Supply  Madam Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to participate in this important debate. It is pretty frustrating sitting here in the nosebleed section listening to what passes for debate in question period as being informative to the Canadian public. There seems to be an endless amoun

An Act To Give Effect To The Requirement For Clarity As Set Out In The Opinion Of The Supreme Court Of Canada In The Quebec Secession Reference  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this important issue. There is no greater issue that any member would address than the dissolution of his or her country. I am in somewhat of an ironic position because in the riding of Scarborough East, where I come from, thi

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is right. Under no circumstances would I denounce the finance minister in the giving of this speech. Maybe the member should have read my speech from last year when I was somewhat critical of the budget. As the hon. member well knows, I am not above c

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Niagara Falls. I will begin by apologizing to the finance minister. I have, privately and publicly, described him as a tax cutting wimp. I thought that was an accurate description as far as previous budgets, but I am w

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her HRDC speech. I did not hear too much about the budget presented on Monday. I want to take issue with the tax reduction plan she talked about. If she refers to table 4 of the five year tax reduction review, therein is laid out $17 bill

Modernization Of Benefits And Obligations Act  Madam Speaker, I would have preferred the bill to reflect the resolution of the House last May or June that the definition of marriage be put in legislative form. To my mind that would have put to rest one of the most significant arguments. It would have allowed all of us to deal

Modernization Of Benefits And Obligations Act  Mr. Speaker, I agree with the overall principle that we should be looking at other dependency models. The face of the Canadian family is changing and is changing quite dramatically. I cannot buy the argument for the issue of haste in terms of this bill. We have had something in

Modernization Of Benefits And Obligations Act  Madam Speaker, I find myself in somewhat of an unusual position, being opposed to this bill while being on the government side. The bill is fairly simple. It really could be written in one line: common law heterosexual relationships are the legal equivalent to common law homosex

Modernization Of Benefits And Obligations Act  Madam Speaker, I was very intrigued by the hon. member's speech. I believe it could have been delivered by the justice minister who, I am sure, found himself in something of a strange anomaly in the presentation of his speech. Does the member regret that this occasion has not be

Division No. 667  Madam Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to speak. Unfortunately, my French is not good enough for me to make a speech in that language on an issue as important as the clarity bill. My riding of Scarborough East is home to more than 100,000 people, 40% of whom have neither Eng

Immigration  Mr. Speaker, on any given night between 800 and 1,100 people seek shelter in my riding of Scarborough East because they are homeless. Approximately 400 are refugee claimants. There is an enormous burden on my community, the food banks, the shelters, the schools and churches. Fra

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to speak to Bill C-212, although I cannot see myself supporting it. As far as the government is concerned the bill is not good public policy. It is an invitation to micromanage complex employment-employee relations from afar. If experience h

Criminal Code  No, Mr. Speaker. It is fairly simple. We treat individuals differentially when they engage in criminal behaviour under age 18. I commend Bill C-3 to the member's attention. That is not one of the recognized offences. I appreciate the opportunity to answer the question.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, the committee is not composed of only lawyers. We did not receive a great deal of testimony from lawyers. The only two lawyers' organizations that made representations were the Canadian Bar Association and Barreau du Québec. The testimony that we received was from p

Criminal Code  In the context of recognizing the contribution made by the member for Prince George—Bulkley Valley, I would also like to recognize the contribution of the member for Berthier—Montcalm, the member for Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, the member for Scarborough—Rouge River, the membe