World Schools Debating Championships  Mr. Speaker, last month, for the first time in 22 years, Canada's national high school debating team won the world championships. This was a true team Canada with members from across the country: from Halifax, Lyle Dobbin, Andrew Morrison and Vinayak Mishra; from Winnipeg, Sarah Levy; from Calgary, Veenu Goswami and Keenan MacNeal; and from Vancouver, Iqbal Kassam, Jonathan Carson and Sophie Bird.

2010 Paralympic Games  Mr. Speaker, with the closing of the 2010 Paralympic Games yesterday, Canadians celebrate the most memorable Paralympic games in our history, instilling in us a new level of national pride. The record 19 medals, 10 of them gold, won by our Canadian Paralympians could not be a better tribute to the spirit and determination of these remarkable athletes.

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, I appreciated the reference to own the podium. My predecessor in Vancouver Quadra was the initiator of that and it has been very successful. The member for Kootenay—Columbia, who I wish well in his retirement, talked about the importance of people's tax dollars being spent wisely, well and in an accountable way.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games  Mr. Speaker, Vancouver was transformed by the electricity of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. We enthusiastically welcomed athletes, crowds and the foreign languages heard in the streets. We celebrated our host first nations with pride. With all of Canada, we waved our flags and sometimes shed a few tears, touched by the display of human bravery, dashed hopes and triumphs.

Olympic Winter Games  Mr. Speaker, members of Parliament from across Canada were proud to witness the historic occasion of the first ever Olympic flame in the House of Commons. The Olympic flame has a sacred history and symbolizes principles of peace, friendship and respect. In less than 65 days, visitors from around the world will flock to Vancouver for the experience of a lifetime.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to present a petition that calls on Parliament to set a timetable to meet Canada's development assistance commitments, to increase Canada's foreign aid commitments to combat HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and to make the legislative changes necessary for Canada's access to medicines regime to facilitate immediate and sustainable lower cost generic medicines flowing to developing countries.

Questions on the Order Paper  With respect to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Copenhagen, occurring between December 7 and 18, 2009: (a) what government officials, including parliamentarians, will be attending the conference; (b) who has been invited to join the Canadian delegation; (c) who will be participating in the Canadian delegation; (d) what is the total cost to the government for participation in the conference, including but not limited to delegate fees, accommodation, travel, hospitality and per diems of the Minister, departmental staff, personal and political assistants and all other staff paid by the government; (e) how has the government met Canada’s commitments under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol; and (f) has the government drafted a plan for addressing climate change and, if so, where can it be found?

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With respect to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games: (a) since fiscal year 2006-2007 and beyond, how much money has the federal government allocated to the games and what is the total amount; (b) to what entities has the federal government allocated funds and for what purpose; (c) in what amounts have those funds been distributed and on what dates; (d) how much money is being spent on the “Canada Pavilion” and to whom is its construction and preparation being contracted; (e) what are the requests for proposals that the government invited contractors to bid on; (f) who was invited to bid on government requests for proposals; (g) who submitted bids related to government requests for proposals; (h) who adjudicated the bids related to government requests for proposals and based on what criteria; (i) who successfully bid for government requests for proposals, for what amount were the contracts and what was the purpose of the contacts; (j) how much money has been allocated for promoting bilingualism and French translation, on what dates was it distributed and for what purposes; (k) what is the government’s plan to address the H1N1 influenza pandemic before and during the games; (l) how much money is being spent in regard to an H1N1 plan at the games; (m) what is the lead department or agency in charge of overseeing and executing a plan related to H1N1 influenza at the games; and (n) how much money has the government spent on including aboriginal communities in the games and for what initiatives?

Questions on the Order Paper  With respect to the sockeye salmon crisis affecting the Fraser River in British Columbia: (a) what is the government’s plan to address the decline of 9 million sockeye salmon in the Fraser River; (b) how much money is the government spending on this plan; (c) what entities have received government money, when and for what purposes; (d) what information does the government have regarding potential causes of the decline; (e) which stakeholders did the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans meet with in Vancouver during the month of October 2009; and (f) what were the recommendations, work plan, and proposed dates of action that came about as a result of October 2009 meetings in Vancouver between stakeholders and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans?

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, Équiterre, Environmental Defense, Power Up, all these leading environmental NGOs salute the Liberal commitment. Where is the Conservative commitment? Here is what the Prime Minister had to say about climate change discussions in 2002, “I put the government on notice that this is only the beginning of the debate.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, Canadians overwhelmingly want real government leadership on climate change and they are just not getting it. The Liberal Party leader is committed to science-based targets in line with other industrialized countries, reductions to keep climate warming below 2°C. The Liberals have a solid plan to achieve it.

Olympic Winter Games  Mr. Speaker, to create Canada's Olympic pavilion for Canada's games, many firms said a two-week bid period was too short for such a large contract. The minister said it was fine. Industry said a period of 74 days was too short to properly design, build, finish, furnish and staff Canada's flagship pavilion.

Olympic Winter Games  Mr. Speaker, let us talk about complaints. The government has bungled the Canada pavilion project and has now bungled another one. A $100 million contract for security at the 2010 games was also awarded to an American company. Is the minister aware that this company faces serious complaints of racism, employee mistreatment and inadequate training?

Patent Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in support of Bill C-393 today. The bill would amend a bill passed in 2004, which was known at the time as the “Jean Chrétien pledge to Africa act”. I would like the listeners to keep in mind that objective. The original bill created what is now known as Canada's Access to Medicines Regime.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to present to the House in support of the universal declaration on animal welfare. The residents of Vancouver Quadra and around the Lower Mainland draw to the attention of the House that there is a scientific consensus and public acknowledgement that animals can feel pain and suffer and that all efforts should be made to prevent animal cruelty and reduce animal suffering.