Points of Order  Mr. Speaker, during question period, I believe the hon. member for Perth--Wellington misled the House and Canadians in suggesting that I had made an erroneous statement about Encounters with Canada when I said that funding had not been restored when it had been restored. I issue

West Island Youth Symphony Orchestra  Mr. Speaker, I recently had the great pleasure of attending the 20th anniversary concert of the West Island Youth Symphony Orchestra. Audience members enjoyed an evening of inspiring music as the orchestra offered a program of classical and modern works, including a piece compos

Air Transportation  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport is getting ready to propose that the number of flight attendants on passenger flights in Canada be reduced by up to 25%, when the above-standard number of flight attendants may have prevented deaths in the crash of Air France flight 358 in T

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I would like to preface my question by reading the headline in the editorial that appeared in the Globe and Mail the day after the budget, “How to complicate the nation's tax system”. The editorial stated: So it's a pity the Conservatives have further burdened the

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, a coalition of environmental groups is fed up with seeing the Conservatives renege on Canada's international commitments and cancel conservation programs that were customized for Canada, such as the EnerGuide program for low income households. Such groups are ready t

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, it is humiliating for Canada to be attacked by the most respected and most influential environmental groups in the world, especially when our Minister of the Environment is chairing the conference of the parties to the Kyoto protocol. We are setting ourselves up to b

Budget Implementation Act, 2006  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for an interesting speech that was full of very strong words about the budget, things like gimmicky, superficial and bush league. While I have no objection to using strong words to criticize a budget that I agree is sorely misguided, I must ad

OEUF  Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate L'OEUF, the Office de l'éclectisme urbain et fonctionnel, an architectural firm which won third prize at the Global Holcim Awards in Bangkok for its innovative work in sustainable urban development. L'OEUF was awarded the prize for its project

Transportation  Mr. Speaker, an internal analysis from the Department of Transport might actually justify the major reservations, if not plain and simple opposition, some department officials have about reducing the number of flight attendants on passenger flights within Canada. Will the minis

Situation in Sudan  Mr. Chair, I welcome the opportunity to take part in the debate tonight and to address this most urgent and vital of international issues. In fact, I consider it not only an honour to participate in this debate but a duty. A country's foreign policy should be one with the values

Situation in Sudan  Mr. Chair, I appreciate the expertise and knowledge of Africa that the hon. member brings to this debate. I myself am not a military expert but what I do know is that for action to be effective in the international community, especially action that involves the use of soldiers an

Situation in Sudan  Resolution 1706 is a step in the direction of implementing and applying the responsibility to protect. If we do not act with limited force to protect vulnerable populations, what is the responsibility to protect doctrine other than a collection of meaningless words? The hon. mem

Situation in Sudan  Mr. Chair, we know nothing for sure. This is not precise science. What I do know is when I ask my constituents about Afghanistan, three-quarters of them tell me that we should not stay there indefinitely. When it comes to Darfur, the response is 100% that we should protect vulner

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I picked up on one particular aspect of the member's comments which was that he would like to see the supply of older workers in the labour market increase. I would ask the member if, by way of incentives, he thinks that the government should cut income taxes and al

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to use George Bush's line, “We won't cut and run”. At the UN he stressed the importance of upholding Canada's international commitments. I would like to know how the Prime Minister reconciles that principle with his dogged determination to c