Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, there were a couple of questions and I will deal with the last one first, which was whether the Liberal Party would be supporting the motion. The answer is yes, most certainly. Here I thank and congratulate the hon. member for Sackville—Eastern Shore for bringing this motion forward.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, this has been an affliction within the Conservative Party since we started talking about budget cuts. It does not matter what the question is: the answer is that there will be no cuts to veterans' benefits. If the question is, “Will you be cutting the budget of the Department of Veterans Affairs, yes or no”, the answer is that there will be no cuts to veterans' benefits.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, at the outset, on behalf of my party and my leader, I want to thank the members of Her Majesty's Canadian armed forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for their service and dedication to Canada. I also want to thank the hon. member for Sackville—Eastern Shore for bringing this motion before the House today.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, imagine my surprise when I heard the minister say that there have been consistent increases in the Veterans Affairs budget over the last six years. The minister will be aware of a report prepared by Keith Coulter, a report over which there is a claim of cabinet confidentiality, a report that the disclosure of which has been denied by committee.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member for Sackville—Eastern Shore would be well aware of the attempts that have been made to get the committee to talk about these budget cuts, which have been met with some mixed success. I also appreciate very much his reference to the front-line employees. He would know this from the veterans affairs committee cross Canada tour.

Standing Orders and Procedure  Madam Speaker, in listening to the hon. member speak about his committee, I think I will put in for a trade. My question relates to a comment that was made earlier in debate. I raised concerns over in camera committee hearings. The response I received was that committees were the masters of their own procedure.

Standing Orders and Procedure  Madam Speaker, I would be interested in hearing the parliamentary secretary's views with respect to in camera meetings at committee. I am the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, one of the committees that most often conducts its business in camera. In fact, 31% of its meetings so far in this Parliament have been in camera.

Infrastructure  Madam Speaker, I worked on this question last night on my computer, so I am a little concerned that the Minister of Public Safety may have tipped off the parliamentary secretary. Last November I called on the government to come to the aid of Canadian municipalities, like Charlottetown, who need help with their municipal waste water infrastructure.

Florence Green  Madam Speaker, today I want to honour the memory of Mrs. Florence Green. Mrs. Green died this past September. She was 110 years old and the last remaining veteran of the First World War. To say that she lived a full life would be an understatement, for she bore witness to much in life, not the least of which was the First World War, in which she served as a member of the Women's Royal Air Force.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of several residents of British Columbia who are concerned over cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this year alone there have been cuts to the Veterans Affairs budget of $226 million. The petitioners are concerned about that as well as the cuts that are forthcoming and the previously announced loss of 500 jobs.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the personal medical file of yet another veteran has been violated for political reasons. Harold Leduc, a veteran and now a member of the veterans appeal board, had his personal records searched by the Conservative government in order to harass him because he fights for veterans.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by several citizens of British Columbia concerned over the cuts to the budget at Veterans Affairs and over the impending job losses. These citizens call upon the government to restore funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act  Mr. Speaker, I was interested in my colleague's constitutional analysis and his analysis of the division of powers. In particular he stated that the purpose of the registry seemed to conflict with the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces in that it infringed on property rights, which would imply that somehow the long gun registry was non-constitutional in that it offended the Constitution Act.

Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciated my colleague's comments and the passion with which she spoke about people in poverty. During this debate, we have heard members opposite say that 60% of Canadians have no plan. The day after this bill is passed, what is in it that will make it more affordable for employees or employers to save for their retirement?

Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act  Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague from Crowfoot talk about support from the finance ministers across the country. I talked to one of the finance ministers in this country this morning. What the member for Crowfoot did not say was that this option was not the first choice of the majority of finance ministers and their support for this option was conditional on the enhancement to the Canada pension plan or to some other scheme.