Wayne Easter

[Agriculture, October 30th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the President of the Treasury Board.

According to the Treasury Board, agriculture Canada currently collects more than $100 million annually through various cost recovery programs. Farmers are increasingly concerned about the multiple impact cost recovery is having on their ability to survive and prosper.

What economic impact analysis has been and will be done to monitor these impacts and is the minister prepared to redress any serious negative impacts should they result?

[Committee Of The Whole, October 29th, 1996]

A point of order, Mr. Speaker. The member from Kindersley earlier said that the public is not going to take being lied to any more. I believe that is unparliamentary and should be withdrawn.

[Motions For Papers, October 23rd, 1996]

That a humble address be presented to His Excellency praying that he will cause to be laid before this House copies of the operating agreement between the Grain Transportation Agency Administrator, Canadian National Railways (CN) and Canadian Pacific Ltd. (CP) dated April 1, 1993, with respect to railway cars supplied for grain service by the Government of Canada.

[Racism, October 11th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism.

Yesterday there was a serious issue of racism involving 30 students at Coal Harbour District High School where a robbery is alleged to have evolved into a racially motivated brawl.

Is the secretary aware of the incident and what will she do within federal jurisdiction to redress these racial tensions?

[Hog Producers, October 9th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Canadian hog producers have been under tremendous economic pressure for several years because the U.S. government has been charging countervailing duty on all Canadian hog imports to the U.S.

What is the minister doing to protect our hog producers from the damaging results of this United States action?

[Prisons And Reformatories Act, October 1st, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I will be voting yea on this motion.

[Confederation Bridge, October 1st, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, in a ceremony in Borden-Carleton last Friday, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services announced the official name of the bridge which will soon connect Prince Edward Island with the Canadian mainland.

The fixed link will now be known as Confederation Bridge. This name recognizes the important role P.E.I. has played in Canada's rich history which has lead to Canadians calling the province the cradle of Confederation.

For all Canadians the name celebrates our rich past and our promising future, a future based on the kind of ingenuity and hard work that is making the construction of Confederation Bridge a reality.

Canadians from throughout the country participated in naming the bridge. The number of submissions as well as the quality and creativity of the suggestions demonstrate the pride that we Canadians feel not only for this incredible engineering feat but for our great country as well.

I would like to congratulate the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, the advisory committee and all Canadians who participated in the bridge naming process. Thanks to them.

[Official Languages, September 25th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon the staff of Green Gables House in Prince Edward Island National Park will be presented with a certificate of merit by the Commissioner of Official Languages on behalf of the Government of Canada.

The managers of this regional office of the Department of Canadian Heritage continue to meet the objectives of the Official Languages Act by striving at all times to maintain adequate bilingual staff. This summer the two regular and 14 seasonal employees hired were all bilingual.

Congratulations to the Prince Edward Island National Park staff for the excellent service they provide to visitors and islanders alike in both official languages.

[Irving Whale, September 23rd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I also express my appreciation to the fishermen, some of whom have since passed on, and to all those who have over the past 26 years never wavered in their determination to see that the potential environmental disaster posed by the Irving Whale was removed. This was the largest salvage operation to ever take place in Canadian waters and all those involved should be proud of a job well done. Congratulations.

[Irving Whale, September 23rd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Prince Edward Islanders I want to congratulate the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans for the work they and their departments undertook in raising the Irving Whale this past summer.

Deserving special mention is Captain Bill Dancer of the Canadian Coast Guard and his operations crew for the hazardous work they performed.

I also want to thank the former Minister of the Environment, the Hon. Sheila Copps, for the efforts she put in to ensure that this project move forward.