Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, I will rely on your wisdom. It is a common expression but I withdraw it. The reality is that what we have is a government that is bent on pushing through this legislation without amendment, when the NDP amendments that we brought forward before and that were adopted by the House and by committee are obviously in the best interests of Canadian Forces personnel.

Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise to speak on behalf of military families across the country. Like many people in the NDP caucus, I have relatives—my grandfather and uncle—who both fought for Canada and their names figure on the memorial in downtown New Westminster, just outside the city hall.

Foreign Investment  Mr. Speaker, after their gross mishandling of the Petronas decision, the Conservatives are now saying that more clarity is needed in the Investment Canada Act. This is just days after they stated emphatically that no more clarity was needed at all. This is why investors and so many others are losing confidence in the government.

Foreign Investment  Mr. Speaker, an arbitrary decision made behind closed doors at midnight on Friday is no way to run an economy. Canadians deserve better than that. Canadians are asking if the government is going to be as arbitrary on the CNOOC proposal to take over Nexen. Canadians want transparency and accountability on foreign takeover applications.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, no answers, no clarity is no way to run an economy. Its mismanagement is making investors and the public lose confidence in the government. They can join the crowd. The premier of B.C. has also lost confidence and is concerned now that Conservatives are looking at using the disallowance power of the federal government to revoke B.C. laws.

Foreign Investments  Mr. Speaker, Canadians have good reasons for doubting the government, because it has failed Canadians every time. Take Hamilton, for example, where U.S. Steel broke promises to employed Canadians and, when meekly challenged by the government, was able to get the Conservatives to give way simply by making more promises.

Foreign Investments  Mr. Speaker, the majority of Canadians oppose this takeover. On this side of the House, we are actually listening to Canadians. The Conservatives should give it a try sometime. Why would Canadians support this deal when the government simply will not give them any answers to questions like: will the Conservatives protect jobs, the environment and our resources?

Foreign Investment  Mr. Speaker, it is not just foreign involvement in telecommunications where the government is ignoring the wisdom of Canadians. Months after it was first proposed, Canadians are still in the dark about the consequences of the multi-billion Nexen takeover. Now we are hearing serious concerns from the business community, workers, environmental experts and members of the Conservative caucus, none of whom are being listened to by the government on this deal.

Combating Terrorism Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the response from the member for Gatineau. What we have here is a government that is, because of the debacles we are seeing in a wide variety of areas, the cutbacks in a whole variety of services, food safety, the Coast Guard, all of those things that protect Canadians and Canadian families, essentially trying to turn the channel.

Combating Terrorism Act  Mr. Speaker, the member for Gatineau is always very eloquent. She has outlined all of the measures that already exist that deal with issues that Canadians might be concerned about. I also listened intently to her comments about what the House of Commons rejected five years ago and the fact that these measures have not been used for the last four years.

Firefighters  Mr. Speaker, I would like to praise my colleague from Wascana. I do not do it very often in the House even though we have a long association. I will in this particular case, however, with the caveat that I am praising him for presenting a motion that is very similar to the motion that I presented in the House in October 2005.

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, I think the member for Guelph is absolutely right. This is something that is of great concern to Canadians. Here we have a ministerial responsibility and the minister is not responding to questions on this at all. What he needs to do is rise in this House of Commons and tell Canadians why, when food was not safe for American families, it was safe, according to him, for Canadian families.

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, I think more and more Canadian families who are watching tonight are absolutely perplexed and dramatically concerned by the reaction of the government. We have heard some of the government spokespeople stand tonight and say that there is a piece of paper in the Senate that will solve all the sickness that people are experiencing right now, that the inspection system that has broken down because of Conservative cutbacks will be fixed by that piece of paper in the Senate.

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, for the families who have fallen sick as a result of what was clearly a government's irresponsible actions, I do not think the words matter too much. What matters to them is that their food has not been safe because of the actions of the government. What matters to them is 481 CFIA food inspectors being transferred out or laid off because of the cuts that came as a result of the budget of last spring.

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, I was sad to hear, just a few moments ago, the Minister of State (Finance), who I have a lot of respect for, say that this was a minor problem. It is fair to say that from the perspective of the family of five-year-old Elijah who experienced liver failure and severe sickness as a result of this contamination and from the perspective of the 12, 15 or 20 families affected, we really do not know how many yet, it is not a minor problem at all.