Marmora SnoFest  Mr. Speaker, there is “snow” place like Marmora, Ontario this weekend for the 39th annual SnoFest. This festival has the record as the oldest sled dog race in Canada. As Richard Lowery, one of the organizers, has said, SnoFest was started to help pull Marmora out of economic depr

An Act respecting the development of a national strategy for the safe and environmentally sound disposal of lamps containing mercury  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak today on the bill brought forward by the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, an act respecting the development of a national strategy for the safe and environmentally sound disposal of lamps containing mercury. Bill C-238

Christmas Parades  Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise in the House today to spread a little holiday cheer. Over the past weeks, I have had the pleasure of marching in not one, not two, but 11 Santa Claus parades, and that is not even all of them. From Maynooth, near the edge of Algonquin Park, to Am

Canada Pension Plan  Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague for his impassioned speech. He spoke about our side of the House not trusting our youth to save. It is not a case of trusting them or not; it is a case of whether they have the ability to save, given the climate that exists today. If you com

Canada Pension Plan  Thank you, Madam Speaker. I apologize to my colleague. When I travel around my riding, I meet so many seniors who under the present system are living in poverty because that system does not support them. Today, given the precarious nature of employment, given the high level of s

Poverty  Mr. Speaker, our government is making an important commitment to developing a Canadian poverty reduction strategy. Government can make a difference, but we cannot do it alone. That is why the member for Bay of Quinte and I are fortunate to have a new program in our ridings called

National Strategy for Safe Disposal of Lamps Containing Mercury Act  Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Dartmouth—Cole Harbour for his efforts on this bill. It is an honour to serve with him on the environment committee and to see the work he does there. The environment committee studied this bill. While we were discussing the bill there,

Italian Heritage Month  Mr. Speaker, it is such an honour to speak to this great motion that my colleague from King—Vaughan has put forward. I could not be more proud of the fact that she has done this. It is so well deserved and long overdue that we make the month of June national Italian heritage mont

Italian Heritage Month  I would like to tell the story about my father coming to Canada in 1953. He still shares this story today with anyone who will listen. It was in 1953, after the Second World War. It was a very desperate situation where food, fuel, and clothing were very scarce and the future loo

Louis Riel Day  Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, in celebration of Louis Riel Day, I had the privilege of attending the very first raising of the Métis flag on Parliament Hill. Louis Riel was elected to this place three times but was never able to take his seat. Like Louis Riel himself, the rai

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague on his passion for this subject. I am part of the indigenous committee and the study we are doing right now on suicide helps us understand the crises that exist in many of our indigenous communities. Our government has committed

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, my colleague and I work on the indigenous affairs committee together. Right now we are in the middle of a study on suicide. We have seen and heard first hand the crisis that exists in many of our indigenous communities. Our government is making a record $8.4 billion

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for her impassioned speech and advocacy in this area. I am on the indigenous committee. We are doing a study right now on suicide within indigenous communities and have heard first-hand about a lot of the issues and concern

Housing  Mr. Speaker, it is Housing on the Hill Day, and I want to thank Bob Cottrell, president of All-Together Affordable Housing Corporation. Under Bob's leadership, this not-for-profit has expanded to include a five-unit building in Belleville for low-income individuals living with ch

The Environment  Madam Speaker, on June 17, the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development tabled a unanimous report with recommendations on the federal sustainable development strategy and accompanying legislation. The fact this report received unanimous support from all three