Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the minister for her statement, but unfortunately, with all that she has done to set back women's rights in Canada, that would be disingenuous. In fact the minister closed 12 regional offices of Status of Women Canada, cancelled the policy research fund, eliminated the word “equality” from the mandate of the women's program, placed severe restrictions on access to funding, and her government cancelled the court challenges program.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by several hundred citizens of the London and southwestern Ontario region. They wish to draw the attention of the House to the fact that the Republic of Poland successfully joined the European Union as of May 1, 2004, that Canada and Poland are both active members of NATO promoting peace and security globally, and that Poland is using biometric passport technology, which is a secure passport identification system.

Questions on the Order Paper  What Human Resources and Social Development Canada funds, grants, loans and loan guarantees has the government issued in the constituency of London—Fanshawe since February 6, 2006, including the 2006-2007 Budget and up to today, and, in each case where applicable: (a) the department or agency responsible; (b) the program under which the payment was made; (c) the names of the recipients, if they were groups or organizations; (d) the monetary value of the payment made; and (e) the percentage of program funding covered by the payment received?

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by constituents from London--Fanshawe. The petitioners call upon the Parliament of Canada to reverse the elimination of the minimum wage by the former Liberal government and ensure that workers in federal jurisdictions are paid a fair minimum wage by passing Bill C-375, the private member's bill from my colleague in Parkdale--High Park.

Canada Pension Plan  Mr. Speaker, quite simply, we end the clawbacks. There are so many seniors in rural and remote communities who, because of low incomes over their lifetimes, have to supplement their incomes in their retirement years. The government once again has the opportunity to do the right thing.

Canada Pension Plan  Mr. Speaker, the seniors' charter is the answer. Once again I want to congratulate my colleague from Hamilton Mountain for bringing that to the House. Clearly the Parliament of Canada supported it because it saw the value in it. We need to move forward on that. We need a government that is willing to look at that charter and say that seniors matter, their dignity matters and the fact that they built this nation matters to Parliament, to the nation.

Canada Pension Plan  Mr. Speaker, I am sharing my time today with my colleague from Nanaimo—Cowichan. Last June, the NDP member for Hamilton Mountain introduced a seniors charter of rights. We are very proud and we want to congratulate her for that work. That charter of rights was supported by the government.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from 145 signatories who ask the Government of Canada to work to eradicate elder abuse. The petitioners request that the Government of Canada change legislation at the federal level requiring governments to have an elder abuse protection agency established, to mandate physicians to report elder abuse wherever they see it, to establish regular inspections to ensure standards are being met in retirement and nursing homes and that those who disclose this information are protected and need not fear the risk of their jobs.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have a further petition to present to the House today. This petition is from residents of the city of Toronto who wish to draw attention to the reality that as of March 31, 2007, available funding for the federal homelessness initiative will be drastically reduced and dire consequences for homeless individuals and families across Canada will ensue.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to present petitions on behalf of the hard-working men and women of the CAW who call upon the government to cancel negotiations for a free trade agreement with Korea and to instead develop a new automotive trade policy that would require Korea and other offshore markets to purchase equivalent volumes of finished vehicles and parts as a condition of continued access to our market.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by more than 550 constituents who call upon the Government of Canada, the Prime Minister and the housing minister to ensure that the partners for the access and identification project, PAID, which provides critical assistance to homeless persons, and individuals and families at risk of homelessness in obtaining and replacing identification documents, retain its funding and that the government extend the federal homelessness funding for another five years.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to present a petition on behalf of the community of Rick Hansen Public School calling upon the Government of Canada to fulfill its obligation to the families of Canada by recognizing the value of early childhood learning and safe, affordable child care.

Railway Operations  Mr. Speaker, I would like to declare my solidarity in support of the United Transportation Union in its struggle to win fair working conditions, fair wages and a fair collective agreement. These CN workers want to return to work. Introducing back to work legislation at this point is redundant and counterproductive.

Human Trafficking  Mr. Speaker, there are many different figures given in regard to the number of people believed to be victims of human trafficking. The United Nations estimates that the number of humans trafficked is about 700,000. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked annually.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I believe it is unparliamentary to use the word “lie”. I ask the member consider that in 1993, yes, the funding for the housing program was ended by the Conservatives, but they had an election in 1993. It seems to me that the subsequent government could have restored the funding instead of ending the program in 1996.