Yvonne Jones

[Search and Rescue, October 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, a recent National Defence report acknowledged and revealed glaring inadequacies in search and rescue in Canada's north. Among those many weaknesses was the limited and aging fleet of aircraft and the limited deployment areas of operation for those aircraft. It points out also the limited capability to respond to shipboard scenarios, including oil spills and major communications on weather reporting voids. All of these things point to future tragedy in the north, but we know it can be prevented.

Will the government act now to ensure these things are taken care of?

[Ethics, June 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative ethical breaches keep piling up. Peter Penashue's campaign finance problems; well, that was Reg Bowers' fault. Illegal use of the Conservative database in the last election; that was Pierre Poutine's fault. Mike Duffy's improper expense claims; a staffer gets thrown under the bus. Wright's $90,000 was not just to cover Duffy's expenses but to cover up for the government.

The Conservatives claim to stand for personal responsibility, but when will they start taking that responsibility?

[41st General Election, June 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear. The Conservative Party pled guilty in a campaign finance scandal involving senior senators, the Federal Court declared that the Conservative Party's voter database was the source of campaign election fraud, and now Elections Canada has found that two more members of the Conservative government violated election laws.

The people of Labrador finally got to hold Conservative Peter Penashue to account. When will other Canadians get to hold the current Prime Minister and the current government to account?

[Search and Rescue, June 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government, and it knows this, has really gutted front-line search and rescue services.

The Minister of National Defence made a fly-through announcement in response to the Auditor General's report and did little to address any of the deficiencies.

In May, a local 5 Wing Goose Bay official said that search and rescue for Labradorians is not their first or their second priority.

Why does the Conservative government not fix search and rescue in Newfoundland and Labrador before more lives are lost?

[Search and Rescue, June 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, my apologies, and my thanks for your tolerance today.

On May 8, there was an emergency at Park Lake, near Happy Valley-Goose Bay. However, none of the three Griffin helicopters based at 5 Wing Goose Bay were available. All were out of service for maintenance.

This was days after the Minister of National Defence made a campaign stop in town to reassure people that adequate search and rescue was in place.

Why does the government continue to ignore the people of Newfoundland and Labrador who are crying out for help with search and rescue?