Business of the House  Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions among the parties and I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move: That, for the calendar year 2011 in the present Parliament, Standing Order 81(10)(a) be amended as follows: 81.(10)(a) In 2011, seven sitting days shall be allotted to the Business of Supply in the period ending not later than March 26; eight additional days shall be allotted to the Business of Supply in the period ending not later than June 23; and seven additional days shall be allotted to the Business of Supply for the period ending not later than December 10; provided that the number of sitting days so allotted may be altered pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of this section.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I stand today to speak to the whole issue around employment insurance. In our country we do need a healthy employment insurance system. A lot of people have no choice but to take advantage of the system, again, a system that they paid into for years, but in some cases, of course, when they are no longer employed for whatever reason, in most cases not of their own making, they really do need to make use of the EI system.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, the record of the finance minister must feel like a recurring nightmare for those in Ontario who lived through his first kick at the can. His Harris government fired inspectors, leading to the Walkerton tragedy. He fired thousands of nurses. He closed more than 20 hospitals.

Finance  Clearly, Mr. Speaker, the truth hurts.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, this is a finance minister who cannot admit the truth. This Queen's Park denier's historical rewrite did not fool Ontarians and it will not fool Canadians. Next he will be telling us that there is no $54 billion deficit; that he never hired crony speech writers; that he did not cut food inspectors, leading to listeriosis; that there was no fake lake; that there was no income trust flip-flop; and that seniors have been better off under his watch.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I stand today on behalf of a volunteer in my riding of Random—Burin—St. George's who has given of his time and money to operate a non-commercial 5 watt FM transmitter to broadcast to the residents of the Grand Bank area and, in many cases, to the shut-ins who are in the Blue Crest Senior Citizens Home.

Pensions  Mr. Chair, l am a former provincial politician who served in a cabinet for eight years. I would be the last person to ignore provincial involvement in terms of dealing with this serious issue on behalf of Canadians. Of course, we all need to work together. We all need to make sure that we get the best possible deal when it comes to pensions for seniors and retirees.

Pensions  Mr. Chair, I acknowledge the comments made by my colleague. Let me say at the outset that we support an expansion of the CPP. The idea of the supplementary plan is to enable Canadians to make a contribution themselves, to be able to do so without the employer being involved. The employer can certainly make a contribution if they wish, but at the end of the day, Canadians should be able to contribute to a plan of their own making.

Pensions  Mr. Chair, in many cases, women stay at home to raise their families. In these cases, they are not able to contribute to a pension plan. They have no private pension plan to pay into. A supplementary pension plan would provide Canadians, women in particular, with the opportunity to have income in their retirement years and not just CPP or GIS.

Pensions  Mr. Chair, I appreciate the comments from my colleague, but let me reassure him that as a Liberal Party and as the official opposition, everything we do in terms of trying to improve things for Canadians we do in consultation. We would not for a minute think that we could just barrel through and not have consultations with the provinces and territories.

Pensions  Mr. Chair, I rise to speak to this very important matter for all Canadians, not just for seniors and retirees. In 1927, Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King presided over the establishment of Canada's first old age pension plan. In the true spirit of Liberal values, the Liberal Party of Canada took a historic step by enacting this legislation and set a trend that would continue.

Questions on the Order Paper  With regard to the government program Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians: (a) how many applications have been submitted to the program since it began in 2009; (b) what is the total dollar value of all applications submitted to the program since it began; (c) what is the total dollar value of all applications approved for funding through the program since it began; and (d) for every project that has received funding in Newfoundland and Labrador, what is the (i) name of the project, (ii) number of people gaining broadband internet access through the program, (iii) amount of funding granted, (iv) date of the announcement?

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  What is the total amount of government capital and operation funding, since fiscal year 2008-2009 up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of Random—Burin—St. George's, identifying each department, agency, funding transfer to provincial and municipal governments and arm's length agency, detailing in each case the initiative and amount, including the date the funding was allocated?

Questions on the Order Paper  With respect to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and foreign vessels in offshore waters: (a) what is the department doing to address the illegal fishing of Newfoundland cod as bycatch and the misreporting of turbot catches and other species; and (b) will the government make public the department’s reports concerning boardings and inspections of foreign vessels in offshore waters?

Act of Bravery  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute a woman from Marystown in the riding of Random—Burin—St. George's. On July 14, 2009, while travelling on the Burin Peninsula Highway, Beverly Rose came upon an accident where a van had left the road, flipped on its side and trapped a family of seven inside.