Rob Merrifield

[Homelessness, November 16th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as winter approaches, the issue of homelessness takes on a whole new urgency, especially in the Arctic. I know our government takes this matter very seriously, unlike the last government that talked a big game but never followed through during 13 years in power.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development tell the House what our government is going to do to help the homeless, especially in the north?

[Business of Supply, October 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I think if you were to ask, you would find that there would be unanimous consent to see the clock as 6:30 p.m.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, June 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group respecting its participation at the co-chair's meeting in Washington, D.C., United States of America, on April 16, 2007.

[Phthalate Control Act, June 19th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I will start by speaking about the work the committee has done. It is very important to recognize the committee's work. I have the privilege to chair a committee. In a minority government chairing a committee is sometimes quite difficult. My colleague sitting beside me also chairs a committee and he does an extremely good job.

In a committee in a minority Parliament all members have to sit down and work together to try to make things happen. This piece of legislation that came out of the committee is indeed quite a bit different than when it first went to committee. It is important to recognize that the committee members actually looked at it in a non-partisan way and tried to decide what was in the best interests of Canada and the Canadian population. They agreed to have the bill come out of committee in a way that all parties can and will support it.

We need to recognize the good work that the committee has done. We can point to other examples where the committee has not worked in that way. There are other committees in this House, particularly in the last month or so, that have become quite dysfunctional.

When we come back in the fall and get into the committee work in aggressive ways again it is important that we recognize the importance of the people we are here to serve and they would be the people of Canada. We should work in as much of a non-partisan way as we possibly can on all pieces of legislation and lower the temperature in order to get things done. I want to compliment the committee for a job well done.

When it comes to this piece of legislation, it really is about balancing the environment with risk. Although phthalates are used now in Canada and we recognize them as being safe, it is probably a good thing to be able to take a serious look at whether that continues to be the case. What this piece of legislation really allows for is the government to take a more in-depth study, to examine whether these phthalates are indeed causing perhaps some of the problems, which could be some of the cancers and some of the unknown diseases that occur at the present time in this country.

It is important that we do examine this and take a look at some of the blood studies. When we start looking at some of the blood studies of the population I think we will find some surprises. A perfect example occurred in Swan Hills where there is a toxic chemical plant. When some of the deer population was examined at a spill that occurred it was found that some of the deer in the general population much further from the plant had more toxic chemicals than those that were exposed to the chemicals close to the plant. That adds to the question of what is actually happening in our environment and what we need to look at.

[Committees of the House, June 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Health.

The committee has studied Bill C-42, An Act to amend the Quarantine Act, and has agreed to report it to the House with amendments.

[Committees of the House, May 31st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have a follow-up question that is similar to that of my colleague. If we are really concerned about freshwater and water transportation, then we have to look at the largest reserve of water. Let us look at the Great Lakes, which hold 22% of the world's unfrozen freshwater. That is a significant amount of water. Our obligation on both sides of the border should be to protect that water and to make sure it is as clean and as usable as possible, generation after generation, as far ahead as we want to look.

We have been doing a poor job of that. This past weekend the Canada and the U.S. met and I know it is as large an issue on the United States side as it is on our side. We have to work collectively together to deal with that.

However, when we are talking about this motion and NAFTA and removing freshwater to a foreign country, which would obviously be the United States, that is absolutely not in NAFTA. Just to make sure there is no misunderstanding on that, in 1993 there was an agreement among the three countries to make that absolutely clear. The NAFTA deal only talks about this if it is a good. It is only a good if it is processed, either put in a bottle or put into some kind of process. In its natural form it is not a good and it is not part of NAFTA.

I do not understand where this motion is going and why there is a problem here. There is a problem, but the problem lies in dealing with that 22% of the freshwater in the world, not in this motion and not in removing freshwater to the United States in a form that would be obligated by NAFTA. I wonder if my colleague would respond to that, because those are the real facts.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, May 31st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group respecting its participation at the National Governors Association winter meeting, Innovation America, in Washington, D.C., February 24-27, 2007.

[Committees of the House, May 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Health.

Your committee has considered votes 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 under Health in the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008 and reports the same less the amount granted in interim supply.

[National Nursing Week, May 9th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this week is National Nursing Week in Canada. Across the country medical professionals, as well as governments, are holding celebrations to honour the contributions that nurses are making to the health of Canadians.

This year the Canadian Nurses Association has chosen to celebrate National Nursing Week with the theme, “Think you know nursing? Take a closer look”. This theme explores the depth of the nursing profession, including the role of nurses serving in the military.

As chairman of the Standing Committee on Health, I have had the opportunity to work with nurses who provide health care and I have benefited from the perspectives of nurses on public policy development and legislation.

In particular, I would like to extend a special appreciation to the Canadian Forces nurses who are courageously serving in Afghanistan and contributing to the global effort to bring peace, stability and development to this region.

On the occasion of National Nursing Week, I salute Canada's 260,000 registered nurses.

[Champion Children, March 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, today Canada's Champion Children are here in Ottawa to share the message of their lives and to share with Canada that children's hospitals across the country are saving their lives and those of countless others.

I would especially like to welcome Braden Mole to Ottawa. Braden lives in my riding of Yellowhead and is the Champion Child for the Stollery Children's Hospital located in Edmonton.

Despite his numerous surgeries and hospital visits, Braden is a bright, intelligent and witty young man. He has a maturity that is beyond his years and is determined to raise funds for the hospital that helped save his life. To date, Braden has raised over $180,000.

I believe special things happen to special people for special reasons. He has captured the hearts of the people of Yellowhead and the country.

These children are all Canada's champions. We honour their courage, their strength and, above all, their determination.