Chinese New Year  Mr. Speaker, Chinese New Year is an elaborate, colourful and joyous time when families and friends gather to celebrate over traditional new year foods and delicacies. As the third largest ethnic group, with over one million Chinese Canadians, Chinese New Year has become a major

Police and Peace Officers National Memorial Day  Mr. Speaker, this weekend, thousands of police and peace officers will gather on Parliament Hill to honour colleagues who have died in the line of duty. They meet annually to keep their memory alive and to ensure that the magnitude of their sacrifice will never be forgotten. Th

Encroachment upon Quebec Jurisdictions  Madam Speaker, I wanted to take part in this debate on Motion No.394 put forward by the hon. member for Trois-Rivières for several reasons. In a nutshell, this motion is to recognize Quebec as a nation. It states that, since Quebec did not sign the social union framework union o

Homelessness  Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the valuable contribution the national homelessness initiative has made to my riding of Richmond. Through this initiative, the government provided Chimo Crisis Services with $697,000 to help build a transition house for needy families. The h

User Fees Act  Madam Speaker, let me begin by acknowledging the efforts and the hard work of our colleague, the member for Etobicoke North, aimed at improving the management of user charging. The government also shares his desire to improve the fee setting process. It is in that spirit that in

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act  Mr. Speaker, it is truly an honour to rise today to discuss Bill C-49 and to speak forcefully for the bill as the member of Parliament for Richmond. Richmond is in one of the fastest growing areas of this great country of ours, the greater Vancouver area, and in one of the fastes

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, let me begin by saying that Bill C-45 should be supported as it will make a great contribution to promoting safety in the workplace. As was stated earlier on, the hearings of the standing committee had their origins ultimately in the Westray tragedy, and I believe al

Public Service Integrity Officer  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing 32(2), I am pleased to table, in both official languages, two copies of the first annual report of the Public Service Integrity Officer for the period 2002-03.

B.C. Forest Fires  Mr. Speaker, this has been one of the most challenging summers in history for the people of British Columbia. As we are all acutely aware, we have endured months of ferocious forest fires. Communities like Kelowna, Cranbrook, Okanagan Mountain Park and others suffered through a

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, in April 1999 the federal government started requiring Canadian residents to report their foreign assets in an effort to reduce tax evasion. This is a laudable goal which unfortunately has resulted in negative unintended consequences. Would-be investors feel this is

Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to take part in today's debate on Bill C-419, an act to amend the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act. It is fitting that we are considering this bill as part of private members' business. The bill would directly affect all members in th

Supply  Madam Speaker, I cannot speak for the government of Taiwan. I do not know its motivations. I am not sure what its plans are and I do not particularly care. This is an important point. I am the member of Parliament for Richmond and there is a very serious disease occurring, SARS.

Supply  Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Yukon. It is my honour as a member of Parliament for Richmond in the wonderful province of British Columbia to stand in the House today and discuss the merits of the motion of the Canadian Alliance, a motion suppo

World Health Organization  Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Richmond, I rise today to draw the attention of the House to Taiwan's bid for observer status at the World Health Organization. This is not a geopolitical issue. It is a health issue: a matter of life and death. Viruses and other infe

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, On Monday, May 5 in Victoria, B.C., Environment Canada launched “Let's Drive Green”, the 18th season of its voluntary vehicle emissions inspection clinic program. This is an opportunity for motorists to bring their vehicles into our voluntary vehicle emissions clini