[Editor's Note: Whereupon members sang the national anthem.]
As a Canadian MP I want to restate the support of Canadians for the growth and evolution of the democratic electoral process in all countries. We believe that this is the best way to develop our political futures.
During the Indian election campaign there were some terrorist incidents but the people have prevailed. I condemn those who would offer us bombs and bullets instead of voting ballots and those responsible for the murders and maiming that occurred in India.
Of particular interest is the upcoming final balloting day in Kashmir where there remain many difficult issues to be resolved by the people of Kashmir. I encourage Kashmiris to reject violence and adopt the electoral process as the means of achieving their collective goals. Their future cannot be left exclusively to the forces that use violence.
Property rights is an issue which transcends partisan politics. Property rights were first protected in Canada by John Diefenbaker with the passage of the Canadian bill of rights. Both Pierre Elliott Trudeau and our current Prime Minister argued forcefully without success to have property rights included in the charter of rights and freedoms. As it now stands there is very little protection of a person's right to own, use and enjoy property.
My bill strengthens property rights in the Canadian bill of rights and therefore only applies to the activities and laws passed by the federal government. My bill does not intrude into areas of provincial jurisdiction and avoids the concerns raised by some provinces and interest groups that argued against including property rights in the charter of rights and freedoms.
This bill should unite us rather than divide us when it comes before the House for debate.
As well, some of the provincial governments are not being too kind to their seniors. The ones feeling the effects are not the rich but the middle class, who are finding the substantial sum of $1,000 to $5,000 lopped off their incomes, a considerable blow to their standard of living. The ones who will pay for this reform are not the privileged members of society, but the people who have planned ahead for their retirement.
Can the government make adjustments so as to encourage people to save, rather than discouraging them? Couples who have made preparations for retirement, who have put money aside, particularly in RRSPs, instead of spending it, would lose their pension, while others with the same income would not.
I do, however, approve of the more well off not receiving the pension anymore, since they have to pay back what they have received when they file their income tax return.
This centre would employ some 650 people processing toll free calls from anywhere in Canada. Montreal will then gradually phase out its reservations centre except for local callers. The FTQ estimates that this might mean the loss of about 600 Quebec jobs.
Having pressured ADM for the transfer of international flights to Dorval from Mirabel, Air Canada is now preparing to move its services out of Quebec. One might ask serious questions about the intentions of this air carrier. After the railway sector, is it now the turn of the airline sector to move lots of jobs out of Quebec?
Quebec is being attacked on all sides: first by the railway industry, then by the marine industry, now by the airlines.
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Dr. O'Connor has been practising family medicine since 1972. He is one of the few physicians, in Dartmouth at least, who still find the time to do home visits for some elderly patients.
In addition to his family practice, Dr. O'Connor teaches a course in family medicine at Dalhousie University's medical school as well as being the chief of staff at the Dartmouth General Hospital.
I speak from experience in saying that Jake O'Connor is a physician par excellence since he is my family physician and indeed delivered my son Matthew to a proud mom and dad only a few short years ago.
Congratulations, Doc, on this appropriate recognition of your commitment to family medicine and the people of your community. Your colleagues have finally recognized what your patients have always known, you are one heck of a great doctor.
[Translation]
This festival, which won the Montreal small tourism enterprise award and draws more than 150,000 people, is the pride of all the people of Verdun, in my riding.
I invite all of you to come with your families to this international kite festival, which will be held in my beautiful riding of Verdun-Saint-Paul from June 6 to June 9. We promise you some good weather and a memorable show.
In April of this year Fundy Gypsum received the John T. Ryan regional safety trophy for select mines in eastern Canada. This award is in recognition of Fundy Gypsum's remarkable low injury rate.
What makes this achievement even more appealing and impressive is the fact that this is the third year in a row that Fundy Gypsum has received this trophy. The commitment to safety and efficiency shown at Fundy Gypsum is a model for businesses across Canada.
I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the plant manager, Terry Davis, and all the employees at Fundy Gypsum for their commitment to excellence in workplace safety.
That long-awaited trip, a graduation present planned as a journey of discovery, will always remind their loved ones of a dream that went unfulfilled.
Once again, death and alcohol, which often go together in such circumstances, struck indiscriminately.
Because their memory will live longer than the screeching of tires, the shattering of glass and the clash of metal, it is important to tighten criminal laws so as to reduce as much as possible the number of regrettable accidents like the one that killed these young people, who had their whole lives ahead of them.
On behalf of all my colleagues in this House, I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to the grieving families.
Canadian grain farmers are forbidden their maximum benefit because they must market through a government appointed, producer ignoring board. No western grain farmer can freely choose where, when and how their product will be sold nor choose who will buy their product.
Western grain producers want the same freedom and privilege as others, an end to discrimination and control of their own destiny, not their destiny controlled by dictatorial government appointed hacks.
This Liberal government makes criminals of grain farmers who want the right to market their product as freely as other Canadians.
I call on the minister of agriculture to allow farmers to opt out of the wheat board if they so choose and to allow them the freedom to escape government appointed dictatorship.
I speak of freedom for all Canadians. Freedom. Freedom for all.
If the government wishes to save $100,000, then all it has to do is drop one of its patronage appointments off the veterans appeal board where they earn $85,000 plus expenses to sit three days a week.
I think 72-year old veteran and former war museum commissionaire Mabel Ralph said it best when she said: ``It's a slap in the face to all veterans-.They made such a to-do about us when they were commemorating the 50th anniversary. Now it's a different story''.
I urge the government to reconsider this decision and reinstate the vets.
I would like to take this opportunity to applaud the work of the Cumberland County River Enhancement Association which began in 1987. Its mission is to protect and enhance the aquatic systems as well as to raise community awareness of the value of inland waterways.
The Maccan River will be the focus of a new project including tree planting, erosion controls and river clean-up. Currently all along Nova Scotia's vast coastline, natural marshlands are being used in the purification of waste water.
Nova Scotians recognize the value of their environment. They are committed to protecting it, making the province of Nova Scotia a wonderful place to live.
They both want to see Canada's Official Languages Act disappear so that Canada can then be redesigned on a linguistic basis by confining francophones to Quebec and scattering anglophones among the other provinces, which leaves francophones outside Quebec completely out of the picture. This linguistically segregated Canada advocated by the Reform Party and the Bloc Quebecois is not the kind of country we want to live in.
As a Franco-Ontarian MP, let me tell you that we will not let our country be broken up just to satisfy the territorial ambitions of a few extremists. Whether the Reform Party and the Bloc Quebecois like it or not, we are proud to have French and English as the official languages of Canada.
[English]
A more than 90 per cent loss of production of chinook has necessitated stringent conservation measures for the 1996 season with time and area based bans on chinook fishing on the west coast of Vancouver Island and in the Queen Charlottes. With the co-operation of the sports fishers, this vital B.C. resource can be preserved and restored.
The state of Alaska, where 37 per cent of the mortality in chinook stocks occurs, should try to be a good neighbour and live up to the letter and spirit of the 1985 Canada-U.S. Pacific Salmon Treaty.
The official opposition takes pride in sharing this historic moment with our colleagues, past and present. While we are sovereignists, we nevertheless recognize the intrinsic value of the British parliamentary system and its underlying traditions and principles.
I compliment the Speaker on his initiative, which shows how much regard he has for these men and women who have helped shape the Canadian Parliament's history and democratic tradition, regardless of their origins, social condition or political views. Rest assured that, after achieving sovereignty, we will draw inspiration from this model.
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At times public service can be very difficult, trying and seemingly a thankless task. I am sure every member who has served in this House has, in a moment of frustration, questioned whether they were really making a difference. My message is simple: Your efforts not only made a difference, they made a great difference for us here in Canada. Just look at what we have accomplished.
In 129 short years we have grown from a mere colony to a country that is the envy of the world. We have built a free, democratic and tolerant society where we dream big dreams and then live them. We occupy a proud place in the family of nations. Much of that credit goes to these many men and women who are here today.
On behalf of my colleagues and the Reform Party of Canada, I would like to join in paying tribute to all the men and women who have served in the Parliament of Canada since Confederation. Thank you very much.