Champlain Bridge  Mr. Speaker, speaking of the economy, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities keeps saying that his government is spending money on the Champlain Bridge. Let us be clear: that money is being spent to maintain a crumbling bridge, not to replace it. What we want is to see the bridge replaced entirely, and heaven knows this is urgently needed.

Quebec Cultural Association of the Deaf  Mr. Speaker, on Saturday I attended an event held by the Société culturelle québécoise des sourds, and I saw how important it is to understand the reality of the 310,000 deaf and 2.8 million hard-of-hearing Canadians. Barely 20% of deaf people work full-time. Nearly 42% are underemployed and more than 37% are unemployed.

President of the Treasury Board  Mr. Speaker, most Canadians were profoundly disturbed to learn that the President of the Treasury Board spent $50 million of their hard-earned money the way he did. They are even more disturbed by the fact that he will not get up and explain himself. I do not know how he can look Canadians in the eyes and tell them that he is behaving responsibly.

President of the Treasury Board  Mr. Speaker, I personally entered politics to counter the public's perception that politicians are on the take. Regrettably, the member for Parry Sound—Muskoka is making that extremely difficult.

Libya  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue for her speech. It is certain that once our military leaves, we will have a huge task ahead of us to help Libya, a country that has known only dictatorship and repression for over four decades. The Liberal Party, along with our leader, has taken time to consult Canadians of Libyan origin to find out what they think would be important to do when we help Libya.

Libya  Mr. Speaker, on this particular debate, we in the Liberal Party have supported the initial presence and the extension and we will be supporting this extension. The job is almost finished and we want to finish it. However, part of the motion discusses the fact that it will be up to three months.

Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act  Madam Speaker, the vast majority of Canadians, I am sure we all agree, believe very strongly in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in this country. The issue of arbitrary detention for very long periods of time is extremely troubling. We do not subscribe to that approach as it is being proposed in Bill C-4 and as the member for Burlington has talked about.

Points of Order  Mr. Speaker, this morning around 10:30, I happened to be in the foyer of the Centre Block and I saw a wonderful ceremony whereby three ministers of the government, surrounded by about 20 Conservative colleagues, were honouring our armed forces on behalf of Parliament and transferring a flag to, I believe, a chief warrant officer.

Asbestos  Mr. Speaker, a pack of cigarettes very clearly warns us that tobacco causes cancer. Asbestos also causes cancer and yet this government refuses to put it on the Rotterdam Convention list of carcinogens. Nevertheless, other exporting countries, such as Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam and Kazakhstan have done so.

Asbestos  Mr. Speaker, the minister knows full well that it is very difficult to use chrysotile in the proper working conditions. The procedures, training, complex equipment are all needed to be able to use it in a safe way so that fibres are not accidentally breathed in. The minister knows this full well.

Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation  Madam Speaker, I would like to correct something the minister said. Back in 1997, the Liberal government did in fact introduce back-to-work legislation after almost two weeks of strike. We do believe that sometimes there is good reason to put in an arbitration process when it is clear that the bargaining process is not working.

Points of Order  Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to congratulate those who worked very hard to come to this very satisfactory resolution. I think everyone is relieved and we are very glad this state of affairs has occurred. At the same time, I would also like to make the point that we must respect the bargaining process.

Air Service Operations Legislation  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst for his comments. He clearly shares our opinion that the government has used an unduly rigorous approach with these two companies, Air Canada and Canada Post. In 1997, the Liberal government intervened after an 11-day strike.

David Colman  Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to express our condolences on the passing of David Colman, the Director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University. Dr. Colman had a distinguished career as a research scientist, professor and clinician. Under his leadership, the world-famous Montreal Neurological Institute was one of the first to be recognized as a national centre of excellence in research and commercialization.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, my question for the hon. member is a very specific one. On several occasions the member mentioned the word “non-refundable”. She talks about tax credits for artistic programs for young people. She talks about a home caregiver tax credit, again non-refundable. She talks about a tax credit for volunteer firemen, again non-refundable.