Canadian Forces  Mr. Speaker, veterans in the West Island of Montreal, including many from my riding of Lac-Saint-Louis, spent months collecting over 1,700 Christmas packages for members of the Canadian armed forces serving in Afghanistan. These Christmas packages have been ready and waiting since late October.

National Sustainable Development Act  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure and an honour to rise on Bill C-474 sponsored by my colleague from Don Valley West. I would like to congratulate the hon. member for Don Valley West on the new opportunities which will be opening to him next summer and into next fall. The gain for the Toronto educational system will be a great loss for this House.

Canada Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre has a great deal of expertise in these issues, much more than I do because he sits on the committee. However, I have followed the bill and have a deep interest in it. If I understand it correctly, under the bill, one would have to get a loan from a bank, which I agree with completely.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, when the premier of Ontario opposed the government's plan for democratic reform, he was called the "small man of Confederation". The premier of Quebec now also opposes the government's democratic reform bill. Does the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons believe that Jean Charest is also a “small man of Confederation” and how does the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons decide which premier deserves to be insulted?

Economic Development  Mr. Speaker, since the Conservatives came to power, 65,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in Quebec. The forestry sector has lost 10,000 jobs since April 2005. These sectors are in crisis and the Prime Minister still has not met with the provincial premiers to talk about it.

Economic Development  Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec read the wrong briefing note. When will the Prime Minister invite the provincial premiers, as the Premier of Quebec has been asking him to do, to a public meeting under the media spotlight in order to discuss serious matters to do with Canada's economy?

Government Programs  Mr. Speaker, the in and out scheme is not the first time the Prime Minister has had an issue with campaign spending limits. When the Prime Minister was the head of the National Citizens Coalition, he tried to break third party spending limits under the Canada Elections Act, but lost to two groups that were helped in their fight against him by the court challenges program.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I listened patiently to the slogans spouted by the member opposite. I have two questions for him. First, when it comes to the spending power and the firm lines between federal and provincial jurisdictions, what approach would he suggest for the environment? This area was not addressed when the Canadian Constitution was adopted in 1867.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my colleague from the island of Montreal. He spoke at length on the fiscal imbalance and so forth. It is difficult to grasp the true nature of the fiscal imbalance. My question is as follows. At what point will we know with certainty that the fiscal imbalance has been resolved once and for all?

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I listened very attentively to the minister's speech and I noticed that he did not mention one word about wait times, one of the biggest broken promises of the government's now almost two year life. I was reading an op-ed piece recently by I think it was a doctor or an expert in the medical field who said, “We can combat the problem of wait times if we invest more money in diagnostic equipment”.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed listening to the hon. member's speech, especially given her experience in the House, but also because as a physician I believe she has some insight into one of the areas of greatest concern to Canadians, one area where there has been significant federal spending, namely health care.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, first, I want to welcome the hon. member for Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean to this House. I know what it is like to deliver one's maiden speech. I too did it in the context of a throne speech. I would like to put a few questions to the hon. member. First, as regards the fiscal imbalance, when do we know, in his opinion, that the issue is settled?

Phosphorus Control Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-464, An Act to limit the use of phosphorus in dishwasher detergent. Mr. Speaker, as members may know from reading the newspapers this summer, there is a significant blue-green algae problem in the province of Quebec. While this problem is not caused solely by phosphates in detergents and especially dishwasher detergents, it is time that we moved on this to bring the level down to 0.5% by weight.

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to the hon. member's speech and I took notes on everything he said, more or less. The member spoke a lot about principle, and we hear that a lot from the government. We are always hearing those members saying principle this or principle that.

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his comments. I am familiar with his expertise in the subject matter, since we sat together on the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. In fact, I hope we will do so again in the course of this new session. I would nevertheless like to assure my colleague that the Liberal Party fully supports the Kyoto protocol.