Supply  Madam Speaker, the other area under the federal jurisdiction where there are problems is on military bases, for example at Valcartier. The federal government has not taken action and did not take action for years with regard to pollution affecting the town of Shannon in Quebec. W

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition today on behalf of over 300 Canadians, mostly residents in my riding but also some in Nepean, Kingston and elsewhere. The petitioners call upon parliament to immediately place a moratorium on the cosmetic use of chemical pesticides until s

St. George's Anglican Church  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the parishioners of St. George's Anglican Church in Clayton, Ontario, who are celebrating the 100th anniversary of their church this year. I am happy to welcome the most Rev. Michael Peers, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, who

Business Development Bank Of Canada  Mr. Speaker, for the second time in a month officials of the Business Development Bank are claiming that an internal document obtained by the media is a forgery. Last month it was a financial record. This time it is a chronology relating to the recall of the $615,000 loan for whi

Business Development Bank Of Canada  Mr. Speaker, I have no idea what that was about. Let me ask my supplementary question this way. The Prime Minister has openly admitted that he pressured the Business Development Bank for a loan to the Auberge Grand-Mère. We all know the auberge defaulted on the repayments, so it

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, there is a transportation infrastructure crisis in eastern Ontario, and particularly in the high growth areas in the western part of the new city of Ottawa. Due to the explosion in gasoline prices the federal government has enjoyed billions of dollars in new revenue

Proportional Representation  Mr. Speaker, for all the failings of the first past the post electoral system, and they are considerable, there is nevertheless a very powerful interest group that has a strong incentive to keep that system in place. That interest group is us. All 301 members of parliament are h

Supply  Madam Speaker, the member was erudite and thorough in his response. He made the point that the value of tax points ceded in the 1970s has grown sixfold. I do not know if that is in purely nominal terms or in real terms. I suspect it is in nominal terms. Nevertheless they have gro

Supply  Madam Speaker, I will start by deviating from the prepared remarks I have and comment on the question that was raised by the hon. member for Winnipeg—Transcona. Presumably he was referring to CHST payments and Bloc grants. I was involved as the Reform Party's senior researcher i

Supply  Madam Speaker, I cannot find the contradiction that the hon. member cites but I do point out that part of what a government does is legislate so that it cannot act in an irresponsible manner. That is why we have a constitution in the country. We make amendments to the constituti

Supply  Madam Speaker, I invite the member to check the record. We are not in favour of striking down the CHST. We are in favour of transferring some of the value of cash transfers to the provinces into tax points.

Supply  It says cash grants. It does not say all and it does not say some. My understanding is that if we can find a way of getting the government to be more generous with cash transfers we would be very happy about that. We will encourage that when we get the opportunity to do so. When

Supply  I guess it is not a mixed message to favour—

Supply  Madam Speaker, in his comments the hon. member for Winnipeg—Transcona seems to put a great deal of faith in future federal governments acting responsibly in the use of a spending power they have not used responsibly in the past. I am willing to accept that if the hon. member wer

Parliament Of Canada Act  Mr. Chairman, my congratulations to you for your remarkable ability to remember everyone when we are sitting in different seats. I want to return to what the government House leader was saying earlier. He expressed concern about the fact that he now earns less than his assistant