I was fortunate enough to attend the official opening of S.S. No. 14 on September 15 and I can attest to the historical significance of this landmark.
This one room school, which has been in existence for over 100 years, has served generations of my constituents until it was finally closed by the Ontario Board of Education in 1969. When members of the Petrolia Discovery learned that it was scheduled for demolition, they asked the township of Enniskillen to consider donating the building to them to relocate on the Discovery site.
The rest, as they say, is history. I salute those in my riding who have been instrumental in keeping the proud heritage of Lambton county alive.
Four and one half year ago in my constituency of Okanagan Centre, Greg Webb told his family, ``it is our turn'' and formed a steel manufacturing company. From a one-man operation, the firm today employs 65 people manufacturing parts for Western Star trucks and Newness Sawmill manufacturers. They also build hydraulic pumps for the oil industry in Alberta and supply the stainless steel skirting for an upscale motor home manufacturer in the United States.
Mr. Webb has developed a widely diversified company that is not dependent on a single market sector. He attributes his success to good networking skills and treating people as they should be treated.
Please join me in congratulating Kelowna's entrepreneur of the year, Greg Webb of Webbco Industries Inc.
The suggestion has been made by the Canadian Kurdish Information Network that the Red Cross be allowed to visit the Kurdish region. This is a good idea and Canadian support for it should be accompanied by much stronger objections on the part of Canada about the behaviour of the Turkish authorities.
The six trade unionists and others who have been similarly treated should be returned safely to their families. Turkish membership in NATO should not blind us to their faults or make Canada more silent about Turkish treatment of Kurds than we are when Kurdish minorities are being mistreated in other countries.
The Kurdish people are currently without a homeland of their own. Perhaps some day that will change. But in the meantime it is up to the international community and countries like Canada to make sure their human rights are respected.
[Translation]
Of these women, 5,400 die every year, and 15 die every day. Unfortunately, very little is known about this illness. Its cause is still a mystery.
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[English]
The cure remains elusive. Too many women put off self examination of their breasts day after day due to fear. This diminishes their chances to beat the disease.
[Translation]
Only the families and friends of women with this form of cancer know the tragedy that has befallen them. Only those who see a woman die of breast cancer know what it really means.
Research is necessary, but for that we need money and the government must continue to provide assistance.
[English]
In Vancouver 1,600 women participated in two very successful events organized by the Breast Cancer Society. Breast cancer still remains a woman's greatest fear.
As soon as he saw the ghost of his master appear on the horizon, the little goblin from Roberval, like a frightened child, rushed to point his finger at his ex-leader Lucien Bouchard, stating: ``I am not the one who does not talk any more about sovereignty''.
The Leader of the Bloc Quebecois would be hard pressed to hide his true colours now that we have seen through his disguise. At the next election, the leader of the Bloc will go back to sit on Jacques Parizeau's right, in the cemetery for defeated separatists.
Nominees from Halifax West include: Joe Dunford, president of EnviroSeal Engineering Products in Waverley; Glenn Wadden and Rob Spencer of Trihedral Engineering Limited in Bedford; Ron Mayhew, owner of Sportwheels in Lower Sackville; and Canada's best known green grocer, Pete Luckett, president of Pete's Frootique in Bedford.
The award sponsors, including ACOA and Ernst and Young, have realized what the people of Halifax have always known: Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs are among the best and brightest in Canada.
These awards, sponsored by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Conference Board of Canada, are designed to foster closer ties between university researchers and Canadian industries. The close ties between McMaster and its industrial partners are examples of the co-operation that has helped to generate jobs and growth in Hamilton.
McMaster and Connaught Laboratories received the award for their efforts to develop a new vaccine technology which would allow vaccines to be given orally. This successful partnership has helped to position Connaught and McMaster as world leaders in this field.
McMaster University and DORSET Industrial Chemicals received an award for their joint development of processes to reduce pollution from the pulp and paper industry.
I am sure all members of the House will join me in congratulating all the recipients of these awards.
Between now and the year 2000, more than 40 million women in North America will be going through menopause, including 4 million in Canada. In other words, every ten seconds during the next 20 years, a woman in the baby-boomer generation will reach the age of menopause.
Menopause is no longer a taboo subject, but much remains to be done about prevention, since menopause increases, for instance, the risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Women today can expect to live at least 30 years after menopause.
Life goes on after menopause, and prevention is the best guarantee for a good quality of life.
[English]
'Twas Halloween night and all through the land,
Liberals are wiggling and squirming like worms in the sand.
Millions to Bombardier are to be found,
In the laps of the Liberals grovelling around.
Liberal red book promises are strewn all about,
And gold plated pensions found on many a snout.
From deep in the shadows what did appear?
A broken promise minister with a hint of a sneer.
The dark silent night was shattered with a shrill,
Promising flags and a higher tax bill.
Abolish the GST, that was a trick, not a treat.
Is the ghost of Pinocchio in the Prime Minister's seat?
Away from the Hill Reformers doing their part,
Talking to real people about a fresh start.
Log drivers and rafstmen-in Quebec, draveurs and raftmen-are a courageous group which helped to develop entire regions of Quebec like the Outaouais and the Mauricie.
It was an honour for our region to host this outstanding cultural, historical and tourism event, especially since it was being held for the first time in North America.
I would like to draw your attention to the exceptional job done by François de Lagrave, of Pointe-du-Lac, the president and executive secretary of this meet and his organizing committee, who made this event an outstanding success.
Many will feel the pain of this tragedy; the death of a person so young and with such potential is hard to accept. This type of occurrence is not unusual in my riding. It occurs all too often.
This tragedy compels us all, aboriginal and non-aboriginal, to work together to heal the hurt within our society that results in such tragic consequences for our young people. In all that we say and all that we do, let us bring dignity and self-respect to all people. Our words and actions can help or hurt. Let us always make the choice for reconciliation and compassion.
I am sure hon. members will join with me in extending heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Mervin Goodeagle. Our thoughts and our prayers will be with them during this difficult time.
On Tuesday, October 29, 22 of my fellow parliamentarians and I had the privilege of serving for a day as big brothers and big sisters to boys and girls from the Ottawa-Carleton Big Sisters and Big Brothers Associations.
Both organizations worked together with my office and the office of the member of Parliament for Burlington to pair a little sister or brother with an hon. member of this House.
Parliamentary Sibling Day provided these young Canadians a window to the parliamentary process and gave them a close-up view of the parliamentary precinct.
The boys and girls received a private tour of the House of Commons, met with their respective MPs, watched question period and were granted a special audience with you, Mr. Speaker, in your official chambers. As one sibling so eloquently put it: ``That Speaker guy, he's pretty cool''.
Parliamentary Sibling Day is an excellent example of how we in this House can work together to support young Canadians. I hope my colleagues will lend their support to the work of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Associations right across Canada.
I applaud Captain Ross Granley of Red Deer, Alberta; Captain Brian Murray of Markham, Ontario; Captain Dave Mercer of Montreal; and their flight crew. I also wish to extend my recognition to the maintenance crew and other ground support personnel who contributed greatly to the Canadian team's performance.
In particular, I would like to congratulate Captain Steve Nierlich of Sunderland, Ontario who won the prestigious top gun award for the best individual score in the aerial combat competition.
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Canadian fighter pilots and the flight crew of Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake have positioned Canada as number one in the world in air combat. On behalf of all members of this House, I would like to pay tribute to Canadian fighter pilots and congratulate them on a job well done.
The situation is escalating dangerously with every passing day. Yesterday, the conflict spread to the Rwandan army and victims now number in the hundreds. The situation is also becoming increasingly critical in refugee camps, with 500,000 refugees anxiously awaiting a resolution of this conflict. The challenge facing the UN special envoy to Zaire is therefore a difficult one, and we wish him every success in his mission.
October has been an especially poignant time for me as it also marks the first anniversary when one of my assistants, Renée Fairweather, began treatment in her battle with breast cancer.
In Canada a woman dies every two hours from this disease. In other words about 400 women have died during Breast Cancer Awareness month.
On October 1 the member for Lambton-Middlesex pointed out that the federal government spends almost $5 million a year on breast cancer research. What she did not mention is that this is almost $20 million less than what the Minister for Canadian Heritage is spending on free flags.
While some may believe a moment of silence is appropriate for the victims of breast cancer, I believe that a moment of outrage is called for. The spending priorities of this government are all screwed up. Maybe the Minister of Canadian Heritage should explain to the families of the victims who have died of breast cancer this month why her flag program is more important than breast cancer research.
The family trust controversy started in 1991, when the Tories were in office. In May 1995, the Auditor General of Canada expressed some concern about the legislation governing these trusts. The federal government having acted diligently, since October 2, we can assure the public that every effort has been made to ensure that nothing similar will ever happen again.
If they really want to make themselves useful, Bloc members should press the Government in Quebec to plug the loopholes in its own tax system. Even if it does not involve bashing the federal government, that too is in the interest of Quebecers.
The $14 billion in spending cuts have hardly scratched the monster. Of this amount, only $4.1 billion or 29 per cent came out of monster government that writes regulations, pays MP pensions and writes cheques for multiculturalism, a mere $1 billion cut per year.
Three-quarters of all cuts came from reduced UI payments of $3.4 billion due entirely to economic recovery and from cuts to social transfers to the provinces worth $6.5 billion.
These figures show clearly the Liberal strategy: Keep big government; let the provinces take the political heat.
Now the Prime Minister promises to fatten Leviathan again with more spending. Remember Canadians: Liberals, like leopards, never change their spots. They will always find ways to spend your money.
[Translation]
We have a special guest in our gallery today.
[English]
A native of Regina, Saskatchewan, he has become one of Canada's most recognized faces in film and television. My colleagues, please join me in welcoming this accomplished actor, veteran comedian and we claim him as a Canadian, Mr. Leslie Nielsen.
Some hon. members: Hear, hear.