Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise to counter some of the points the hon. member has noted as a result of his long history with municipalities. I would like to point out that President Schmal also can be quoted on the budget. He said, “Today's budget does absolutely nothing t

Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise tonight and expand on a question I asked the Minister of Finance on February 26, 2003. I will preface my remarks with the fact that municipal infrastructure is something that, in recent days, weeks and months, has fallen to the back as the n

Situation in Iraq  Mr. Speaker, my question for the member relates to the concerns I have heard about the situation with unilateralism as opposed to working together at the United Nations. I had the chance to go to Washington a week ago and I talked to congressmen and women who opposed the U.S. pr

Health  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the government shelved a review of drug patent laws. As a result, drugs, such as Losec will have no generic versions despite being available in Europe and the U.S. This one example alone would save the health care system $100 million. My question is for th

Sex Offender Information Registration Act  Mr. Speaker, it still does not answer the question. Why do Canadians not have a clear concrete policy in front of them? We have been asking for that. The Canadian Automotive Partnership Council was formed. It has been meeting but has not produced anything tangible for the public

Sex Offender Information Registration Act  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the House to once again call upon the government to create an auto policy to deal with the ongoing issue of losing auto jobs to Mexico, the United States and other parts of the world. I asked a question on December 11 which highlighted the fact that

Border Security  Mr. Speaker, the situation at American-Canadian border crossings is getting worse with the tightened security measures from the United States. We are seeing traffic tie-ups and delays threatening businesses and putting municipalities in very tenuous situations. We know right now

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety  Madam Speaker, I want to point out one thing that is important. The smokestack emissions from the plants was something different and was something on which the emissions were changed. We are still at the tailpipe, and it is still a major contributor to greenhouse gases in emissio

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety  Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise to elaborate on a question that I asked in the House of Commons with regard to Kyoto and the auto industry. In particular I want to note the question with regard to the auto industry continuing to lose jobs and not having the su

Lobbyists Registration Act  Mr. Speaker, with regard to Bill C-15, an act to amend the Lobbyists Registration Act, it is important to note that it really ties to government and transparency and confidence of the public. The Speech from the Throne referred to the lobbyists act, which we are dealing with tod

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, last week the Minister of Finance stiffed municipalities by leaving them out of his budget. We warned at that time that new taxes and user fees would be introduced. Yesterday the Minister of Transport introduced a plan with no new funds and today he is calling toll r

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, the finance minister keeps telling us how much he has done for municipalities, but he knows very well he has failed to do his job. The $1 billion over 10 years for new municipal infrastructure falls short of what is needed. The minister also knows very well this dow

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, it was that type of complacency that created situations like Walkerton. The Prime Minister's task force on urban issues concluded its report by asking the government to have courage and vision to work on our cities. What happened? Can the parliamentary secretary exp

Black History Month  Mr. Speaker, the birthday of the renowned abolitionist Frederick Douglass falls on February 14. This is one reason that we observe the month of February as Black History Month. I had the honour of welcoming Frederick Douglass II last year when he came to celebrate with the commu

Vimy Ridge Day Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support my colleague from Algoma--Manitoulin and Bill C-227 which would formally recognize Canada's important role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge during World War I. It was a battle that raged in France from April 9 to 12, 1917. I support this bill beca