Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is very clear that the official opposition also basically agrees with the motion that we are presenting today. How we establish that line is really the work of the committee. We are proposing that the procedures and House affairs committee sit down, study the matt

Business of Supply  moved: That the House agree with the comments of the Right Honourable Member for Calgary Southwest on March 25, 1994, when he criticized omnibus legislation, suggesting that the subject matter of such bills is so diverse that a single vote on the content would put Members in co

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, the E. coli crisis is a direct result of the government's mismanagement of food inspection in Canada. As a result, we have 15 Canadians who are sick, cattle ranchers who cannot sell their cattle, job losses and serious damage to the Canadian brand. This is a failure

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, we now know of 15 Canadians in four provinces who have become sick because of E. coli tainted meat. In all this time, during what is the largest beef recall in the history of Canada, the Minister of Health has kept mum. Will the Minister of Health stand up and reali

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, Canada has one of the highest rates of bullying in the industrialized world. Evidence shows that victims of bullying face serious long-term physical and psychological harm or death. I am talking about bullying here. Amanda Todd's suicide last week is tragic proof. Th

Agriculture and Agri-Food  Mr. Speaker, this is how the government reacted to the E. coli crisis. First, it said that there was no problem. Second, it said that there are enough inspectors. Third, it blamed everyone except itself. This is just obfuscation and excuses. This is what Canadians wanted to hear

Commissioner for Children and Young Persons in Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, in some sense there was an understanding when we ratified the convention back in 1991 that to give ourselves the right tool to see how we were respecting our obligations under the convention we would create a position of commissioner. There are some 60 countries with

Commissioner for Children and Young Persons in Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague points out that in fact this was ratified under the Conservative government of Prime Minister Mulroney. Also, on two occasions a committee of the Senate, the committee on human rights, recommended the creation of a commissioner. In 2007, its landmar

Commissioner for Children and Young Persons in Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his comments. Of course, he is right. If we create this children's commissioner position, that individual will have to focus on children and youth, report annually and identify any shortcomings that we need to address. Of course, in some

Commissioner for Children and Young Persons in Canada Act  moved that Bill C-420, An Act to establish the Office of the Commissioner for Children and Young Persons in Canada, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, I have been waiting for this moment for a very long time, and I believe most Canadians have been

20th Anniversary of CPAC  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the entire team at CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary today. Twenty years ago CPAC was created to provide all Canadians with access to their democratic process. Informing the public about Pa

Student Loans  Mr. Speaker, students are racking up more debt than ever before. With the youth unemployment rate approaching 15%, young people have a hard time paying back their student loans. The interest on these loans can easily add $5,000 to their debt burden. Will the government do as so

Pensions  Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the government for a separate bill on MP pension reform so that Canadians could see how their MPs support this very important bill in a stand-alone fashion. I did not get an answer. Is the Prime Minister worried about a backlash from his own backbe

Pensions  Mr. Speaker, with unemployment stubbornly high with 165,000 young Canadians giving up on finding a job, with trade deficits rising and median income falling, it is time for MPs to bite the bullet on their own pensions. If Canadians need to suck it up, so do we. Liberals are ready

Employment  Mr. Speaker, when youth unemployment is at almost 15% and 165,000 young people have given up and stopped looking for work, how can the Conservatives be arguing with the NDP about their carbon policy? Where are their priorities? Why are they not addressing this country's real need