

[Petitions, June 3rd, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions from the good people of Cariboo—Prince George and all across Canada asking that preborn children be recognized as separate victims when harmed or killed during criminal attacks against their mothers.

[Softwood Lumber, June 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, what we are hearing is, hang in there.

The 100-day deadline is fast approaching on the Liberal's promise to have a new softwood lumber deal, yet the only thing we know from the past 100 days is we still do not have an agreement.

Small producers do not have a voice. There is more uncertainty in an already volatile industry. Unfair tariffs and lawsuits for our small forestry producers are on the way. There will be job losses for the hundreds of thousands of Canadians employed by the forestry sector.

Why are the Liberals failing to stand up for Canadians and doing nothing to bring home a new softwood lumber agreement?

[Communities for Veterans Foundation, June 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to speak about one of the many great organizations in my riding of Cariboo—Prince George.

In 2015, Paul and Terry Nichols founded the Communities for Veterans Foundation, riding across Canada on horseback. Their goal was to bring awareness to communities about the changing face of Canadian veterans suffering from PTSD, and to help veterans transition from military culture into civilian culture through equine therapy.

Beginning on May 22nd, 10 veterans from across the country, suffering from PTSD, took part in a 14-day equine therapy program. They were paired with a horse for the duration of their stay, learning to care for their horse's physical and mental needs. The course provided veterans with awareness and skills that are transferable outside of the arena and into relationships, work, and the community. Today, those 10 veterans graduate from this program.

I would like our veterans and first responders who are suffering from PTSD to know that they are not alone.

I would also like to thank Paul and Terry for the contributions they are making, not only in Cariboo—Prince George, but across Canada.

[Income Tax Act, June 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I fail to see the relevance in that whole diatribe from our colleague across the way.

[Air Canada Public Participation Act, June 1st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, having lived, eaten, and breathed aviation for 20 years, I know full well the industry inside and out from the airport side, from the air service development side, the business development side, and the airline side of it.

There are some flaws in the member's presentation. A couple of comments caught me off guard.

The member mentioned the threat from the Gulf States' airlines, yet the government cannot approve a pipeline that would stop the oil that is coming from the exact same Gulf States, and our reliance on that.

The member made some comments about doing anything that supports making our airline industry and our Canadian companies more competitive. The Air Canada Public Participation Act states that 75% of the carrier's voting shares be held by Canadians.

Would the member support increasing the voting ownership limit to 49% for foreign ownership? Does my hon. colleague support increasing foreign ownership in our Canadian carriers?

[Air Canada Public Participation Act, June 1st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I have risen a number of times on this bill. The government seems to want to conflate the issue, saying that the opposition to this bill is an attack on the entire Canadian aerospace industry, when, in fact, this bill deals with one single organization. However, indeed, it deals with 2,500 jobs in Canada that we could lose in that area.

Can the member really believe the rhetoric that we are hearing from across the way?