Wayne Stetski

[Cannabis Act, May 30th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley for his work as an emergency physician. I used to live in Winnipeg as well.

I do have one question about something I really am confused about. The proposed legislation would allow a young person between the ages of 12 and 18 to possess up to five grams of dried cannabis without criminal sanction. There is also a social sharing provision in the bill where youth can share up to five grams without being accused of trafficking or transport. To me, that just flies in the face of trying to protect youth. I would be really interested in hearing the member's views.

[Cannabis Act, May 30th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, back in March, I held a telephone town hall in my riding of Kootenay—Columbia, and 3,300 people stayed on the phone for an hour. There was a great deal of interest in the riding. I had a panel of experts that they could phone as well.

One of the concerns that was really prominent in my riding was trying to ensure that small growers, which are very prevalent in parts of my riding, continue to have a role in the future of legalizing cannabis in Canada. If not, I can pretty well guarantee that there will continue to be a black market for marijuana.

I am interested in the member's views on trying to ensure that co-ops and small growers are part of the future.

[Canada Revenue Agency, May 19th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, when people who have been victims of domestic violence apply for the CRA child tax benefit, they are burdened with an onerous and impossible requirement. CRA expects the victims to return to the abusers to obtain a signature for the application. This is an outrageous and even dangerous requirement for domestic abuse survivors who are trying to build a better, safer life for their families.

Will the Liberals do the right thing, drop this unreasonable demand, and support survivors rather than empowering their abusers?

[Cycling Events, May 19th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I love biking. It is good for the body, good for the soul, and good for the planet.

I want to highlight some great biking events coming up in my riding and here on the Hill.

From May 29 to June 4, people all across Kootenay—Columbia will be taking part in B.C.'s Bike to School and Work Week.

In Fernie, Revelstoke, Kimberley, Cranbrook, and Nelson, teams of riders will be competing for great prizes donated by amazing small businesses.

Bike Day here on the Hill is June 1, an exciting event that encourages all MPs and senators to come cycling by providing bicycles and support for both new and experienced riders.

This summer, I look forward to biking with my constituents on the Trans Canada Trail to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday, and in the Kootenay Rockies Gran Fondo on September 9.

Please come and join us. There are few things as spectacular as riding through the Rocky, Purcell, and Selkirk Mountains in one of the most beautiful ridings in Canada.

Together, let us make Canada a cycling nation.

[Business of Supply, May 18th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all my colleagues today for their speeches, but particularly the members from the NDP and Conservative Party for their very personal stories related to autism. I really do believe in fact-based decision-making. The facts as I understand them are, first of all, the autism community was asked to come up with a plan and a strategy collectively, which it has done. Second, it has asked for $19 million over five years, which is less than $2 million per year. Third, we have heard that autism is a growing concern in Canada in terms of the number of people suffering from autism.

Given those facts, can the member help me understand why the Liberal government is not supporting this $19 million over five years?

[Business of Supply, May 18th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Kootenay—Columbia, we have the East Kootenay Autism Society, the Kootenay Boundary Autism Society, the Kootenay Family Place behaviour support services, and autism and ABA services, Cranbrook and Kootenay. This is a very important issue to many of my constituents.

I am really trying to understand how the government cannot justify in its mind investing $19 million to help these very important organizations deliver on their services to people with autism. It is a pretty simple question.

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in one of my previous lives, I was the mayor of a community of about 20,000 people, and I sat on the B.C. mayors leadership council, representing communities with populations from 20,000 to about 70,000. In terms of taxation across Canada, 8% of taxes get paid to municipalities, 42% to provincial governments, and 50% to the federal government. Therefore, by far the majority of the money goes to the federal government, and yet municipalities on any of these projects are required to come up with a third of the cost of their particular project: a third municipal, a third provincial, and a third federal.

When I look at this $35 billion being taken away from the majority of the municipalities in Canada to go into this fund and I think of some of the other ways that money might have been used to benefit the majority of municipalities—for example, decreasing the amount of money that municipalities have to come up with for infrastructure projects and increasing the federal portion—I see that this $35 billion of our money is really not being used as effectively as it possibly can be.

What does taking $35 billion away from the majority of municipalities really do to benefit the majority of Canadians?

[Canadian Heritage, May 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were thrilled to learn that Franklin's ship HMS Erebus had been found, thanks to the work of the Kitikmeot Inuit, whose oral history helped to pinpoint its location.

Canada spent millions recovering artifacts from the Erebus. A memorandum of understanding with Britain says any artifacts will be given to the Canadian people, but Britain is claiming ownership and the artifacts are being sent to the U.K. for public exhibition.

Will the minister ensure Britain acknowledges joint ownership for the Kitikmeot and Canada before she releases the artifacts?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, May 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP in my riding of Kootenay—Columbia and across Canada are participating in the yellow stripe campaign to demonstrate how concerned they are with the future of the force. They are understaffed, work with outdated equipment, and are losing members to provincial and municipal police forces that pay better and provide better benefits.

Bill C-7, which would give Mounties a national voice through collective bargaining, has been stalled for almost a year. Could the Prime Minister confirm that the bill will soon return to this place? What will he do to reverse the poor state of labour-management relations in the RCMP?

[Privilege, May 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, again I go back to the fact that I came here, as did all members, at least initially, to work together collaboratively to make a better Canada here in what should be a shining example for democracy.

We have strayed way off track from that over the last little while. We need to get back to working together collaboratively. We need to get back to making sure that this House is a shining example for democracy in Canada. That means that before the government changes the rules in the House, it is done collaboratively and through consensus. That is how we move democracy forward.