Financial Disclosure

Based on Preliminary Data from the House of Commons

We are writing to you today to request that your government provide $10 million for research into Multiple Sclerosis :MS) and its potential cause, chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), in support of a request by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, corporate scandals rocked the beginning of this decade, decimated the lives of millions and set in motion a wave of legislative reforms.

Liberal MPs today said the Conservative government’s fixation with self-congratulatory Economic Plan advertising over H1N1 awareness messaging is risking public health.

With the rollout of the H1N1 vaccine possibly days away, Canadians are still seeking answers about what they should do when they should have been fully informed months ago, Liberal MPs said today.

With the news of a delay in the delivery of vaccines for vulnerable Canadians and public criticism from Atlantic mayors, it’s clearer than ever that the Harper government’s incompetent handling of the H1N1 pandemic is putting lives at risk, Liberal MPs said today.

The Prime Minister’s comments that he will personally take the H1N1 vaccine “if it’s generally recommended” is only adding to the general confusion and demonstrates his lack of leadership on pandemic preparedness, Liberal opposition critics said today.

Liberal MPs today called on the Harper government to speed up the availability of vaccines for Canadians vulnerable to H1N1, and demanded Minister Aglukkaq publicly apologize for sending body bags to Aboriginal reserves instead of blaming nurses.

Dear Minister Aglukkaq:

Yesterday, Americans began vaccinating pregnant mothers, healthcare workers, and people with underlying health concerns against the H1N1 flu vaccine – yet Canadians have to wait a full month longer before vaccinations start here. Yesterday in the House of Commons you said, “This is not a race.” Canadians worried about getting their family vaccinated would beg to differ.

Most smokers begin smoking in childhood or early adolescence. Ninety per cent smoke before the age of 18. Early starters are more likely to become addicted daily smokers. Partly because the tobacco industry targets adolescence, 82,000 to 99,000 young people start smoking every day.

Reducing risk to human health has been a preoccupation of people, physicians and politicians for the last 5,000 years. Virtually every major advance in public health has involved the reduction or the elimination of risk, with the result being that the world is a safer place today. It is safer from accidents and deadly or incurable diseases and safer from hazardous consumer goods.

My riding is next door to Pearson International Airport and it is where many newcomers come to settle and work long hours for minimum wage, even if they were physicians or professionals back home. It is also home to a high number of single mothers, many holding down multiple jobs just to put food on the table for their children.

The RCMP notes that the growing trade in contraband tobacco challenges health objectives to reduce tobacco consumption; provides easy and unmonitored accessibility to tobacco by Canada's youth; requires increased criminal justice spending; supports other criminal activities, such as drug and gun trafficking; and takes away hundreds of millions of dollars annually from the government.

Madam Speaker, I rise in the House today to lend support to Bill C-3, a bill to protect Canada's Arctic environment and sovereignty. The Arctic grail, or Northwest Passage, was the water route through Canada's northern islands that explorers sought for three centuries. In 1903, Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, waited months for the ice to sufficiently melt so that his vessel could be the first to successfully navigate the passage. In 1940, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police schooner began charting the grail's icy waters to demonstrate Canada's sovereignty over the north.

On Friday, January 30^th, Dr. Kirsty Duncan, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke North, tabled written questions in the House of Commons asking the Conservative government to report to Canadians any information it has regarding the health and safety concerns of caffeinated energy drinks and pre-mixed caffeine-alcohol drinks. This inquiry follows in the wake of growing concerns over possible adverse health effects related to excessive caffeine intake as well as the mixing of caffeine energy drinks with alcohol.