Fisherman's Road

I gave the following speech on an Act Respecting a National Hunting, Trapping and Fishing Heritage Day in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Nov. 28th.  Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of Bill C-501, an Act Respecting a National Hunting, Trapping and Fishing Heritage Day. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are great hunters, great trappers and great fishermen.  Be it for cod, salmon, trout, Arctic char, moose, caribou, seals, rabbit, beavers, turr or grouse.  We live off the land. We live off the sea.  Our first nation and aboriginal peoples have lived off the land and sea for thousands of years, and they  continue to do so.  Our ancestors who got off the boat, primarily from Europe, made a life in Newfoundland and Labrador  on the edge of the North Atlantic, in the most inhospitable of places, to be closest to the fish that sustained them.  Life was hard.  Life was brutal.  Life was work from dawn till dusk. But that life made us s

I gave the following speech Monday (Nov. 26th) in the House of Commons on Bill C-5, an act to amend the Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act. Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time I have stood in the House to speak about the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. Since being elected in May 2011, I have spoken about the C-NLOPB too many times to count. I have spoken about the problems and shortcomings of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board many times, including patronage appointments. The highest-profile appointment that comes to mind was the one-time campaign manager of Peter Penashue, the former Conservative MP for Labrador who served as minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in his short stint in federal politics. That campaign manager was no more qualified to serve on the board of the C-NLOPB than he was to run Penas

On Thursday, Nov. 21st, I announced my intention to officially introduce the following notice of motion: That the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans undertake a study on the impacts of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) for the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, including the repercussion of the elimination of minimum processing requirements, and that the committee report to the House on its findings. I then posed a number of questions to the witness who appeared before the committee - Steve Verheul, Chief Trade Negotiator Canada-European Union.

  I posed the following questions today (Nov. 21st) regarding the scheduled closure of the Veterans Affairs office in Corner Brook this coming February. My questions were posed to Lieutenant General Walter Semianiw, Assistant Deputy Minister of Policy, Communication and Commemoration, during a meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.

I gave the following speech on Tuesday, Nov. 19 th , in the House of Commons. Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of Bill C-3 — tentative support, I must add.   This Act includes amendments to the Aviation Industry Indemnity Act, the Aeronautics Act, the Canadian Marine Act, the Marine Liability Act, and an amendment to the Canadian Shipping Act, 2001. This bill also makes consequential amendments to other acts. Yes, Mr. Speaker, Bill C-3 is an omnibus bill that makes amendments to 5 acts.   Is that too much legislative change to stuff in one Act, Mr. Speaker? Well of course it is. But such is the modus operandi of this Conservative government. Pile legislative change into an omnibus bill so as to limit Opposition scrutiny and get as much by Canadians as possible. But Canadians are catching on to Conservative tactics and tricks, Mr. Speaker.   Newfoundlanders and Labradorians caught on a long time ago. But then the ri