Electoral System  Mr. Speaker, too many people were not able to vote in the last election because they encountered various problems. These are problems we cannot forget now that we have been elected. In my riding, not everyone was able to vote. Some people do not have driver's licences. There are

Electoral System  Mr. Speaker, my fellow MPs told me not to expect an adequate answer but I expected at least an attempt. Canada's north has the youngest population in Canada. Young people often do not have ID when they turn 18. Under the current rules, aboriginal people, young people and our sen

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Hamilton Mountain. It is an honour to rise in the House of Commons and present my response to the Speech from the Throne. I would like to begin by thanking the constituents of Churchill. Having been born and raised i

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, people in the north need to deal with the serious issues of social and economic justice that they face. As I outlined in my speech, there is a serious lack of response in terms of the sheer inequality and, quite frankly, the third world conditions that first nation

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, in response to my colleague's comments, I encourage him and his caucus to vote against the throne speech which fails to deal with the issues that we need to act on for the benefit of Canadians. We need to look at economic stimulus all across the region. In my speech

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the tremendous work being done by young aboriginal leaders in first nations across my riding of Churchill. These young leaders point to the need for young people to be heard. They speak of the hardships they face: high rates of suicide, an o

Economic and Fiscal Statement  Mr. Speaker, reference has been made to looking out for the benefit of Canadians. Much discussion has taken place on the issue of gender and how women suffer a great deal as a result of the government's agenda. Not only are we seeing the systematic roll-back of the battle relat

Economic and Fiscal Statement  Mr. Speaker, we hear the member talk a lot about Canadians as though they were some big amorphous group. The reality is that Canadians represent a diverse range of groups, groups that are not represented in this fiscal update, and they are the reason we need to look at alternativ

Science and Technology  Mr. Speaker, the fact that Genome Canada's funding is even in question shows 19th century thinking for a 21st century problem. South of the border, President Obama is doubling funding to research. He knows that research will create the jobs in the new economy. What does our gov

Science and Technology  Mr. Speaker, the government does not understand anything. Why is there still uncertainty? Universities are more than just concrete. They need students, professors and researchers. What is the government doing to help students reduce their debt load, and what is the government's

Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Madam Speaker, in our discussions today on Bill C-2 and the discussion around the trade agreement in question, the question we really need to be asking is: What is our vision of Canada? Growing up as a proud Canadian, I know that words like fairness, equality and justice are wo

Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Madam Speaker, we definitely foresee serious problems in terms of the future of this industry. The people I spoke with mentioned the leadership of both Quebec and Canada in cheese production. Why not say the same thing about yogourt, a product that we are all familiar with and t

Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Madam Speaker, certainly in our region there are some very exciting initiatives in terms of food security and local food production. Fortunately, we have a provincial government that has taken a leading role in supporting these initiatives. However, the question in our riding i

CANADA NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATIONS ACT  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for truly painting a 3-D portrayal of some of the really exciting work that non-profit organizations do in her constituency of Halifax. I look forward to going there and seeing it up close. My question stems from my experience in working with

Budget Implementation Act, 2009  Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member a very specific question about what is happening in the Canadian economy. What does he see in his region? I know that people in my riding of Churchill, in northern Manitoba, are losing their jobs. They see nothing in this budget that m