Ed Fast

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago this week the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples released its report on the status of Canada's Indian, Inuit and Métis. Sadly, after more than a decade in power, the former Liberal government was given a failing grade by the Assembly of First Nations. In fact, it received eight Fs for failing to act on the educational recommendations in that report.

Can the minister tell us what Canada's new government is doing to improve opportunities for future aboriginal generations?

[Business of Supply, November 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the member's comments and I am little bit puzzled.

A few minutes ago I was listening to the member for Papineau, who is also a member of the Bloc. He was vigorously stating that this was not a partisan motion which the Bloc brought forward, that there was no hidden agenda, that it was just a clarification of Quebec rights.

Yet I heard the member for Trois-Rivières make comments about how she favours sovereignty. She would like to see Quebec as an independent nation. She talked about wanting to be free as a separate nation. She spoke about wanting to be able to sign contracts and agreements apart from Canada.

It certainly sounds from her comments that the motion her party has put forward is indeed partisan and does reflect a very clear sovereignist agenda. Yet her colleague in the Bloc stated the exact opposite. He simply claimed that the motion was non-partisan and there was no hidden agenda. So which is it?

[Business of Supply, November 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to my friend's comments and one word jumped out at me. It was the word “neutral”. He referred to the Bloc motion as being a neutral motion. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, my experience in the House has been that the Bloc and its actions within the House typically have a partisan nature to them.

It has already been said many times that it was very clear from the motion that this was intended to create a mischief within the House to promote division within Canada. If in fact the member wants clarity and wants to get rid of the ambiguity, why does he not support our motion which simply clarifies that Quebeckers are a nation within a united Canada?

[Petitions, November 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to table in the House today a petition containing hundreds of signatures from my riding of Abbotsford and signatures from across the great province of British Columbia. They have been collected by justice advocate, Gertie Pool.

The petition informs Parliament that citizens wish to see repeat sexual offenders, like Peter Whitmore, kept away from our communities and children. It goes on to say that my private member's bill, Bill C-277, which would increase the maximum sentence for luring a child for sexual purposes over the Internet from 5 to 10 years in prison, would renew faith in the House if passed. Our children deserve no less.

[Petitions, November 10th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to table a petition signed by 63 residents of the great province of British Columbia. The petitioners call on Parliament to recognize the traditional definition of marriage as one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and further call on Parliament to reopen the debate surrounding same sex marriage in order to repeal or amend the existing same sex marriage law.

[Remembrance Day, November 9th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, as it does on every Remembrance Day, the Canadian flag atop the Peace Tower will fly at half-mast on Saturday. We do this to honour the courageous men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that future generations of Canadians could live in peace and freedom. From the brave soldiers who fought and defeated tyranny during World Wars I and II to those fighting the scourge of terrorism in Afghanistan today, these are ordinary men and women accomplishing extraordinary feats.

Today we are again reminded of the high price of our freedom. As we observe Remembrance Day, let us live each day as a tribute to those who have fought and given their lives for that freedom. To our fallen heroes, present and past, to our veterans, to the members of our armed forces serving at home and abroad and to their families, we express our thanks.

I ask my colleagues to join with me in expressing our gratitude to Canada's real heroes.

[Committees of the House, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I too am puzzled by the member's comments. She laments the fact that there has been so little progress on pay equity for the last 25 years in Canada, and yet for the last 13 years she and her government were in power.

She knows that our government is actually moving forward on pay equity. We are implementing a number of initiatives that are going to beef up enforcement and improve education in this area. I do not believe she is suggesting that we should send the pay equity police out to every business in this country. What we want to do is work collaboratively.

I am glad to see that she has had a conversion on the road to Damascus and is now supportive of moving forward on this file, but I would ask her, what actions that she and her government were unwilling and unable to undertake during the 13 years the Liberals were in power is she now expecting our Conservative government to undertake?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, No. 2, October 27th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I note that the hon. member spent a great deal of time talking about the former Liberal government's environmental record. I am really surprised, because it has such an appalling record. I would never expose that kind of record to this House. In fact, under the previous government, the Liberals made commitments to reduce greenhouse emissions by 6% over 1990 levels and today we are about 35% over what we should have been.

How can we be proud of that kind of record? I would ask the member to simply comment on how he can defend an environmental record that was such an abject failure and that resulted in greenhouse gas emissions actually increasing by a substantial amount rather than going down by the 6% that his government committed to.

[Chinese Canadians, October 24th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on June 22, the Prime Minister followed through on a promise to Chinese Canadians. He offered a full apology for the head tax imposed on them between 1923 and 1947. The head tax is a sad chapter in the history of our country and Chinese Canadians have been waiting a long time for redress.

When the Prime Minister delivered a full apology on behalf of all Canadians, he also promised that our government would make symbolic payments to surviving head tax payers or their spouses.

Could the heritage minister please update the House on the status of these payments.

[Petitions, October 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to table in this House five petitions containing over 3,000 signatures from residents of Abbotsford and from residents across Canada. These signatures have been collected by justice advocate Gertie Pool.

The petitioners demand that our criminal laws be changed to ensure that repeat sexual offenders such as Peter Whitmore be kept away from our communities and children.

The petitioners support my private member's bill, Bill C-277, which doubles the maximum sentence for luring children over the Internet.

The petitioners demand that Parliament introduce longer maximum sentences for sexual offences and impose mandatory minimum sentences for the most severe sexual crimes.