Wayne Easter

[The Environment, November 19th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I stand today to again request the government to establish the infrastructure to assist in the development, domestic use and export of clean wind energy on P.E.I.

Shamefully, the Prime Minister cancelled a signed agreement of the previous government, including $32 million to fund a Northumberland Strait energy cable. However, today's reality should allow the Prime Minister to reconsider.

With the Copenhagen conference emphasizing sound environmental policy, a cable to allow the movement of surplus wind energy would blunt the criticism of the government's tragic environmental record. Better yet, the province has endorsed an energy strategy utilizing wind to create clean energy and an improved economy.

Three years have been lost. However, the opportunity still exists to partner with P.E.I. to develop clean energy for domestic and export use. I appeal to the Prime Minister to fund this excellent economic opportunity.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, November 17th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the Minister of Agriculture should face some of the hog producers and give that answer to those who are going broke, losing their homes and losing their land. That answer is unacceptable.

Let us be clear. The minister pretends he stands behind farmers but his is a record of failure. Of all the cruel hoaxes perpetuated by the government, the Minister of Agriculture's hoax is the worst. He is imposing an absolute cruelty on producers in this country.

Will he commit today to re-profile the $1 billion that his department misspent to producers?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, November 17th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada performance report is a shockingly sad commentary on the minister's performance.

While hog producers are facing their worst crisis ever, hundreds leaving the farms, with beef producers facing the lowest prices in decades due in great part to the government's inaction on challenging the United States' country of origin labelling, the minister cuts back on farm income support by $961,400,000.

How can the minister be so heartless as to cut $1 billion from farmers in their time of need?

[Business of Supply, November 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member's remarks and agree with most of them on his criticism of the government. He talked about the lineups in Quebec. I can tell him that there are lineups and dissatisfaction in PEI.

The fact is that the government ordered late. Even China is in its seventh week of vaccinations. We are only in our second week, and there is only 20% of the supply that should be available.

The government goes on at length about the six million that it has out there. I would ask the question the other way. Simple math would tell me that if there are six million doses out there, there are 26 million doses that are not out there. Experts claim that the virus will peak in five weeks. The minister says we will get the vaccination by Christmas. What about these 26 million potential vaccinations that are needed?

I think it is incredible incompetence on the part of the government.

However, I will ask my colleague, would he agree that at least there is one area where the government could come up with funding to assist, in terms of maybe getting more health care workers out there, attempting to get vaccines elsewhere, and redeploy the $400 million that it had set aside for emergencies? We do not know where it went, whether it went to signage or whatever, but would it be wise to redeploy that $400 million so that we could put more vaccines into the arms of Canadians, where it matters?

[Health, November 3rd, 2009]

Look at the facts, Mr. Speaker. From listeriosis, a national food safety issue, to H1N1, a national health concern, the government's incompetence knows no bounds.

In P.E.I., with some schools facing 35% absenteeism, parents and children await the vaccine shot, but now it is not available. Yet the government's propaganda machine wastefully drives in action plan signs from everything from doorknobs to air conditioners.

Will the Prime Minister stop this waste and instead deliver on his public health responsibilities?

[Health, November 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, how could that minister be so pompous? Worse, with Canadians worried about their health, the Conservatives paint the GO Train with wasteful blue ads, $46,000 for eight weeks of Conservative propaganda. What are Canadians to think, watching that train go back and forth? This is $46,000 that could have been used for more vaccine or public health information.

Are Canadians to wait for the minister's latest guess, “Wait till Christmas and you may have your vaccine?” This is unacceptable and it is arrogant on the part of the government. When will it act—

[November 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we can talk about headlines.

The headline in today's Guardian, in P.E.l., is “H1N1 flu vaccine shortage to impact island clinics”. It says:

A nationwide shortage of vaccines will delay P.E.I.'s H1N1 vaccination plan for the coming weeks

In Prince Edward Island today we have four schools with over 35% absenteeism, and 35 schools with an outbreak of 10%.

The parliamentary secretary went through quite a series of numbers, but he did not talk about what we are short. Where is the plan on the shortage of vaccines that would deal with the problems we are having in Prince Edward Island and across the country?

[Volunteer Firefighters, October 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, there is growing concern about the ability of volunteer fire departments to recruit new people to serve as first responders.

Volunteer fire services are a major component of Canada's public safety and security infrastructure, protecting the lives and property of thousands of citizens in communities across this great nation. In fact, over 90% of all Canadian communities are protected by volunteer fire departments.

In the villages and communities of Prince Edward Island, the greatest challenge facing volunteer fire services today is the decline of volunteers. The greater need for training and the greater emphasis on liability issues, as well as both parents often working outside the home have all added to time constraints and demands on a volunteer's commitment to serve his or her community.

Volunteer fire departments and, indeed, communities need the federal government to follow through on the tax credit proposed in my private member's bill.

[Infrastructure, October 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, that is some fabricated story by the Minister of Transport. The fact is that is a government that claims maintenance work as economic stimulus, doorknob for doorknob. Worse, Conservative deception is becoming standard to government practice. There is deception on everything from deficits to Conservative cheque signings to staged town halls to partisan ads and signs, all at the expense of the taxpayers.

How can the Prime Minister impose additional deficit on our children and grandchildren for these partisan antics?

[Infrastructure, October 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the dishonesty of the Prime Minister's propaganda campaign knows no limits. Squandering taxpayers' money for everything from Conservatives' cheque signing to plastering their logo on government announcements, the Prime Minister has found a new low. Using maintenance in government buildings as an excuse to manipulate the public mind, Conservative operatives in Kensington, P.E.I., set up an economic action plan sign for replacing a boiler room door.

Mr. Speaker, can you imagine calling a door replacement stimulus? Prime Minister, which cost more? The door or the propaganda sign?