Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, Raymond is a Victoria veteran. He is 93 years old and the last living member of a Lancaster bomber crew. The closure of the Veterans Affairs offices has made it harder for Raymond to find out about the Bomber Command Bar. When Raymond's Bomber Command Bar was approv

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments by my colleague for Durham in this important and very disturbing debate. One of my constituents is Ms. Sheila Fynes. Her son is Stuart Langridge, who took his own life in 2008, having been told by the military that it was a function of subs

Respect for Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague and friend from Saanich—Gulf Islands for her comments. I could not agree more with her comments, which I thought were really appropriate, about government by stealth. The most remarkable aspect of the Supreme Court's decision is it

Respect for Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Laurentides—Labelle for his observation. I think it is very, if the expression can be excused, insightful. I think the reason it is insightful is that the government seems to want to pick a fight with the Supreme Court of

Respect for Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to Bill C-2 , an act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. I remain very concerned about the government's motivation in introducing the bill in the face of a unanimous loss. The Supreme Court of Canada in 2011 unanimously defe

Electronic Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be participating in this debate. I want to congratulate my friend and colleague from Burnaby—Douglas for this initiative. In a former life he was a professor of public policy at Simon Fraser University, where he studied the very issues that are be

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, time and time again Conservatives put partisan politics ahead of sound policy. Instead of listening to the concerns of Canadians, the Conservative government is targeting environmental groups. It has spent millions investigating 900 groups that disagree with its ag

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, in the midst of the presentation by the Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism, he made the statement, “there does not seem to be a need for it”, apparently referring to the need for an increase in the CPP. Right now, only 38.8% of Canadians have access to a wo

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member says in his remarks that the NDP “unilaterally” seeks an increase in the CPP, ignoring, I suppose, the majority opinion polls that suggest Canadians are onside, and the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, the Canadian Labour Congress and most economis

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I find it disturbing that my colleague from Lethbridge would label a plan that we have proposed as radical when it is that of the former chief actuary of the Canada pension plan we are proposing and it is that of many provinces. As an example, Prince Edward Island's

Pensions  Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve a serious conversation about retirement security, but what we get from Conservatives is fearmongering and rhetoric. It is Conservative cuts that have reduced the GDP by billions of dollars, yet we are told that when it comes to ensuring retirement

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the Minister of State for finance, for his speech in this House. He says that there would be dire economic consequences to our employment rates if we were to proceed and he cites a couple of reports from departments that we have not been shown

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, as my hon. friend said, we came to this place at the same time and it is a pleasure to be engaging in this important debate. I am pleased that the Globe and Mail is on our side and I think on the side of history. It is troubling to me that the Minister of Finance ap

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much the support of the Liberals for the motion today, the third party. We acknowledge that there must be an increase in premiums and there are two or three plans on the table. In fact, there are many. There is one that the CLC has brought forward.

Business of Supply  moved: That the House call on the government to commit to supporting an immediate phase-in of increases to basic public pension benefits under the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans at the upcoming meeting of federal, provincial and territorial finance ministers.