Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank my colleague for his speech. We were both elected in 2006 and we are both from Alberta. I just want to say that I hope this is not the last speech I hear from him, but if it is, it was a wonderful speech. I was glad to sit behind him as he delivered it.

Safe and Accountable Rail Act  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member finally got to his question dealing with fatigue. I got a little fatigued listening to him finally get to that particular point, but in all fairness, the question is a very serious one. Anybody who drives a truck or flies on an airplane knows that pilots are subject to the rules about how long they can fly and truckers keep log books about how long they can be on the road.

Safe and Accountable Rail Act  Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the hon. member was making the case for nationalizing the railways or not, but that certainly would not be the position of the Conservative government. The member talked about an unfortunate accident, but what he does not understand is that, in that particular case, because the company did not have insurance, it was immediately on the hook and had to lay off its inspection staff and other staff accordingly.

Safe and Accountable Rail Act  Mr. Speaker, I am truly honoured to rise in this place today to speak to this very important piece of legislation. I represent the great riding of Wetaskiwin, which has major rail lines in it, both CP and CN. Constituents in that large rural riding know the value railways have, and I take very seriously the importance of the safety of the operation of the railways in that riding.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to rise in the House today to present several petitions signed by hundreds of Albertans who are calling upon the government to implement new mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of impaired driving. The petitioners also want the Criminal Code of Canada to be changed to redefine the offence of impaired driving causing death, as vehicular homicide.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, we know Canadians cannot afford the reckless plans of the NDP and the Liberals. We know the NDP and Liberals would hike taxes on middle-class families, middle-class consumers, and middle-class businesses. Whether they want to purchase a new home or car, start a new business or save for their retirement, Canadians have many reasons to save at every stage of life.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, my colleague is a great colleague in the House and I appreciate the leadership he has shown. I know he spoke passionately about some of the benefits for students. One of the things I suffered when I went to university was that I worked part-time and I came from a relatively poor family.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague. He is a good friend of mine, a very astute biologist, and has a great track record when it comes to all things of the environment, but the question I have for him today is more about the choice of the NDP to have this topic brought before the House.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, it is hard to follow the distinguished steps of the former solicitor general who does not understand how courts work. However, I will ask this question of my hon. colleague from Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette. As a young lad growing up on a farm on the prairies of Alberta and western Canada, I remember—

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, he is chirping away. That is okay. He does not get it. The very first time I held a gun in my hand it was a pellet gun. It was my grandfather's, it was my uncle's and my father's before that. It was a little Crosman air rifle that I used to take out into the field to hunt gophers.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to my hon. colleague's comments. One of the things I have learned from being here as long as I have, is to be a little bit cynical. The reality is that the motion could have been brought forward by anybody at any particular point in time in order to study this.

Business of Supply  Resuming debate, the hon. member for Vancouver East.

Business of Supply  We are out of time. I will give the member for Winnipeg North an opportunity to address what he thinks the question might be.

Ruben Deogracias, Blessie Capule Orbigo and Napoleon Orbigo  Mr. Speaker, in December of last year, the town of Rocky Mountain House was rocked by the sudden and tragic loss of Ruben Deogracias, Blessie Capule Orbigo and her new husband Napoleon Orbigo, all of them temporary foreign workers, who perished tragically in a car accident on a snow-covered highway just weeks before Christmas.

Intern Protection Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to address Bill C-636, proposed by the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles regarding unpaid internships. Let me be very clear that the government places a high priority on safe, fair, and productive workplaces. These are an essential part of Canada's continued economic growth and prosperity, our number one priority, and internships play an essential role when it comes to providing Canadians with opportunities to gain the skills and experience they need to join that workforce.