Rouge National Urban Park Act  Madam Speaker, what I like about Rouge park is that it was built from the ground up. It was built by people who lived in the community, who had concerns, who had a vision, and they kept at it for a long time, many years, until they finally saw it realized. I also like the fact

Rouge National Urban Park Act  Madam Speaker, there are several aspects to the question and I will start with the basic question about free access to parks. I worked with B.C. and Manitoba parks for many years and there was often an internal debate and discussion about whether parks are a social good, which me

Rouge National Urban Park Act  Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for South Okanagan—West Kootenay. I am pleased today to speak in favour of Bill C-18, a bill that would amend the Rouge National Urban Park Act, the Parks Canada Agency Act, and the Canada National Parks Act. With t

Rouge National Urban Park Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to quote from some of the witnesses we heard regarding Bill C-18: Ecological integrity, is it justified? Of course it is. This is one of the most biodiverse areas in all of Canada. Yes, there will be challenges. Yes, this is an aspirational goal, bu

Rouge National Urban Park Act  Madam Speaker, I appreciate the words offered by my colleague, but we have to go back and actually check out what was happening in 2012 and 2014. A headline in 2012 said that “Parks Canada hit hardest by Harper Conservative budget cuts. Up to 1,600 positions are going to be elim

Rouge National Urban Park Act  Madam Speaker, I am thankful that this bill has been put forward, and we will support it at third reading. The current Rouge Park area has long been protected, first and foremost by community groups keeping an eye on it and by the provincial government under its legislation. As

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, constituents of my riding of Kootenay—Columbia and I personally very much support multiculturalism, and yet there have been a number of concerns expressed to me by constituents about today's motion and Motion No. 103 as well. I believe their concerns are based on mis

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, both Conservative and Liberal governments have downloaded responsibility for Saskatchewan's environmentally critical grasslands without any concern for their future. These grasslands are unique ecological heritage sites. They act as important carbon sinks and are hom

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, this weekend, over 100 residents gathered in the city of Nelson in my riding, and thousands more across Canada to send a message that they wanted the government to keep its word on democratic reform. Following the Prime Minister's announcement that he was breaking

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to speak directly to Bill C-323, an act to amend the Income Tax Act (rehabilitation of historic property). Again, I would like to thank my colleague from York—Simcoe for putting forward this important legislation. Indeed, it is the fir

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from York—Simcoe for this important bill. It is certainly important to many of the middle-class owners in my riding who are involved in heritage buildings. I would ask the member this. Does he think that the 20% tax credit is also

Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his good words and support for the agreement. When we look back on the trade agreements that were signed by the Conservative government, a number of them included investor-state provisions, which basically tied the hands of mun

Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member and I used to sit on the mayor's committee in British Columbia not so long ago. There is a fair bit of concern, which starts with concern around corruption and around what is happening with Putin and Russia. However, by having more Canadian investmen

Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, I would support that on principle. We need to be concerned about the environment and labour in the countries with which we deal. We should be concerned about women's equality and equity. I absolutely think equity should be part of what we consider in the future.

Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, anything we can do to build small businesses in Canada and Ukraine is welcome. The strength of the Canadian economy comes from the strength of our small businesses. Having Ukrainian investors come to Canada and invest in small businesses, and Canadian investors go to