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Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to pick up where things left off in June. Right before the long debate on back-to-work legislation I had the opportunity to speak to this bill for eight minutes. At that point I was making three general observations. The first is that refugees are
September 19th, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting the way the government characterizes the state of the economy. It goes from saying that the recovery is very fragile to saying that the economy is very strong, that we have recouped all the lost jobs since the recession and that we have had stro
June 23rd, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
Kirkland Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the city of Kirkland. Kirkland's history begins with the arrival of the Brunet family in the area in 1667. The Meloche and Daoust families were also among the first families to arrive. Kirkland's town library is a testament t
June 22nd, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise on this important piece of legislation which was introduced in the last Parliament but did not proceed much further because of the election. There is an observable pattern of behaviour with the Conservative government in terms of
June 21st, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
Libya Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his question. He is absolutely right: we have to focus more on diplomatic efforts and contribute to building democratic institutions in Libya once the conflict is over. I hope that will be soon. That is what we did in Sudan. We p
June 14th, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
Libya Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his kind words in my regard. Indeed, I enjoyed sitting on the environment committee when he was chairing it. I am a little saddened that neither of us will be on that committee working together. Canada has great democratic expertise. I would
June 14th, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
Libya Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform you that I will share my time with my colleague, the member for Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor. The military operation in Libya is, in a sense, the culmination of the evolution of the United Nations and international law, an evolution in
June 14th, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
Baie-d'Urfé Mr. Speaker, this year marks the centennial of the town of Baie-d'Urfé in my riding of Lac-Saint-Louis. On May 9, I attended a meeting of the Baie-d'Urfé junior council that re-enacted two of the town's earliest council meetings held on July 18 and September 16, 1911, respectiv
June 14th, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
The Budget Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand in the House to deliver my first complete speech following the recent election. Like other members with their ridings, I would like to take one moment to thank the voters of Lac-Saint-Louis for showing their confidence in me once again by r
June 13th, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
Treasury Board Mr. Speaker, we cannot say that the government leads by example. The President of the Treasury Board is demanding cuts, but cabinet offices have been going in the other direction. Since 2008, there has been a 14% increase in the budgets of ministers' offices. What does one say t
June 13th, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
Zero Force Cycling Team Mr. Speaker, last Sunday three extraordinary young men set off on a 7,200 kilometre bike ride across Canada. Drew Steeves, Mitch Torrens and Laurent Gazaille, the riders of the Zero Force Cycling Team, are graduates of John Abbott College in my riding of Lac-Saint-Louis. They wi
June 7th, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
Government Appointments Mr. Speaker, last December 18, the Prime Minister gave Larry Smith a patronage appointment to the Senate. The Conservatives like that word. He was paid for almost two months before even stepping foot in the chamber. Since the day he was sworn in, he has done very little there. As
March 25th, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
Government Appointments Mr. Speaker, on the radio, Mr. Smith claimed that the cost of the F-35s went from $16 billion to $30 billion because of inflation. That is quite the inflation rate. Did the Minister of Finance suddenly change his forecasts because of inflation? Did the Governor of the Bank of Ca
March 25th, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
World Water Day Mr. Speaker, today is World Water Day, a day to reflect on a resource we too often take for granted, a day to reaffirm our commitment to water as a public good. There are over one billion people in the world without access to safe drinking water. Over 2.5 billion lack access to
March 22nd, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal
House debate Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for that interesting answer. Back in November I was at the conference here in Ottawa, that he mentioned, where there were discussions about matters of drinking water system security. At that conference I did speak to an RCMP official who deli
March 7th, 2011House debate
Francis ScarpaleggiaLiberal