Canadian Coast Guard  Mr. Speaker, again I rise to respond to this question. As the member pointed out, the staff were notified late last month exactly when the closure would happen, although they were notified that the closure would happen in 2014. The modernization of the centre has been a long-

Canadian Coast Guard  Mr. Speaker, as part of the Canadian Coast Guard's multi-year maintenance plan, PSPC issued an advance contract award notice to Davie shipyard to enter the Louis S. St-Laurent into dry dock for a retrofit and life-extension work. Due to lack of available space at the Davie shipy

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, I hope members will forgive me if I seem nervous, but I have some little eyes watching me today. I would like to assure the member that I have appointed a working group which has met. The Coast Guard has presented options to the group. The group will be meeting agai

Situation in Indigenous Communities  Mr. Speaker, in my speech I did not show any pride; I did not show any partisanship. What I am hearing here tonight is that we are all in this together and we need to work together. I believe there is an aboriginal affairs committee. I am not sure if the member is a member of it,

Situation in Indigenous Communities  Mr. Speaker, I do acknowledge that we both share a lot of commonalities in our ridings and the issues and challenges we face. Our Prime Minister has said he wants to work at a renewed relationship with aboriginal people. When we met with folks in the leadership at ITK, he said

Situation in Indigenous Communities  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Edmonton Centre. Thank you for recognizing me and allowing me the opportunity to stand in the House today to discuss this heartbreaking and family-shattering issue. Sadly, suicide is a word we all know only too

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, it looks as if on Friday, today, we have found another fan of the book Something from Nothing. As minister, I and my team held many meetings with stakeholders on issues related to my mandate. The individual the member is talking about was a fine public servant at t

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, as the government House leader said, it is really hard to take ethical advice from that side of the House. I am sure all Canadians would agree with that. As the House leader said, if opposition members believe they have something other than standing here in question

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, there is another fan of Phoebe Gilman's book, Something from Nothing. Regarding the two meetings. I attended one of the meetings on January 17 with Mr. Fram, and it involved a not-for-profit organization called CAST, or Collaboration for Atlantic Salmon Tomorrow. Th

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, the member opposite seems to be a fan of Phoebe Gilman's book, Something from Nothing. In the first 100 days of my mandate, I was very busy. I travelled from coast to coast to coast and had meetings with many key stakeholders. These individuals included provincial

Marine Transportation  Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, the Canadian Coast Guard has modernized its Marine Communications and Traffic Services centre with 21st century technology. We are moving forward with that plan, the equipment is working, and the committee members will do their work, and I

Fisheries and Oceans  Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member and the people in his riding that the department understands the significance of these piers to the community and that they are an important local tourist attraction. Access to the piers has been restricted in order to protect public safety.

Fisheries and Oceans  Mr. Speaker, we know how important sockeye salmon is to British Columbians. That is why we committed to acting on the recommendations of the Cohen commission. I have met with Justice Cohen as well as the Fraser River Aboriginal Fisheries Secretariat and other key experts and stak

Marine Transportation  Mr. Speaker, as I said before, the Coast Guard has modernized its marine communications and traffic services centres with 21st century equipment. I have visited these centres and have seen first hand these new systems that have replaced the 30-year-old technology. Members of the

Marine Transportation  Mr. Speaker, we have invested in new technology. It is like I said last week, switching from a dial phone to a smartphone. This technology is exactly what my staff members need in those centres to keep people safe. They have the training and the ability to do it. Now they have th