Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak against the motion that is before us today. It is not a complicated motion, but it certainly is a misleading motion. It really runs counter to the testimony that we heard before the Standing Committee on Public Safety with regard to Bill C-391.

Firearms Registry  Mr. Speaker, the summer break is almost here and it is important to highlight that there are 20 opposition MPs who will have one very important question posed to them this summer by their constituents: How will they vote on Bill C-391? I encourage the eight Liberal and 12 NDP members of Parliament to spend their time away from Ottawa listening to their constituents, and when they return, to vote in favour of Bill C-391.

Firearms Registry  Mr. Speaker, last week, in yet another display of political game-playing, the NDP, Liberal and Bloc coalition joined forces and passed a motion that would keep the wasteful and completely ineffective long gun registry intact. This motion proves that when it comes to the long gun registry, members of the coalition are more interested in political games than representing their constituents.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I was wondering if the minister could comment on the Arctic and the north. This is an area that unfortunately was neglected under previous governments and it is an area that our government made a priority from the very onset when we were first elected into government.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in relation to Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act.

Firearms Registry  Mr. Speaker, this week is an important one for those of us who have long opposed the long gun registry. Tomorrow, the public safety committee will start clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-391, which would end this registry. However, Liberal MPs such as the member for Ajax—Pickering, as well as the NDP justice critic, have hinted that they are ready to play political games by introducing amendments to Bill C-391 that would actually keep the long gun registry.

Firearms Registry  Mr. Speaker, Canadians continue to speak out against the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry, but the Liberal leader does not want to listen. He thinks he can score political points by fighting a so-called cultural war against rural Canadians. However, the Liberal leader's cultural war idea hit a snag last month when my fellow Manitoban, NDP Justice Minister Andrew Swan, announced his government's support for scrapping the long gun registry.

Spinal Cord Injuries  Mr. Speaker, today, I participated in the Canadian Paraplegic Association's Chair-Leaders event on Parliament Hill in recognition of Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month. Participating MPs have spent part or all of their day in a wheelchair facing some of the same challenges a person with a spinal cord injury faces every day.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I would like the chance to respond because the member was given a chance. Actually, that is exactly what the member of that first nations said. He specifically said, “I want to thank the Government of Canada for the economic action plan and for what it has provided for us in terms of housing”.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, yesterday I had the opportunity to travel with other members of a committee I sit on to Lac-Simon, a first nations community located in Quebec. The chief and council specifically thanked the government and the minister for the work that has been done through Canada's economic action plan.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second and third reports of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in relation to Bill C-395, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (labour dispute) and Bill C-308, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (improvement of the employment insurance system).

Firearms Registry  Mr. Speaker, first the Liberal leader forces his members to vote against their constituents on ending the wasteful long gun registry. Now the Liberal-led coalition is attempting to use its opposition majority to shut out witnesses at the public safety committee. The Liberals, led by the member for Ajax—Pickering, are trying to move a motion to have 33 witnesses appear, 28 of whom are in favour of the Liberal leader's position to keep the long gun registry.

Firearms Registry  Mr. Speaker, today, the Liberal leader has come out against an attempt to scrap the long gun registry by promising to whip the Liberal vote on Bill C-391. He has a problem, however, because eight of his rural MPs have already voted to support my bill, which would end this Liberal boondoggle.

Agriculture and Agri-Food  Mr. Speaker, the unfortunate misnaming of H1N1 influenza last year had the potential to severely affect pork producers in my riding and across Canada. The Canadian Pork Council president recently thanked the government, saying the ministers of agriculture and international trade acted quickly on behalf of the industry by effectively coordinating department actions to minimize market disruptions and quickly resolve issues that did occur.

Canwest Canspell National Spelling Bee  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Canwest Canspell spelling bee participants from across Canada. This grassroots literacy initiative encourages academic excellence in grades four to eight students. Approximately 250,000 young spellers participated in the 2010 Canspell competition.