Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, as someone who enjoyed attending law school and practised law, I always felt that a bill's title should reflect its content. In this bill on jobs and economic growth I do not see a connection to clause 181 which removes campaign financing in public form, which is not any part of economic growth, and which does not even begin to touch the largest of taxpayer support to political parties.

Points of Order  Mr. Speaker, I agree with you. This is not a proper point of order. However, I have something in common with the Minister of Labour and the member for Cape Breton—Canso. We all share Cape Breton roots. As neither of them is a member of my party, and as both of them are people I hold in high regard, I would like the Minister of Labour to know that the hon. member for Cape Breton—Canso, unless this jokester has learned how to project his voice as a ventriloquist, was as quiet as the grave as he awaited the minister's answer.

National All Buffleheads Day  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to share good news with the House that members of my community, over 100 strong, gathered on Saturday, October 15, to celebrate two important milestones, the 80th anniversary of the creation of the Shoal Harbour protected area and the re-emergence and punctual arrival of the little Bufflehead duck.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I was made aware of the general nature of the motion for unanimous consent for the committee to travel, but I wonder if the Minister of State and Chief Government Whip could assure us that all means will be taken to ensure that travel is in the most economical fashion possible, that commercial airways will be used and that it will be very economically accounted for so the government does not have to again explain extraordinary use of airplanes and so on?

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment to continuously try to unravel the muzzling of government scientists. I accept that the minister would never knowingly mislead this House but his answers do not accord with the facts. I have an email here to a responsible journalist with Postmedia in which it states that “an interview cannot be granted” with the scientist in question.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, the clock is ticking and this debate is closing far too soon for those of us who believe that we are on the verge of a very large, serious mistake that future parliamentarians will have to struggle to correct. First, let me say to the hon. government benches and the members here where we agree.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I recently came across a report from the Department of Justice of the Government of Canada from January 2002. This expert report pans the idea of mandatory minimum sentences and concludes that it could be “a colossal waste of justice system resources”. I know the government members always throw back at us that they are listening to the victims of crime and not all the experts, but surely they should listen to their own Department of Justice.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, earlier the member for Halifax West put a question relating to Peter Blaikie in reference to Maureen Basnicki's gratitude for the bill. As a member of Parliament, I would also vote for the portion of this bill relating to terrorism if it were made separate. I wonder if the member for Halifax West feels the same way.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, mandatory minimums, which have been universally condemned by everyone with expertise in public policy and criminology, have now had an additional criticism laid against them from evidence in the United States. The New York Times reported on September 25 that mandatory minimums are now increasing plea bargains, that prosecutors are taking all the powers that judges used to have and it is actually resulting in criminals getting lighter sentences than they would have had, had their cases gone to trial.

Natural Resources Canada  Mr. Speaker, my question is for the hon. Minister of Natural Resources. On top of recent cuts at Environment Canada, we are aware now that the whole glaciology group at Natural Resources Canada is being disbanded and dismantled. Eighty thousand years worth of climate record in the ice cores may disappear from Canadian possession.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, like my friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment, I also enjoy being able to engage in an exchange with her in the House this evening, but I am afraid her answer does not quite deal with the key issue. We now know that the ADM for Environment Canada has said that we will reduce ozone monitoring.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, I rise at this point in our adjournment procedures to pursue a question that I initially asked the hon. Minister of the Environment on Wednesday of last week, September 21. The issue of ozone monitoring and threatened cuts to key scientists who perform these functions was also raised by the Liberal environment critic and by the environment critic of the official opposition.

Libya  Mr. Speaker, the Green Party votes no.

Libya  Mr. Speaker, as must be clear by now to all members, the Green Party will be voting against this motion again today. As we stood alone to do so in June, I am pleased to know I will no longer be standing alone and that members of the official opposition will joining me. My concern, to the member for Fleetwood—Port Kells, is that yes, we are protecting women, but on the other hand, how do we stand as a country when we know that a Libyan woman whose surname was Gadhafi was shot by the Libyan rebels while she tried to get her family out of the country?

Libya  Mr. Speaker, I will attempt to make this question brief. There are increasing reports that our responsibility to protect must extend beyond those people threatened by Colonel Gadhafi and must extend to those people who are now understood to have once favoured Colonel Gadhafi. How do we protect those people when we are not allowed by the transitional government to be in Libya to protect civilian populations through a UN peacekeeping force?