An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to make Certain Payments  Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure to rise in the House tonight to talk about Bill C-48. I think that Canadians should know how much information there is in the bill about the $4.5 billion that it covers. I will read it out so that Canadians understand the lack of detail. It states: (a) for the environment, including for public transit and for an energy-efficient retrofit program for low-income housing, an amount not exceeding $900 million; (b) for supporting training programs and enhancing access to post-secondary education, to benefit, among others, aboriginal Canadians, an amount not exceeding $1.5 billion; (c) for affordable housing, including housing for aboriginal Canadians, an amount not exceeding $1.6 billion; and d) for foreign aid, an amount not exceeding $500 million.

An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to make Certain Payments  Madam Speaker, I wonder if the member for Durham would recognize the member opposite from the riding of Halton. As a member of the common sense revolution under Mike Harris, the party that came to power in Ontario to clean up the mess left behind by the NDP and the Liberals, and a member who was in that party for some time, he points his finger at members on this side belonging to other parties.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a number of petitions from churches in my riding, particularly the United Church congregations. They ask the Government of Canada to take immediate and urgent action to stop the Sudanese government backed militias from killing and raping innocent people and destroying their villages and to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need.

Canadian Cancer Society  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the residents of Oxford county for their generosity and commitment to cancer support and research. The Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life is drawing huge numbers in Tillsonburg, Woodstock and Ingersoll. Over 3,200 people in these three communities are participating, including over 200 survivors in each city.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, last week the Minister of National Defence acknowledged that deadly toxic agent orange was used some 40 years ago at CFB Gagetown. Military records show that the most dangerous ingredient of the herbicide agent orange was sprayed on unsuspecting Canadian Forces personnel at CFB Gagetown 10 years earlier.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, there is evidence that an even more toxic chemical, agent purple, was also being sprayed on unsuspecting personnel at CFB Gagetown. Dr. Richard van der Jagt, a leukemia specialist at the Ottawa General Hospital, says that agent purple contains three times the cancer causing material found in agent orange.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition on behalf of the members of 17 churches, primarily the Netherlands Reformed Church. They are from across Canada including a number of churches in my riding. The petitioners call upon Parliament to restore capital punishment.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Minister of National Defence have stated that Canadian Forces veterans exposed to agent orange qualify for disability pensions if they can make a medical case. These ministers miss the point. Most veterans have no idea that they were exposed to agent orange and that their illnesses are related to their military service.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, many veterans have no idea that they were exposed to agent orange and that their health conditions may be related to military service. Canada's veterans affairs and national defence websites do not even mention the words “agent orange”. On the other hand, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has been assisting its vets for decades with a website filled with information.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, it gets worse. The toxic substance was used as an adhesive to hold insulation in place. The insulation of choice in these submarines was asbestos. Perhaps this is why the Minister of National Defence felt it was necessary to wear a mask when he visited the Chicoutimi after the fire.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, in 2001 a naval safety officer warned his superiors, “It is my duty to warn you of the danger” and “my advice to everyone is to stop all work on peridite areas”. The Minister of National Defence has stood in this House of Commons and said that these subs would never go to sea unless they were fit to do so.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to present a petition on behalf of constituents in my riding, the constituents of College Avenue United Church. The petitioners pray that Parliament define marriage in federal law as being a lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, it has long been known that the Liberal government invited the United States to use CFB Gagetown to experiment with the toxic and deadly agent orange in 1966. Press reports this weekend indicate the Department of Veterans Affairs has recently admitted that agent orange was responsible for the death of veterans who were stationed there.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, for decades the Canadian military refused to acknowledge the Gagetown horror ever happened. The government is currently addressing volunteers of chemical warfare testing, but it is silent on its involvement for those who were tested unknowingly. Will the minister now explain the government's shameful denial in assisting these affected members of our Canadian Forces?

Rural Post Offices  Mr. Speaker, in the early years of the 20th century, Oxford farmer George Wilcox led a tireless letter writing campaign in favour of free rural mail delivery. In 1908 his efforts were crowned with success when the first free mail delivery started in Springford, Ontario. Rural post offices have played an important role since then.