Reply to the Speech From The Throne

November 21, 2008

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I will be splitting my time today with the Honourable Member from Prince Edward-Hastings.

It is a great honour and a privilege for me to be standing in this place once again representing the people of my wonderful riding of Leeds-Grenville.

I want to take a moment to thank the people of my riding for their continued confidence in me and especially the volunteers who put in many hours to achieve the success we did.

I am aware of the tremendous support and the tremendous responsibility that has been bestowed upon me.

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Mr. Speaker, in my riding you can study and understand rural Canada like nowhere else.

Words that define the riding include: history, agriculture, manufacturing, industry, culture, security, trade, natural resources, forestry and economic development.


History would include such large scale and well known assets as the Rideau Canal which is a world heritage site and Fort Wellington with its own unique story. Just down the road is Fort Henry.

Each community in Leeds-Grenville has its own significant historical assets as well – far too many to list.

Our agricultural community includes everything from supply managed products such as chickens, eggs, and dairy to those outside supply management such as corn, vegetables and beef.

Our manufacturing, industrial, forestry and natural resource sectors, although hard hit by global change as in many other ridings in Canada, are still important employers and producers.

Just last week Mr. Speaker, I attended an important event for a new industrial plant that accepted it first shipment of raw material and will soon have its grand opening.

Over the past few years I have been pleased to work with and support the UNESCO recognized Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve that is bringing new value and interest to my riding and those in the surrounding area where its boundaries overlap.


Despite its relatively small population compared to its size, Leeds-Grenville boasts an expanding and vibrant arts and cultural community that attracts people from a wide area to visit and work in the riding.

People in my riding are concerned with trade and security.

Much of the manufacturing that takes place produces goods that are shipped outside the country.

Trade and the expansion of trading partners are vital to the continued success of these industries.

I have two border crossings in my riding that lead to the urban concentrations of our largest trading partner – the United States.

As well as trade, the residents of my riding use these bridges to visit friends and often relatives on the other side of the border.

Security and open borders are important to Leeds-Grenville.

Finally, especially in these times of economic change, the riding relies on continued, sustainable, innovative economic development.


This development has been supported in the past by the federal government through the work of the Community Futures Development Corporations and FedNor.

The final ingredients in the riding are the ones that make it a truly unique and remarkable place – the families who live and work and choose to raise their families there – the seniors who choose to live out their golden years in our paradise – and the communities they all foster by being part of the area.

It is because of the support and responsibility that these families, these seniors and these communities have given me - the support and responsibility that I spoke of a few minutes ago - that I was so pleased to hear to the  Speech from the Throne delivered by her Excellency The Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, last week.

It spoke to the lives, the hopes and the aspirations of the people in my riding of Leeds-Grenville.

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In my limited time I want to touch on some of the elements of the Throne Speech that my constituents support.




During the summer and the campaign I explained to my constituents that our government had taken early and substantial action to prepare for the current economic problems because we saw it coming.

From lower taxes to incentives for manufacturers to protection for farmers to increased trade to reducing the national debt - there are a number of areas where our government has acted well in advance of this fall’s economic melt-down.

The speech from the throne pledged to work internationally to reform the global finance system and to work with our allies and trading partners to re-examine and renew the rules that support the global financial system, are welcome news indeed.

I know the residents of Leeds-Grenville would like to see Canada share our financial rules with the rest of the world so that this situation can be avoided in the future.

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Over the past few weeks Mr Speaker, I have been receiving emails and letters from constituents who are concerned about Canada going into deficit and they want a guarantee that large, continued deficits, such as we have seen in the past, are not on the table as a viable option.

They are heartened to note that this government has paid down some $37 billion dollars on the national debt which gives us the lowest debt-to-GDP level in the G7.

And contrary to what we sometimes hear in this House, folks in my riding are not concerned that this government is no longer racking up $12 billion surpluses.

They know that surplus is merely excess taxation – it is not free money for the government to play with.

They know that our government has given these large surpluses back to Canadians in the form of tax reductions and needed services.

They will also be pleased to see that our government is continuing our examination of every government program and expenditure to ensure that we are receiving value for our money and we are spending on programs that make sense for Canadians.

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Leeds-Grenville is like many other ridings in the industrial heartland of Canada in that it has participated in the re-structuring of manufacturing industries.


This could be a devastating news story except for our government’s commitment to retraining and helping older workers and younger workers gain the skills they need to move on in the workforce – a commitment that was re-stated in the Speech from the Throne.

The speech also reiterates our governments’ commitment to the skilled trades with encouragement for workers and employees.

We have already taken steps to assist them with tax breaks and we will be taking more in the near future as we promised during the election campaign.

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This past spring and summer we saw an unprecedented rise in the price of gasoline and diesel fuel followed by a spectacular fall.

Leeds-Grenville is a rural riding. It is almost impossible to live without a vehicle because public transportation does not exist as it does in large urban areas.

Hundreds of people travel every day to get to their jobs.

Goods have to be moved from place to place within the riding or have to arrive in the riding by truck.

Many other people work in the transportation industry.
In an emergency we don’t talk about being blocks away from a hospital or a fire hall. We talk about kilometres – even traveling to another community.

In short, Mr. Speaker, the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel affects the day-to-day lives of the residents of Leeds-Grenville AND THEY HAVE NO OPTIONS.

This is why the residents of Leeds-Grenville rejected a carbon tax.

This is why the residents of Leeds-Grenville will always reject a carbon tax.

Their daily lives rely on gasoline, diesel and other energy.

Residents of Leeds-Grenville are concerned about energy. They want our energy sources to be secure and they want to be able to budget for their energy use.

They want their government to help secure our energy.

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The residents of my riding are also concerned about the environment, Mr. Speaker

They do what they can to reduce the amount of energy they use because it is the right thing to do.

But there is only so much they can do on their own.

They will be pleased to see that we have renewed our commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.

And they will be pleased to know that we will work on their behalf to find the best ways to tackle climate change both institutionally and by finding ways that they can participate and do their part without causing them grave economic distress.

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Mr. Speaker, I also know that the farmers in my riding – especially those who are involved with supply-managed commodities – were pleased to hear our further commitment to agriculture in the Speech from the Throne.

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There are other items in the throne speech that Leeds-Grenville supports including: improved Child Care Benefits and access to benefits for the self employed.

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Mr. Speaker the people of Leeds-Grenville play by the rules and they expect everyone else to do the same.

When others do not, the folks in my riding expect that governments and authorities will take steps to ensure that those who can be rehabilitated are, and those who continue to escalate their bad behaviours are dealt with properly and professionally.

Our government has from the beginning vowed to keep Canadians safe by strengthening sentences for serious criminal offences. I am pleased to see this was re-stated in the throne speech.

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Mr. Speaker, I could continue in much greater detail but in my words today I wanted to express something of the background of my riding and the people who live and work there and explain why, as hard-working, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens they, and I, are supporting this speech from the throne.

Thank you.