Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I believe my words were that the former chief electoral officer was forced out, resigned under pressure, and if I said “fired”, I will correct that and replace it with the words “forced out”.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, Canadians were horrified by the gruesome deaths of 500 ducks at Syncrude tailings pond. This type of ecological disaster will only happen more often as Alberta's oil sands develop beyond control. The president of Syncrude describes the Prime Minister as a very good

CBC Radio Orchestra  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of the many residents of Vancouver Quadra who have shared with me their frustration and dismay about the unfortunate termination of the CBC Radio Orchestra. This orchestra is a national cultural treasure with a 70 year history of del

Conservative Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, I came to Ottawa to work on public policy, but unfortunately the Conservative government has mainly served up scandal to chew on. Last week when the Conservatives were reeling under their election financing scandal, they must have said, “First Mulroney-Schreiber, th

Health  Mr. Speaker, the government continues to ignore mounting scientific evidence proving the efficacy of the safe injection site in downtown Vancouver. Instead of acknowledging the success of this program, the Minister of Health has left its future hanging in limbo. This is an ideolo

Bill Reid Artwork Theft  Mr. Speaker, Canadians in Vancouver Quadra and across the country are aghast at the theft from the Museum of Anthropology at UBC of gold artwork by the late Haida artist Bill Reid. The late Bill Reid, a native artist rooted in the Pacific northwest, is one of Canada's most import

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, my question is about the $33 billion building Canada fund. How much of that fund was new money that will go directly to cities and municipalities?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I asked that question because I have quite an interest in sewage. The environment minister talked about billions of dollars for sewage treatment. As the provincial environment minister, I ordered new scientific monitoring that led to the requirement to treat the sewag

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, the B.C. government, of which I was a part, put in a place a successful rebate program of tax incentives for fuel efficient vehicles. The current federal government brought in the eco-auto rebate with much fanfare in a recent budget, then flip-flopped and reversed it.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I could agree that the minister--

Health  Mr. Speaker, the health minister falsely claims that the science on Insite is mixed and, therefore, we should get rid of it. This gives me a bad feeling of déjà vu. Was this not the tactic of big tobacco and Conservative climate change deniers to block needed action for so long

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the B.C. government for passing a cap and trade law last week to complement its groundbreaking carbon tax. On March 12 the Prime Minister was quoted as saying that his “national plan and British Columbia's plan complement each other”. If the

Food and Drugs Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to Bill C-51 today. This is an issue that deals with something of top concern to people across the country and certainly people in Vancouver Quadra, and that is the issue of health care. More importantly, health prevention and ma

Food and Drugs Act  Mr. Speaker, I share the member's deep concern about the bill. I am in complete agreement that extensive changes are needed. However, this coming vote is a vote in principle. The principle is that patients have safe, effective and high quality products and that regulating pharm

Food and Drugs Act  Mr. Speaker, I would contend that many of these natural products do not contain claims. Perhaps some do. I think the natural products industry is pretty careful not to make claims. I purchase many products that I know work. I know that based on my 35 years of experience in using