CANADA-PANAMA ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PROSPERITY ACT  Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. It almost seems as though it is a reflex in this Parliament to introduce legislation and then limit debate. It somehow has become automatic, and that is most unfortunate. In the course of my remarks I indicated my concern over the lack

CANADA-PANAMA ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PROSPERITY ACT  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak on Bill C-24. The Liberal Party has long been in support of opening new markets on the basis of fair trade. We will be supporting this particular legislation. We do have some concerns, given the obvious bipartisan support, that this is y

CANADA-PANAMA ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PROSPERITY ACT  Mr. Speaker, my question relates to concerns expressed in this and previous Parliaments with respect to Panama being a locale for money laundering and a tax haven. My concern specifically relates to the protracted negotiations that went over some eight years before the United S

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of residents of Prince Edward Island who are concerned over the plans with respect to fleet separation and owner-operator policies. They point out that these policies have been the backbone of the Atlantic inshore fishery for ma

RCMP  Mr. Speaker, for five years, the Conservatives have battled disabled veterans, including Dennis Manuge, in court to justify pension clawbacks. The disabled vets prevailed. For the last four years, Royal Canadian Mounted Police veterans have been locked in a similar law suit aga

Animal Protection  Mr. Speaker, it is disturbing to read stories about animal abuse in Canada. Animals are, for millions of Canadians, an essential component of family life, forming special bonds that are valued and endearing. Whether it is a seeing eye dog or a German shepherd providing services

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today, each of which may sound a bit familiar given the petitions that have already been presented today. The first one is on behalf of residents of the greater Ottawa area, including Gloucester, Nepean and Orléans. The petitioners

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from some residents of Prince Edward Island who are concerned about anticipated changes in the owner-operator and fleet separation policy affecting the midshore fishery in Prince Edward Island and on the east coast. The petitioners rightly poi

POOLED REGISTERED PENSION PLANS ACT  Mr. Speaker, I was interested in my colleague's comments respecting the degree of opposition to the enhancement of the Canada pension plan. I have three questions for him in connection with his characterization of the apparent opposition to the enhancement of the CPP. One, is th

POOLED REGISTERED PENSION PLANS ACT  Madam Speaker, just last week I held a town hall in my riding on the subject of pensions and old age security. When the various options facing the country with respect to pension reform were presented, a lot of people in the room nodded their heads when one person said that this

Points of Order  Mr. Speaker, I raised a question in question period and I am not sure there was an answer. If there was, it certainly was unintelligible here. My question was whether the government had decided if it would appeal the ruling on veterans pensions. I did not hear—

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I would hope that by now we could assume that the minister has finally completed his homework and is up to speed on the 31-page Federal Court decision on veterans pensions. With only a few days before the Conservatives must decide whether to appeal this very clear

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, 13 days remain until the government must decide whether to appeal the decision of the Federal Court ordering it to cease clawing back veterans' pensions from people like Dennis Manuge. It has been almost three weeks and we still have no indication of what the gover

Questions on the Order Paper  With regard to Canadian Forces aircraft procurement, will any pilot training for the proposed F-35 Joint Strike Fighters take place in Canada, and, if so, at which Canadian Forces base or other location will it occur?

Questions on the Order Paper  With regard to Canadians discovered to have secret bank accounts in Liechtenstein: (a) since the government received the names of 106 Canadians with accounts in Liechtenstein, how many of the 106 have made an application under the Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) and how many o