Wave bye-bye, SDP!

i felt completely awful that while i was safe and with my family, so many people out there were calling for help because they were all stranded on top of their own home's roof. the flood was fast rising and they have no food and water. they were exposed to not just hunger but cold and it was completely dark in those flooded area. i couldn't imagine what they were going through at that time.

So, I researched other sources on the same story. Repeated hits show the figure for the cost to consumers of the "green car" is an affordable $39,000 (not the $89,000 reported by Fox).

Mr. Joe Preston (Elgin—Middlesex—London, CPC): Mr. Speaker, last week a Canadian institution came home. After more than a decade of being based in the United States, Tim Hortons has decided to reorganize its Canadian company.

Yet it is not simply its bond with Canadians that has prompted the return. It is our government's economic policies, specifically our commitment to lower taxes, that has brought Tim Hortons home. The company itself stated that it was returning to “take advantage of lower Canadian tax rates”.

This government recognizes the link between low taxes and economic growth. Increasing Canada's competitiveness is crucial to creating jobs, and this decision makes the point clear. Shockingly, Liberals were dismissive of this government's support of the return of this Canadian icon. It is not surprising. After all, given the chance, Liberals would raise taxes which would stop growth and investment in its tracks.

Regardless of the Liberal dismissal, we all join Canadians in raising our mugs and saying, “Welcome home, Tim Hortons”. ...

Hon. Jack Layton (Toronto—Danforth, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the government has an opportunity to change direction and to initiate an economic recovery that is truly green. It is just not happening.

The UN report that just came out is showing that Canada is spending much less on the environmentally sustainable jobs, jobs of the future, compared to other G20 countries. Per capita, Canada is investing four times less than the United States, five times less than Australia, and sixteen times less than South Korea. We are not grabbing hold of the opportunities.

Will the government accelerate the pace of green investments as called for by the United Nations? ...

Mr. David McGuinty (Ottawa South, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, after almost four years of sabotaging the efforts in Bonn, Bali and Poznan to fight climate change, where do we stand?

There is no national plan, no regulation, and no exchange system.

No one believes their bogus intensity targets can be reached.

Why do these Canadian republicans prefer to attack China and India rather than fostering an international agreement?

Are they simply trying to ruin the Copenhagen summit?

Hon. Jim Prentice (Minister of the Environment, CPC): Mr. Speaker, we will certainly continue to work with the United Nations process. Just over the course of the last week I participated in the UN process, as did the Prime Minister, and in addition to that in the major economy forum struck by the President of the United States and the Greenland dialogue struck by the chairman of the Copenhagen conference.

We will continue to work with our national program. We will continue as well to work with our international allies in terms of developing something at Copenhagen that is going to find an international treaty that works, something the Liberals never did. ...


Mr. Blaine Calkins: Mr. Speaker, my comments in my speech were mainly regarding agriculture but if nobody in the New Democratic Party or the Bloc Quebecois wants to talk about agriculture I am fine with that as well.

The reality is that there have been some issues. Absolutely. The member for Burnaby—New Westminster has been asking many questions in the House with the precision of a frisbee thrown in a hurricane.

The labour agreement that is covered is a side agreement. There is an environmental agreement, a labour agreement and the right to freedom of association. That is a great improvement for the citizens of Colombia. The labour agreement would ensure collective bargaining agreements and that is a great thing. One would think the NDP would be solidly behind collective bargaining. For some reason those members are going to vote against collective bargaining.

The abolition of child labour is another great thing in this agreement and that is consistent with the United Nations declaration. Other great things include: the elimination of discrimination, providing protections for occupational safety and health and employment standards such as minimum wages and overtime pay. I have no idea why the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP are so outraged by these things.

Mr. John Rafferty (Thunder Bay—Rainy River, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I would like to make some comments on the former speaker's remarks, but maybe I will try to include those in the points that I am going to make today.

I would like to speak about four particularly egregious parts of this free trade agreement, and then I would like to talk a little bit about the difference between free trade and fair trade, which I think is an argument and a discussion that we need to have.

This free trade agreement really is a failure regarding labour rights protection. It does not include tough labour standards, and by putting it into a side agreement, outside of the main text without any vigorous enforcement mechanism, it is destined to do absolutely nothing. There are problems with that.

The second egregious aspect of this free trade agreement is a failure regarding environmental protection. The environmental issue is also addressed as a side agreement. It has no enforcement mechanism to force Canada or Colombia to respect environmental rights. It is as simple as that. ...

Hon. Wayne Easter (Malpeque, Lib.): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-23, the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement. ...

That is an extremely serious issue. We are losing an industry. The government has the authority under trade law to stand up and fight for Canadian producers, but the minister sits on his hands. When the Prime Minister had the opportunity to apply more pressure when he was in the United States, what did he do? He got in his Challenger jet and flew home at a cost of about $60,000 to have a coffee at Tim Hortons.

An hon. member: A double-double.

Hon. Wayne Easter: Madam Speaker, I do not know whether it was a double-double or not, but it may have been. He had the opportunity to challenge directly the President of the United States and, from what I can gather, did not do so. ...

Mr. Greg Rickford (Kenora, CPC): Madam Speaker, I am a little disappointed that the hon. member may not appreciate the great news about Tim Hortons being back in Canada and the need for our Prime Minister to represent that. That is a bit disappointing.

Mr. Scott Simms: Throw me a Timbit. Throw me a Timbit. ...

Hon. Wayne Easter: Madam Speaker, let me answer the question quite directly. Of course, I see many benefits in this agreement, especially for the farm sector, such as livestock exports. Certainly the Canadian Wheat Board, a great marketing institution in this country which the current government continues to try to undermine, is saying very clearly that the trade agreement with Colombia is important to move grains and oilseeds into Colombia. There are opportunities. There will be other opportunities down the road as well. However, we need to have that debate and let those producers come before committee.

The member raised the issue of the Prime Minister coming back to Tim Hortons and I must make a couple of comments. It was just another re-announcement of a previous announcement. That is what the Prime Minister is so good at. In Prince Edward Island, I announced the new public building in Charlottetown in 2003 and my colleague, the member for Charlottetown, saw that it got off the ground and got built. That was about four years ago. ...

Mr. Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre, Lib.): Madam Speaker, recently the Prime Minister attended the world summit at the United Nations and my understanding is that the President of Colombia was present at that summit as well. Considering the amount of time we are debating this very important free trade agreement with Colombia here and the very serious issues being raised including human rights issues, did the Prime Minister have the opportunity to sit down and discuss some of these issues with the president of Colombia at that summit?

We know that the Prime Minister's time unfortunately was limited at the UN because he rushed back at a cost of $60,000 to taxpayers to take the Challenger jet back to Oakville to attend Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons has opened up a location in New York. He could have done it just around the corner from the UN and saved taxpayers $60,000.

However, did he have an opportunity to meet with the president of Colombia to discuss some of these issues. If he did not meet, was it perhaps because his time was so limited because he rushed back on this taxpayer funded $60,000 Challenger trip to Tim Hortons for a double-double? ...

Mr. Bruce Stanton (Simcoe North, CPC): Madam Speaker, in these difficult economic times, Canada needs to attract business growth and investment. That leads to more jobs and more opportunities for Canadians.

For years, under Liberal governments, high business taxes put Canada at a competitive disadvantage to the United States. That is why our government put the federal corporate tax rate on a downward track. The federal corporate tax rate will go down to 15% by 2012 from 22% just a few years ago.

Cutting taxes is working. Tim Hortons, a Canadian icon, has packed up its location in Delaware and is coming home, shifting its base of operations to be a Canadian company once again.

Our actions are driving business investment home and that is a stark contrast to the Liberal plan of higher taxes, higher spending, a plan that would only drive business the other way. ...

Mr. David Christopherson (Hamilton Centre, NDP): Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives and Liberals bring in the harmonized sales tax, or HST, next July, families across Ontario will be taxed at a higher rate on children's vitamins, on newspapers, even on coffee. That is right. This is a tax on our trip to Tim Hortons. If we want to hire a lawyer to fight the HST, well, that will be taxed, too.

Why is this new tax being foisted on Ontarians? Because the federal Conservatives and provincial Liberals want to shift the tax burden from the wealthiest banks and oil companies to middle-income families, the very people most at risk from the decline in our Ontario industrial economy...

General Motors said today it would shut down Saturn after respected Detroit businessman Roger Penske shocked GM and 350 Saturn dealers by saying that his plans to buy the storied brand had fallen apart.

The announcement came a day before GM and its dealers expected the deal to be finalized. The failure could cost as many as 13,000 jobs at dealerships nationwide and GM.

After six years, Elizabeth Smart was finally able to take the stand against her kidnapper in a competency hearing. The article here details her testimony, and shows that she has had quite a lot to overcome. She claims that Mitchell is playing the system by pretending to be incompetent so that he will not have to stand trial. So, my question is, if he is found competent, will the trial go forward without his cooperation?

I hope that justice will be served soon.

Personally, I am full of respect for Elizabeth, she is an amazing young lady, and it couldn't have been easy to relive those details in a courtroom.