Canadian Coast Guard  Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have been promising action on solving the abandoned vessel problem since they first took office. Coastal communities are tired of waiting. Boats are still sinking. We need a strong system to stop oil spills on our coast. It is time that this ship sails

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am proud the New Democratic Party has policies in place that say a nomination contest cannot be held until efforts are exhausted, as a riding association, to recruit women onto the nomination ballot and also to recruit equity candidates. In the past election, of o

Business of Supply  I have the floor, Mr. Speaker. I would urge the member to follow the lead of her fellow member of Parliament from Kelowna—Lake Country who says, partly because he negotiated with a member of the Green Party that the Green Party not be on the ballot, that he won because of his el

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is such a great honour to stand in the House representing the people of Nanaimo—Ladysmith. I must say, I had really, honestly believed that one of my responsibilities as a member of Parliament was going to be to bring in a new electoral system. New Democrats, Libe

Job Losses in the Energy Sector  Mr. Chair, I would like to hear my colleague's comments in relation to value added and what we can really do with the fossil fuel industry if we take leadership as a country. Several years ago, I had the chance to travel to Norway. It is a country that is deeply invested and dee

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, one in five sexual assault allegations are dismissed by the police as unfounded. Rape victims are being told that their experiences did not happen. In some places, the unfounded dismissal rate is as high as 30%. This is the result of a culture that continues to sprea

National Strategy for Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias Act  Mr. Speaker, the Nanaimo Alzheimer's walk raised $18,000 last year to promote critical research to reduce the effects of Alzheimer's, to provide services for those living with or assisting those with Alzheimer's, and to ease the personal consequences that exist for people and the

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, did the member consider the recommendations at the trade committee or will she support the CETA revisions we are proposing in the House today, which will give me confidence as the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith that some very specific businesses and industries in my re

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago today, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women exposed widespread discrimination against women. Fifty years later, that promise of equality is still not realized. Liberal and Conservative governments have ignored the commission's recommendations and

Transportation  Madam Speaker, I am still eager to hear when this legislation is going to be tabled. So far, it is only New Democrats who have ever brought legislation to the House. I would love to know if the member intends to support my Bill C-219. We hope to have it debated this spring. Wil

Transportation  Madam Speaker, when I last rose in the House to address the issue of abandoned vessels, we were clear about what the problem was. For maybe 15 years now coastal communities have been describing a myriad of bureaucracy that has made it impossible for them to identify which federa

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, front-line workers are decrying the lack of action from the Liberal government to end violence against women. They are calling the government's progress to date a massive disappointment. There needs to be an immediate increase in funding for shelter operations. No w

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, despite the Prime Minister's feminist words at the United Nations, he has failed to act, and the United Nations is calling him on it. The UN Committee to End Discrimination Against Women told Canada to get to work on pay equity, legal aid, abortion access, child care

International Development  Mr. Speaker, the United States has just blocked funding for any international organization that even mentions abortion. The consequences of this decision are monumental for women's health. Will Canada reiterate its support for women's access to reproductive health care at home an

Statistics Act  Mr. Speaker, it is such a curious experience to hear the Conservative Party debating Bill C-36, the restoration of data and evidence and the restoration of the long-form mandatory census. We are in another universe now. I was elected to local government at the time that the mand