Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, to me, this debate is really about citizenship. I will go back to a line that was actually attributed to President Kennedy but was in fact an idea that came from Greek philosophers, I am told. Perhaps it was from Pericles. The line reads, “Ask not what your country

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' treatment of our veterans is unacceptable. It is increasingly obvious that this government uses our veterans for its public relations but ignores them when the time comes to defend their interests. Why is the minister refusing to answer a simple

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, why did it take photographs of deformed fish to get the minister to move on this only two weeks ago? Eighteen months ago, the minister was aware of Dr. Schindler's testimony before the environment committee that showed the oil sands industry was contaminating the Ath

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, in the spring, the Minister of the Environment called Dr. Schindler's data on pollution of the Athabasca River by the oil sands industry mere allegations and muzzled his own scientists on this matter. Ignoring science has become the hallmark of this Conservative gove

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition that was sent to me by Mr. Michael Destounis. It includes many signatories from my riding of Lac-Saint-Louis. The petition is for Canada to do more for peace in Darfur and, more generally, in Sudan. There are a number of measures t

Fisheries Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-561, An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (mining activities). Mr. Speaker, I am introducing a bill which would address a practice that is occurring with increasing frequency and which is of enormous concern to those of us who would like to see C

Beaconsfield  Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the City of Beaconsfield, a magnificent community on the shores of the St. Lawrence River in Montreal's West Island. The year started with great pomp and circumstance when young Ben Mumme carried the Olympic flame to Centenni

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to say from the outset that I am speaking on behalf of Earl Jones' fraud victims, as there are several in my riding. I greatly appreciated my colleague's substantial presentation. I cannot say that I agree or disagree with everything he said, but his sp

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the government is winging it on an issue that is vital to Canada's economy and to the survival of our ecosystems. The Munk School of Global Affairs just informed the Minister of Foreign Affairs that his Bill C-26 is ineffective. This bill claimed to stop exports of w

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the government is all over the map on the issue of bulk water exports. On March 29, the environment minister said that there was no need for legislation to ban bulk water exports. A couple of weeks later, the Minister of Foreign Affairs tabled legislation that he wr

House debate  Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the federal government does not take its enforcement responsibilities seriously at all, and this is the problem. The hon. member mentioned the Canada-Alberta Administrative Agreement for the Control of Deposits of Deleterious Substances, but the fed

House debate  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to participate in tonight's adjournment debate, otherwise known as the late show. For the benefit of those watching at home, this is an opportunity for parliamentarians to focus briefly on what might be considered unfinished business of the House pri

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, as we speak, the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences is hosting a symposium here in Ottawa on water security in Canada. The government has not renewed the foundation's funding, with the result that the foundation's research into the impact of c

Health  Mr. Speaker, after an employee complained of bad-tasting bottled water, tests by a private lab in Montreal found bacterial counts in Canadian bottled water to be more than 100 times the U.S. limit. Then we found out that Health Canada does not have enforceable standards for bac

Veterans  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Veterans Affairs is still refusing to hold public consultations about transferring the Sainte-Anne hospital to the Province of Quebec. The transfer will cause a number of problems, including a $1.5 million annual shortfall for the City of Saint-Anne-d