Canada Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague had a rather lengthy dissertation on various topics, some of which I thought did begin to stray a bit from the matter at hand here, but really he was talking in terms of what he felt were some of the causes for poorer participation in elections. As I consider some of the points that have been brought up this afternoon, it has been interesting to see that in other jurisdictions that have in fact expanded to Sunday voting and increased advanced polling, certainly the statistics suggest, both in this country but also in Europe, they are getting in some cases as high as a 10 point increase.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of the grade five students of James Keating Elementary School in the great town of Penetanguishene in my riding. The petitioners of course are actually the parents of these well-informed students. They draw the attention of the House to their concern about our continued dependence on fossil fuels and its impact on the quality of our air and on climate change.

Income Trusts  Mr. Speaker, as I listened to this hon. member I wondered what he would have to say about prominent members from his own party like, for example, Sheila Copps, who said that reversing the income trust decision “would...run afoul of espoused Liberal principles, by promoting a tax loophole for a select few financed by the rest of us”.

Budget Implementation Act, 2007  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has waxed poetic about this notion of fairness and how he is essentially what appears to be opposed to it. He mentioned income tax, for example. He suggested that income tax reductions would be the fairest approach to extending tax savings to Canadians.

Canada Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, on the question of personal loans from individuals, the member brought up an important point. If the lender was to allow the person who had borrowed the money to not repay the loan, it occurs to me that might set up a situation where the lender might be able to declare that bad debt as a loss.

Senate Appointment Consultations Act  Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the work of the Senate has been important to this Parliament throughout history. There has also been since the early days an expression that the Senate needs to be reflective of the considerations of the public in making sure that their work is properly represented.

Senate Appointment Consultations Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his very insightful and very specific question. I did not get into the details in my remarks, but one of the features of this bill is the voting system. The voting system is done on a preferential ballot. If there were, as the member has cited, a large number of people running for just a few Senate seats in Ontario, the process envisages a preferential system where voters could indicate their first, second and third choices, and if none of the 30 nominees was successful on the first ballot, the proportion of ballots would then be considered in the second and third components, until eventually all those seats were filled.

Senate Appointment Consultations Act  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Fleetwood—Port Kells. I am pleased to rise in the House in support of Bill C-43, a new bill to implement and improve the way in which worthy citizens can be considered for appointment to the other place in this Parliament.

Lake Simcoe  Mr. Speaker, citizens and environmental advocacy groups are hailing our government's commitment to provide $12 million over the next two years to clean up Lake Simcoe in central Ontario. This fragile ecosystem and watershed has been in a perilous state for over the last decade. It requires decisive and immediate attention and our government is acting to get the job done where the previous government did not.

Canada Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, I have sat here and listened to most of the debate on the motion by the government House leader today. I think there is certainly great unanimity around the notion that we need Bill C-16 and we need it passed. What is lost in all of this is the whole reason we have brought this forward, and that is to get rid of the kind of exploitative situations that governments have taken in the past to monkey around with election dates for the benefit of partisan advantage.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, this afternoon I have a petition to submit on behalf of several dozen constituents in the riding of Simcoe North. They are essentially compelling the government to reconsider and re-evaluate sentences handed to criminals, particularly that those sentences be in proportion to the crimes in which these offences occur.

Curling  Mr. Speaker, just over a week ago, Glenn Howard's Coldwater Ontario curling rink won the 78th Brier Curling Championship in Hamilton, Ontario. This was Glenn's first Brier win as skip and his third in a winning Brier rink. This is a proud moment for the citizens of Glenn's hometown of Penetanguishene in my riding.

CN Rail  Mr. Speaker, while the CN Rail strike continues it is costing Saskatchewan grain farmers an extra $300,000 a day because of delays. And that is not all. Two potash mines may close this week and two more next week. There are layoffs in lumber towns and there is a significant impact on the auto industry.

Human Trafficking  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to stand in the House today to speak in support of Motion No. 153, sponsored by my friend and colleague, the member for Kildonan—St. Paul. Indeed, it was a privilege to be in the House this afternoon to hear the interventions by the other members, the member for Abbotsford, the member for Laval, the member for Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe and the member for London—Fanshawe.

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, agriculture and food production in my riding of Simcoe North represents 20% of the economy and is the third largest industry in our county. I know that dairy farmers in my riding will welcome the announcement by the Minister of Agriculture that Canada will restrict imports of milk protein concentrates.