Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me today to present four petitions on behalf of my constituents. The first petition has been signed by 85 people in my riding. The petitioners ask that the government recognize traditional marriage as being between a man and a woman and being the lifelong union of such.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by 33 people. The petitioners ask that the government remove the federal excise tax on diesel fuel and gasoline.

Canada's Commitment in Afghanistan  Mr. Chair, this is my first opportunity to speak in the House and address you in your new term. I wish you very well. I know that as the dean of parliamentarians you will do a great job. For the hon. member across the way, I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of Canadians who would be on their way to Afghanistan very shortly.

Agriculture  Mr. Chair, the member across the way mostly had comments. There really was not a question there. I know that his heart is in the right place. I think that even in the last government there may have been one, two or maybe three of his members who actually agreed that they should do something with agriculture, but in 13 years, what actually got done?

Agriculture  Mr. Chair, I would be glad to address the member's question. This has been and is part of the big, overall problem. As for increasing the share from 6¢ or 7¢ to 21¢ or whatever, I do not disagree with the fact that this is where it should be, but again, how we end up getting there is part of the whole package.

Agriculture  Mr. Chair, it is very good to be standing here in the 39th Parliament addressing the subject of agriculture. I congratulate you, Mr. Chair, on your new appointment. I wish you well. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the fine people of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound for sending me back to represent them in this great place of tradition.

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister in his role as finance minister took over $25 billion out of health care. Last May the Chippewas of Nawash were told that there was no money available to grant their application for $250,000 to provide health care for their community. In its recent mad dog spending spree, the government has announced billions in bogus promises for every group in the country.

Liberal Government Policies  Mr. Speaker, although the Liberal Party of Canada has officially been named in a judicial inquiry into corruption, the culture of entitlement continues with untendered contracts to friends, exorbitant severance to insiders and the Liberal Party's stubborn refusal to pay back stolen ad scam dollars.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the work of the member from the Bloc on the agriculture committee. His support for supply management and this amendment go to support all sectors of agriculture. We have to ensure we do that in all parts of Canada. We have all been led to believe that the government is standing up to protect supply management in all sectors of agriculture when it comes to the WTO.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, the comments of the hon. member for Central Nova certainly showed his knowledge of this issue. I would like to acknowledge the work that the Conservative Party agriculture critic has done. The Conservative Party's support for supply management is common knowledge in the farming community.

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, Transport Canada has jurisdiction over navigable waterways. The Saugeen River flows through the village of Neustadt, the birthplace of the Honourable John Diefenbaker. It has eroded the riverbank and is moving dangerously close to two sewage lagoons. The local municipality is left holding the bag.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure today to present, on behalf of 51 residents in my riding of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, a petition that calls upon Parliament to change the Income Tax Act to allow spouses to pay taxes as if the total family income were earned equally.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have another petition signed by 238 people in my riding who call upon Parliament to enact legislation to basically remove the GST on top of tax when it comes to gasoline.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, on July 4 I wrote a letter to the Minister of National Defence informing him that a former employee of the Meaford tank range, in a sworn affidavit, reported that agent orange had been buried there in the late 1960s. In his reply, just a mere two and a half months later, the minister stated that he had no record of agent orange being buried at Meaford.

Bruce--Grey--Owen Sound  Mr. Speaker, this month across Ontario there are dozens of agricultural fairs and community festivals, and my riding of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound is no exception. I have attended many of these events, some of which have celebrated their 150th anniversary. This weekend I will participate in the Meaford scarecrow invasion and family festival.