Canada's Commitment in Afghanistan  Mr. Chair, this being the first time I have had an opportunity to rise, I would like to thank my constituents in Chatham-Kent--Essex for the support and confidence they have placed in me as well. This is a country that has harboured an organization determined to export its brand

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Leeds—Grenville. First, I would like to thank the people of Chatham-Kent—Essex for the confidence and trust they have placed in me by giving me the great and noble honour of representing them in this, the 39th Parliament

Promised Land Project  Mr. Speaker, Chatham-Kent—Essex is a riding that is rich with tradition and history. One of our most famous historical footnotes is that Chatham-Kent—Essex and surrounding area is the end of the underground railroad. Between 1840 and 1880, one-third of Chatham's population was

International Bridges and Tunnels Act  Mr. Speaker, the town of Leamington is within my riding of Chatham-Kent--Essex. As members know, Leamington is the largest producer of greenhouse products in North America, as a matter of fact. My constituents have repeatedly shown concern about the movement of goods to over two

Darfur  Mr. Chair, I am listening with interest as we debate the atrocities that we are seeing unfold before us. It strikes me as strange that we have not yet addressed the obvious facts that much of it, if not all of it, is a result of religious conflict. I listened with interest too,

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, under the guidance of our finance minister, this Conservative government delivered its first budget and it delivered for all Canadians. There is immediate tax relief for all families through the GST reduction and child care allowance. There is relief for students, a

Conservative Government  Mr. Speaker, it has been roughly 100 days since the Prime Minister and this Conservative government took office. We came into office promising to clean up government, to do things differently in Ottawa, respect Canadians and deliver real results for them. In 100 days we have cu

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, we heard a lot today about crime and punishment. I would like to challenge some of those statistics and some of the statements. I grew up poor and I would bet that there are a lot of people here who grew up poor, too. All my friends grew up poor. Quite frankly, we

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I am very encouraged. I want to let the House know at this point that, although we are known for a lot of things in Chatham-Kent—Essex, very few people know that we have the largest freshwater fishery in the world. I say that without exception. We too have some prob

CUPE Ontario  Mr. Speaker, I condemn the recent decision by CUPE Ontario to boycott the state of Israel. In abruptly deciding to speak for its hundreds of thousands of members, on the Jewish Sabbath no less, CUPE Ontario has decided to take a one-sided, biased and wrong view on the Middle East

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I have been listening with some interest, especially to the Liberal side talking about crime and prevention. We keep hearing that the studies prove that mandatory minimums do not work. However, a study done by Thomas Gabor of the University of Ottawa states quite th

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the member for Simcoe North, I would like to table a petition today with over 900 signatures supporting an evaluation by the government of the Trent-Severn Waterway as proposed in Private Member's Motion No. 161, which is currently before the House. The

Situation in Sudan  Mr. Chair, I want to make a few comments on something the hon. member stated a minute ago. The doctrine of responsibility to protect is a lofty term, and we would all agree with that. It is in all our interests to fight evil and to stop those who would propagate that. However,

Town Crier Champion  Mr. Speaker, as well as being proud of people like Fergie Jenkins, the baseball hall of famer who visited us two weeks ago, the people of Chatham-Kent—Essex are proud of citizens like George Sims, the award-winning town crier of the Municipality of Chatham--Kent. George Sims, a

Divorce Act  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to speak to this bill. I would like to congratulate the member for Lethbridge for this excellent amendment to the act and I commend him for this being his third private member's bill that involves children. We can see that children are very near and