Souris Sabres  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the members of the Souris School boys rugby team. It has once again won the varsity boys Westman High School Rugby championship, for the third year in a row. The team is made up of 19 players who showed grit and determination last weekend on the pitch during the championship game.

Agricultural Growth Act  Mr. Speaker, the advanced payments number of $400,000 was there back in the years when I was farming as well. It has been there for a good long time. With the interest rates where they are today, the advanced payments act only a complement to the other kinds of financing that are out there today and available to the farm community.

Agricultural Growth Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his welcome to Parliament. As he has indicated, under the agricultural growth act there are a number of acts impacted. As I said earlier, there are seven under the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and two more under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Agricultural Growth Act  Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of questions to ask my hon. colleague, but I will stick to one. A number of changes will take place in the Plant Breeders' Rights Act itself, and there are proposed changes that I will ask him to speak to. The Plant Breeders' Rights Act is administered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and plant breeders' rights offices as well, and provides legal protection to plant breeders for new plant varieties.

Agricultural Growth Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today in support of the agricultural growth act because this proposed legislation is good for Canada and for all Canadians. Its aim is to provide Canada's farmers and food processors with the tools they need to drive new economic growth and to compete in the global economy.

Free Trade  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight our government's plan to create new jobs for the residents of southwestern Manitoba. Since 2006, we have signed and/or concluded new free trade agreements with 38 countries. I cannot stress enough the importance of gaining access to new customers and new markets around the world.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is very clear that the proportion of labour market needs is different in different regions of our country; yet we are designing a program that tries to fit across the nation. Of course, we are a national government and we want to try to put in place programs that are equal across the nation.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member heard my comments and those of my predecessors here today, including the minister in charge, that we have suspended the accelerated labour market opinion process. That is so we can learn from the process that will take place with regard to listening to Canadians further across our nation before the moratorium may be lifted, or to see what types of improvement may be made to a very successful program in many areas of Canada.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today to the NDP motion concerning the temporary foreign worker program. I will be sharing my time with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour. We have all been concerned about the recent allegations of abuse in the program. I am pleased to speak about the strong action that the Minister of Employment and the government have taken.

Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act  Mr. Speaker, it has been pointed out by my colleagues very clearly why this bill is so important to be collectively put together in this manner, to try to protect from cyberbullying not only our youth of today but others as well in our Canadian society, particularly from electronic cyberbullying.

Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act  Mr. Speaker, I made it very clear in my comments that in relation to some particular types of questioning that can be done by individuals for their privacy on this particular bill, there are many areas where disclosure is not part of the laws we have in Canada today. Particularly, as I pointed out, in the case of some companies, there are privacy legislation and laws in place that they have to work with their employees before a company can provide such disclosure, and it would be up to the individuals.

Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act  Mr. Speaker, the concern, of course, is to put some teeth behind being able to define what cyberbullying might be. Without having some kind of penalty put in place for law enforcement, it is a very difficult bill to enforce. The opposition would perhaps like to have an identification of cyberbullying with no consequences.

Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to Bill C-13, the protecting Canadians from online crime act. I would like to use this opportunity to speak to some of the misconceptions about this important piece of legislation. Much has been reported in the media about Bill C-13 proposing an expansive new power that would allow police to collect and obtain evidence without a court order.

Curling Champions  Mr. Speaker curling has been part of our culture for more than a century and is a sport that brings communities together. I want to congratulate Lois Fowler, Maureen Bonar, Cathy Gauthier, Allyson Stewart, and coach Brian Fowler on winning the Canadian senior women's curling championship this past weekend.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, anyone who looks at the priorities of the government versus those of the opposition would see very clearly that I was referring our priorities, thinks like security, better communities, and safer homes and streets for families and children in this country. That is very relevant because it points to the fact that the NDP members have voted against all of the things I outlined in my presentation this morning.