National Office for Fire and Emergency Response Statistics Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-495, An Act to amend the Statistics Act (National Office for Fire and Emergency Response Statistics). Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to introduce a bill that would create a national office for fire and emergency response statistics. This office would build a database to compile fire and emergency response statistics from across the country.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, one of the things that has made Canada such a great country for so long has been our ability to maintain a strong middle class. A strong middle class is maintained by having jobs for Canadian men and women so they can raise their families with security and dignity. This means a family of four in a place like Ottawa needs to have an income of approximately $60,000.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, prior to being elected, I worked for 16 years with a trade union. I was involved in many labour disputes of different kinds. I know that at the end of the day, they all come to resolution. However, the question is this. How much pain and suffering has to happen before that comes?

RCMP  Mr. Speaker, the RCMP public complaints commissioner just released his report into the taser death of Robert Dziekanski in B.C. Mr. Kennedy found that the officers acted inappropriately, that their testimony was not credible and that the internal investigation was flawed. He stated there is inadequate taser training and that the RCMP still lacks a clear policy on taser use.

Provincial Choice Tax Framework Act  Mr. Speaker, the main supposition of that question is totally false, and in fact it is ridiculous. The hon. member says he listened to my speech but, with respect, I question that, because I have gone through a number of points that make the facts clear, and this is not just a provincial issue.

Provincial Choice Tax Framework Act  Mr. Speaker, I have a different proposition for the members opposite. Next election, let them come to the province of British Columbia, let us go onto the hustings, and let us debate in every gymnasium, every auditorium and every household about whether the people in British Columbia want the HST and whether they think it is good policy.

Provincial Choice Tax Framework Act  Mr. Speaker, I think the idea that jobs are created by implementing a tax on working- and middle-class Canadians is not only untested but fallacious. I do not think that is the kind of job creation project that we want in this country, and that is not the kind of strategy that we should have.

Provincial Choice Tax Framework Act  Mr. Speaker, it is truly an honour to stand in the House and speak against what I think is one of the most regressive pieces of legislation that has been put forward in Parliament this year. The reason it is a real honour is that only occasionally in politics can one discern when a measure that has been proposed by government is roundly disliked and opposed by the population that we come here to represent.

Fairness for the Self-Employed Act  Madam Speaker, I have listened to the debate and a couple of points stand out. The first is about the question of vision. I just heard from the government side what I consider to be a small and narrow-minded vision of the kind of services that government can provide to our citizens.

Petitions  Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House to present a petition on behalf of citizens all across British Columbia and, in particular, the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, calling for the independent judicial inquiry into the salmon crisis. We know that nine million sockeye salmon have disappeared during this summer's migration to the Fraser River.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I have never heard anything more false in my life. Unlike that member who just spoke, I sit on the public safety committee. I sat through the hearings and I sat through the writing of that report. My motion for concurrence in that report, to do the right thing in this country, has been on the order paper for months.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, it is the mark of a mature government to admit when wrong has been done. It is the mark of a responsible and democratic country to recognize when acts of injustice have occurred and make restitution. It does no violence to any member of this House or the government to pursue that course here.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his long-standing work on behalf of human rights for all Canadians in this country and for continuing to be a voice of compassion and honour in this regard. His question gets to one of the nubs of this matter, which is that both the O'Connor and Iacobucci reports came up with comprehensive recommendations that would get to the heart of ensuring that this kind of issue does not happen again.

Committees of the House  Yes, Mr. Speaker, there are many components to the damages suffered by these men, and Mr. Arar's case is an example of some of the damages that they continue to suffer, some of them indelible. The worst aspect of this is the fact that men are tortured. The worst part of this is that they were deprived of any kind of support from their county.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for bringing that matter to the attention of the House. I think this is a matter upon which all parliamentarians can agree, that one of the most important responsibilities of any government is to ensure that its citizens are protected by law and have access at all times to due process and the protection of the Canadian government.