Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is quite simple. We have been hearing amazing press communiqués about this fantastic package. Like the hon. member, when I phone home, I cannot find anybody who has benefited from this package. I have been dealing with the minister's staff on cases and we have had no response.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, as always, it is an honour to rise in the House to speak about the families of northern Ontario, particularly families across rural Canada. As we know, these families are living through the worst economic crisis in Canadian history, much worse than the dust bowl because it only hit one region of the country.

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, that is another supersized helping of a big whopper from the government. The prices for cull cows are not going up, and the CAIS program designed to help this has been an absolute disaster. I have been phoning the minister's office, trying to get help for a number of farmers who are going under.

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, George Bush came and went, and the border is still closed to Canadian beef. Meanwhile Canadian farmers are having to feed their cattle for another long winter. If cull cattle could talk, they would tell us that they were more concerned about dying of old age than ever getting mad cow.

Ukraine  Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to speak to the motion brought forth by the hon. member, who I like to say sits up here in the cheap seats with us. I have seen his commitment and passion for this issue. To see it brought forth to the floor so quickly is a real testament to the House.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, the premise that is being put forth here is where it will end. The hon. member has many more years of experience as a legislator than I do. If we look at the concept of voluntarily removing urea formaldehyde, of allowing people the choice whether or not they want to use CFCs and aerosol spray cans and perhaps the idea that people should be able to choose whether or not they will continue to use leaded gasoline, we made decisions as legislators throughout the past.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member's comments spoke to where we are going with this motion. It was not the NDP that deemed trans fatty acids dangerous to health. It was the scientific community of North America, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the World Health Organization. As legislators, we recognize that this is a serious issue.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, those are very good points, although I am not sure who made the comment about saturated fats being the same as trans fats in terms of impact. There is a 4 to 10 times greater impact from trans fats. In terms of the agriculture industry, I share the hon. member's concern.

Supply  The hon. member has obviously never had the cooking of my father, otherwise she would refrain from making such comments. In fact, if the hon. member talked to my daughters she could hear the disparaging things they say about me bringing home food in a bag on Fridays, food that has already been cooked.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today in the House, as it is always an honour for me to rise here and speak. It is a particularly great honour to speak on a motion such as this one brought forward by my colleague, because I really do feel that as legislators we are called upon to be forward thinking and to look for policies that benefit Canadian citizens not just here but in the long run.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the fledgling northern Ontario separatist party, I would welcome the city of Hamilton as a sister city in the new province of northern Ontario. I think it is a wonderful city and is always undermined by having been so close to Toronto. Even though my colleague from Hamilton Centre is not here, I would welcome him in the new northern Ontario caucus if he so chooses.

Supply  Mr. Chair, being asked to participate in an exercise with the Liberal government seems to me to be that the money is taken from them and is not given back. I am looking at estimates for the coming years and I am not seeing any money coming back. It concerns me because again the word alarmist was used earlier against one of our colleagues.

Supply  Mr. Chair, yesterday I had the honour of meeting Mr. Rabinovich, who spoke before the heritage committee. It was an interesting discussion because he described his taking over the CBC after the Liberals cut $450 million to the CBC's budget. He made a decision at that time to cut regional news programming which had a devastating impact.

Supply  Mr. Chair, I received 52% in grade 10 math and figured I would be better off as a musician. I will ask the hon. member to clarify for me in my really poor reading of accounting. Did the hon. member say there would be no cuts to the Canada Council? I heard the term reallocation, but people in the field have told me there are cuts.

Supply  Mr. Chair, I am fairly slow in the world of politics. We have taken money out of the Canada Council and we are calling it a reallocation. Is that like collateral damage? Will the money go back to the Canada Council? Can I go to the people at Canada Council and tell them to relax and stop being hysterical or, as was used earlier, to stop being alarmists because there is nothing to be alarmed about?