Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions. The first petition relates to a question I asked last week in the House. We have had legislation to bring forward a missing persons index, a DNA data bank, for some time. The petitioners want to ensure that does take place. The

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition relates to the ongoing concerns, this time of petitioners from the Edmonton area, to ensure that there be a moratorium against the release of genetically modified alfalfa.

Rouge National Urban Park Act  Madam Speaker, I will try to be brief. I was trying to get the floor to speak because I felt like screaming out in some of the Conservatives' commentary. Ecological integrity is not a new buzzword by the Liberals. It has been essential since 1998 when the panel on ecological inte

Rouge National Urban Park Act  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague. It is not true that we do not have a definition of ecological integrity. This concept has been well defined and understood for decades. A major commission chaired by Jacques Gérin defined this concept.

Rouge National Urban Park Act  Madam Speaker, I recognize that the Conservatives have seen this as an occasion for a partisan discussion of the Ontario government. Even at this stage, should we not make sure that the existing watershed protection plans for the Rouge Valley are firmly entrenched in parks planni

Rouge National Urban Park Act  Madam Speaker, once the Rouge National Urban Park deficits are corrected from the first version of the bill, I wonder if government members would be willing to take another look at the Sable Island National Park Reserve. Seismic testing is allowed inside the park, as is direction

Rouge National Urban Park Act  Madam Speaker, the hon. member recalled how many times he has spoken on this issue. I started working on protecting the Rouge in 1986, and by 1989, the minister of state for the environment, Pauline Browes, was doing something about it. This has taken a long time. We are almost

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, we do not have to go back very far to find quite outrageous things said by former parliamentarians. I would like to have seen this House in the wake of the tragedy, the murders, in Quebec City. We were quite united. We were clear, as parliamentarians, that we were de

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the hon. member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, and congratulate her on her seventh grandchild. I know she is a great mom and a great grandmother. I really find it perplexing that there is in this House today the pretence that there is a conflict

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, in reading this motion, it seems to me that it goes more broadly than protecting all religions. I support a broad approach. It says “reducing or eliminating all types of discrimination in Canada”. Should there be discrimination against atheists, and they are targeted

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I will try to keep this brief. I have a lot of respect for the hon. member. Would he clarify for those watching this debate that Motion No. 103 will not lead to sharia law? Nothing about it will change our respect for the rule of law in this country and the Charter

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, this debate is lamentable. We know that Motion No. 103 would not remotely change the rights of free speech nor bring in sharia law. Also, on its face, the motion today from the hon. member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands does not pander to those elements that are creati

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Vancouver Kingsway for his work on this, and on the health committee. I had a chance to be part of the clause-by-clause on Bill C-37, and I appreciate all his efforts there. I want to thank him for raising the comparison to

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, three years ago in this place, we passed something called Lindsey's law, an act to create a DNA database for missing persons. It is named Lindsey's law out of respect for a missing person. Her name is Lindsey Nicholls. Her mom is a friend of mine. She is a constituen

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend my condolences to the hon. member for Vancouver Quadra for the loss of Alex, a young man she has known for many years and a young man who was friends with her own children. My personal condolences to the member. Does my hon. colleague feel th