Fisherman's Road

I gave the following speech in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Nov. 29 th , against Bill C-10, the Conservative omnibus crime bill. Mr. Speaker, I stand in the House today in opposition to Bill C-10 , the omnibus crime bill. As I stated in a September speech in this House, I do not stand in opposition to every part of the bill. Indeed, some parts of Bill C-10 are worthwhile. As a father, I have no objection to protecting children against pedophiles and sexual predators, of course not, even though the Conservative government would have people believe otherwise. That is the rub with Bill C-10 , which throws so many pieces of legislation, nine bills, aboard the one bus, aboard the one omnibus bill. I may agree with coming down hard on pedophiles, but I do not agree with filling prisons with people who probably should not be there, like the student who gets caught with six marijuana plants. What will throwing that student in jail do for him or her, or for society in general besides costi...

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, I, along with NDP Transport critic Olivia Chow , raised questions in the House of Commons regarding Cougar Flight 491. Survivor Robert Decker has raised questions about why the helicopter was certified to fly in the first place, and why Sikorskys continue to fly. Cleary (St. John’s South-Mount Pearl): Mr. Speaker, 17 people died on March 12, 2009, when Cougar flight 491 went down after loss of oil pressure. Less than a year before, the same thing happened to an Australian helicopter, but Transport Canada failed to take action. After the Newfoundland tragedy, the Transportation Safety Board recommended that all Cougars must be able to run dry for 30 minutes, but the Sikorsky still fails the test. Mr. Speaker, why are we giving the Cougars a free pass at the risk of the lives of offshore workers? Response from Transport Minister Denis Lebel : Mr. Speaker, this was a very tragic accident. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. My department ...

"Nothing is gained without struggle. Cleary and his NDP are not doing this because they think they’ll win; they’re doing it because it’s right." — Hans Rollman, a regular columnist with theindependent.ca, in his most recent offering, A bill worth supporting . ••• The second and final hour of debate on my private member's bill — the Newfoundland and Labrador Fishery Rebuilding Act — is scheduled for Dec. 8th in the House of Commons. All support is greatly appreciated. As I used to say in my radio days, God guard thee Newfoundland and Labrador.

In answer to John Crosbie’s question from the early ’90s: the office of the Auditor General of Canada hears the fishes when they cry. It took 20 years, but the AG has apparently caught a sob or two. I’ve been demanding an inquiry into the management of the NL fisheries since since election Day 1 , and, turns out, the office of the federal AG has been carrying out a sweeping review for some time. The 2011 December Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development — who works directly under the auditor general — is due Dec. 13, and investigates the challenges of operating fisheries in a sustainable way. Challenges the Department of No-Fish and Empty Oceans hasn’t exactly lived up to in terms of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Ottawa’s mismanagement has been epic — and largely ignored. Until now. Chapter 4 sounds like a must-read: A Study of Managing Fisheries for Sustainability. Sustainable isn’t exactly how I’d describe DFO management practices. Not i...

I posed the following question in the House of Commons on Monday, Nov. 21st: Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has finally admitted what the rest of us already know – that the fishery is broken . The five years of Conservative mismanagement - after a decade of Liberal negligence - cannot be reversed by tearing up the Fisheries Act. Firing scientists, laying off fisheries staff and turning out the lights will not put fish back in the sea or food on fishermen's tables. The fishery is broken. Will the Conservative government finally support our fishing communities and put forward a concrete plan to fix it? The following is Fisheries and Oceans Minister Keith Ashfield’s response: Mr. Speaker, we know that the average age of our fishers is increasing, the same for our plant workers, and a declining number of new entrants into the fishery. It is a serious situation, one that we can change through modernization and efficiencies in the Department of Fisheries and in the fis...

I posed the following questions in the House of Commons on Friday, Nov. 18th, following the publication earlier this week of a front-page story in the St. John's Telegram (MP says EI claimants upset with long delays, Nov. 16th): Madam Speaker, Service Canada budget cuts mean fewer people are processing Employment Insurance claims and handling calls. Claimants are often forced to wait well beyond the normal processing time of about 28 days. With no income for six weeks to two months, workers and families are having a hard time putting food on the table and paying bills. My question comes directly from a Service Canada employee in St. John's, Newfoundland. When is the government going to stop talking about automation and actually fix the problems at Service Canada? Response from Kellie Leitch, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour, CPC: Madam Speaker, I thank the member's constituent for the question....

John Crosbie Says, ‘The Pope and The Archbishop Can Kiss My--’ — The front-page headline of the Oct. 17 th , 1919 Morning Post , a then-St. John’s newspaper owned by Sir Richard Squires. ••• And people wonder where John Crosbie gets it from. John Carnell Crosbie, NL’s current Lieutenant Governor, has a famous tongue, a direct inheritance from his grandfather, Sir John Chalker Crosbie (1876-1932), who started the family’s political and business dynasty, which flourishes to this day. The Crosbie family bloodline (and nerve of it) was brought home to me Wednesday afternoon at Government House in St. John’s when the Lieutenant-Governor pulled me aside after an MHA swearing-in ceremony. Crosbie asked if I had seen a copy of “the newspaper.” I thought he was referring to The Independent , the defunct St. John’s newspaper I once ran, but Crosbie was actually talking about an obscure city newspaper from almost a century ago. Crosbie led me to a room and showed me a framed copy of...

“Most groups , most experts and most witnesses who have given presentations on this bill would advocate that the federal government is proceeding in the wrong direction, and that this procedure has been tried in other areas before and has proven to be a failure. Incarcerating more people is not the answer.” - Newfoundland and Labrador Justice Minister Felix Collins, as quoted today (Nov. 3) in the St. John’s Telegram , about the Harper government’s omnibus crime bill, Bill C-10. NL joins Quebec and Ontario in raising objections about the crime bill.

CPAC's Beyond Politics — a show that "goes beyond politics to provide a window into the lives of public figures" — recently dropped by the federal riding of St. John's South-Mount Pearl.