Department of Canadian Heritage Act  Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege for me to rise today in the House to speak to Bill C-7. While it has been referred to in a number of different ways by various members in the House as a technical move and a piece of housekeeping, it also affords us the opportunity to refocus

Department of Canadian Heritage Act  Mr. Speaker, I will not be taking any honeymoon advice from him. My fiancé would not have any of it. To get back to the bill with respect to the parks, while it is perhaps a housekeeping bill and a technical bill, there were some problems we had to fix along the way. I am also c

Department of Canadian Heritage Act  Mr. Speaker, I have heard of this particular incident to which the opposition member has spoken and it is of a grave nature. I want to go back to the historical properties for a moment and the $40 million that has been allocated. I wonder if the hon. member might make mention of

Department of Canadian Heritage Act  Mr. Speaker, I feel the passion in the words and emotion that the parliamentary secretary brings to this important issue. I have a number of questions that I would like to put to him. I am curious in terms of the real dollars that have been set aside over the coming years for th

Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act  Mr. Speaker, when I was back in my riding last week, I was able to take some parts of this bill to working families to find out what they thought about the government's generosity. I have a couple of questions for the member which strike me as a bit strange. The move toward inve

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition today on behalf of the residents of Queen Charlotte Islands, Haida Gwaii who are not currently considered sufficiently isolated to claim full northern residence deduction through the federal Department of Customs and Revenue. There

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, let me remind the minister of the report's findings: 75% of British Columbians said no and 100% of first nations said no. That answer is absolutely pathetic. Thousands of people are contacting me saying they do not want oil and gas drilling polluting B.C. because th

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, truly an NDP move, but at the pace of a Liberal. Today Newfoundland is suffering from its worst oil spill in history. Later this week provincial ministers from B.C. will be in Ottawa lobbying the Minister of Natural Resources to lift the moratorium in the Hecate Str

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, today's Supreme Court decision once again highlights the government's refusal to take leadership in matters of importance to our country. For decades now, the Canadian government has dragged its feet on settling first nations treaties that would provide clarity on th

Supply  Mr. Speaker, in fact I would not recommend sending it back to committee. I understand that the hon. member is concerned. What I would ask him to do is consult with us, particularly the hon. member to my right, who has done a great deal of work and research on this. The research i

Supply  Mr. Speaker, my colleague made an excellent point. Oftentimes security is associated with the ability to make choices. My riding is a rural riding and there is a great deal of poverty within it. It is made up of 30% to 35% of first nations. When I am at the supermarket or attendi

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for sharing her time with me this afternoon. In a number of ways we have some very similar views and I will be looking to expound upon those this afternoon As some hon. members have mentioned, this breaks down to a principle of governance. Is ther

Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994  Mr. Speaker, it is with great enthusiasm that I rise on this day also in support of this bill, and to watch the non-partisan efforts that are going on across the House. If I may, I would like to address some of my comments not only to the House but also to the communities that ar

Tlicho Land Claims and Self-Government Act  Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to extend my congratulations to the Tlicho. This is a very significant time for them. I know a lot of hard work has been put forth by government and negotiators. I take a certain exception to what the hon. member had to say about the fact that an

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the environment, the government is racing George W. Bush to the bottom of the international heap. Today the environment commissioner in her report denounced the government for a lack of leadership, a lack of priority and a lack of will. With a recor