Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise the issue of the employment insurance fund. Over the course of the past 11 years, $46 billion have been taken from workers. Eight hundred thousand Canadians who have paid into that fund are not able to qualify for basic employment insurance. We also know we have a growing number of poor children in this country, 1.4 million poor children.

Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act  Mr. Speaker, before question period, I was on the point of discussing the issue of housing and homelessness among people with disabilities in the community. This issue has come up in the House today and in communities across the country. I wanted to cite a number of important statistics.

Human Resources and Skills Development Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member from Ottawa Centre for agreeing to share his time with me. He talked a lot about the issue of housing and the homeless. I want to add to what he was saying and I want to talk about how Bill C-23 relates to persons with disabilities in the country.

Office of the Auditor General  Mr. Speaker, vengeance is mine saith the President of the Treasury Board. The Auditor General has been performing an invaluable service for Canadians, fighting back on constant Liberal corruption. For her efforts, her office has been subjected to the pettiest form of revenge and intimidation, the withholding of funding.

Office of the Auditor General  Mr. Speaker, it is intimidation, pure and simple. In this corner of the House we are not going to stand for it. That is terrible. The President of the Treasury Board is taking his revenge by attempting to silence the only public servant that can effectively protect taxpayers' money against more sponsorship scandals.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I think there are two issues here. First, the motion before us talks about a consultation process that is underway with scientists and the industry. Therefore, industry is being consulted and that is extremely important. In the Danish example I cited earlier there were consultations with the industry.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, we are talking about trans fatty acids and the contribution that their elimination can make on the quality of life of Canadians. My point around the budget surplus was the fact that as this $9 billion is being hoarded, the quality of life of Canadians across this country has been dramatically affected, for example, the closure of St.

Supply  Highest in the world and we obviously need to address as quickly as possible. Since the elimination of trans fats and primarily as a result of the reduction in the trans fatty acid content of table margarines produced in Denmark, the current average daily intake is estimated at a bit over one gram per person.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Burnaby—Douglas both for his comments and also for permitting me to share his time this afternoon on this important debate. I compliment organizations that are active in my riding, including the New Westminster Food Bank, the South Burnaby Neighbourhood House and the Union Gospel Mission.

Assistance to Hepatitis C Victims  Mr. Chair, there is no gap at all. The hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona has been one of the most fervent advocates of compensation. He has pushed relentlessly in previous Parliaments to make sure that compensation is applied to victims. I support the member for Elmwood—Transcona fully because of his ongoing efforts in this regard.

Assistance to Hepatitis C Victims  Mr. Chair, I thank the hon. member for his question. I think the issue here is making sure that the victims receive their compensation. If the money is being held federally, then the federal government has that obligation. We as parliamentarians have the obligation of meeting victims' needs and making sure that money is released.

Assistance to Hepatitis C Victims  Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my colleague, the member for Elmwood--Transcona, for sharing his time with me. I will not be able to match his eloquence or his depth and breadth on this subject, but I felt compelled to speak on this issue this evening. I am appalled, as a new member of Parliament, and ashamed as a Canadian and a parliamentarian that so many years after this original crisis and with so many victims we have still not fully compensated victims of hepatitis C.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier on his presentation, which I found very interesting. I agree with his comments about the Liberal government's bad management. We know full well that at the beginning of the year billions of tax dollars were cut from major profitable companies in Canada.

Supply  Madam Speaker, I found the comments by the hon. member for Outremont very interesting, especially his claim that there is only one national party in this House. If we look at the NDP, we can clearly see it is also present across the country. We do not have two faces like the Liberal Party shows in the provinces.

Financial Administration Act  Mr. Speaker, I would certainly hope that the committee will have broad input and consultations, and that our public sector workers who must be valued will be consulted fully on this bill as it comes forward for improvement and for changes that can be made. The point to underline and underscore is the record of the past couple of years with this government and its public sector workers.