Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, the reason I talked about the role of rail transport in relation to the future of our country and sustainable development in Canada and around the world is of course because this is one of the challenges that we are going to have to face and that we have already face

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I would go back to what I said at the end of my intervention, which is that I do not believe we should look at this motion as pitting one community against another or one part of Canada against another. This motion represents a new direction in museums policy where

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's point, but sometimes it takes a first step. Sometimes it takes a step in the right direction. The motion is asking the government to take that first step. It would not really be a first step because the media has been full of reports about

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I greatly appreciated the hon. member's statements and would like him to comment on two points. First of all, he said that the government is very happy to take a piecemeal approach, when it feels like it, without consultation, without issuing a white paper or what h

National Optics Institute  Mr. Speaker, this minority government will soon table its budget and everyone is talking about which programs and organizations will be targeted by the government. One of Quebec's gems is the National Optics Institute, which is a leader here and abroad. Canada must invest in kno

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, last fall, the minority Conservative government cut the funding to the Public Diplomacy Branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the branch responsible for the international promotion of Canadian art and culture. The $11.6 million cut will almost certainly mean

Kyoto Protocol  Mr. Speaker, today I would like to support the members of the environmental committee at Félix Leclerc secondary school in my riding. This group of students believes that the Government of Canada should support and honour the Kyoto protocol. To show their support for Kyoto, the

Lana Hamilton  Mr. Speaker, I rise today with deep sorrow to mark the passing of one of the West Island of Montreal's most wonderful and engaging citizens. When Lana de Liamchin Hamilton passed away in early March of this year, I, like all those who knew her, felt a mixture of sadness and hum

Budget Implementation Act, 2007  Mr. Speaker, my question for the hon. member is the following. It seems to me that in terms of the government's promise on income trusts one of two possibilities exists. First, at the time when the government made the promise, it fully intended not to keep it. Second, it did not

Darfur  Mr. Speaker, yesterday was the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the conflict in Darfur. In the past four years 200,000 people have been killed and at least two million more have been displaced. Currently, approximately four million people are receiving humanitarian aid. T

House debate  Mr. Speaker, my colleague sits on the heritage committee, which I sit on as well. I participated in the hearings on the court challenges program. I must say that as the hearings went on, I saw members on the government side beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable with the p

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, this government's laissez-faire plan to deal with global warming is being treated with sarcasm at home and abroad. David Suzuki called it a fraud and others fear that Canada is joining the gang of environmental rogue states. The executive secretary of the UN Framewo

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, the executive secretary was also surprised that Canada suddenly started setting targets significantly below our Kyoto commitments. There is not a single Kyoto obligation this minister has not already broken. He will not meet the Kyoto targets and he will not meet the

Bisphenol A  Mr. Speaker, I will be introducing a bill today in this House, calling on the government to ban a very toxic chemical substance used in many food and drink containers. Bisphenol A is a substance found in many items made of clear, hard plastic, such as water bottles and baby bott

Regional Economic Development  Mr. Speaker, the decision by the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec to cut funding for non-profit organizations will also have an impact on young people in economically depressed regions of Quebec. For several years, the Centre d'entre