Chris in the Commons

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, The very first Bill I introduced after being elected to the House of Commons in 2006 was a bill that would give wages and pensions super-priority in cases of commercial bankruptcy. Since that time, the government has adopted much of what was in my bill with respect to securing workers’ wages, and I am delighted that happened. But sadly, the government has not yet acted in any way to protect pensions in a similar way.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the government is failing Canadian workers. Worse, it is actually endangering workers’ safety.

A report released yesterday showed that while the provinces have cut the number of disabling workplace injuries by 25%, the number of serious injuries in federal workplaces like Canada Post and the trucking industry has increased. It is no coincidence that those rates rose at the same time the government cut the number of workplace inspectors.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): On behalf of the NDP Caucus, it is an honour to rise in this House today to commemorate the National Day of Mourning in somber remembrance of workers killed, injured, or exposed to toxins at work.

Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House tonight to speak on Bill C-473, An Act to protect insignia of military orders, decorations and medals of cultural significance for future generations.

Chris Charlton, MP (Hamilton Mountain, NDP) Mr. Speaker, I spoke to the Conservative government’s Budget when it was first tabled in this House and, unfortunately, I won’t have the opportunity today to go into detail again about what a profoundly negative impact it will have on seniors and hard-working Canadians.

Let me just re-iterate some of the key points that I raised last month.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, workers in Hamilton are still reeling after the abrupt announcement by Siemens that it will be closing its doors, putting 550 people out of work.

The province lost a “competitive process” to Charlotte, North Carolina, a state that will not only get our current jobs, but $130 million expansion as well.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition today calling on the government to restore its funding to KAIROS.

The petitioners point out that KAIROS is a Canadian ecumenical justice initiatives group that promotes sustainable development, human rights and peace through education, advocacy and cooperative programs linking more than 21 organizations in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, Steel slabs made in Hamilton by U.S. Steel are being shipped to the U.S., rolled into coils there and then returned to Hamilton for customers like Honda Canada. U.S. Steel is moving Canadian product 1,500 kilometres for processing in the U.S. when Lake Erie Works, a top-notch Canadian facility in Nanticoke, is left sitting idle.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, there is a major disconnect between what Canada's businesses need to be successful and the fiscal policies of the government.

Yesterday Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney blamed business leaders for Canada's “abysmal” productivity record.

Despite years of across-the-board corporate tax giveaways worth billions of dollars, Canadian corporations just are not investing and not improving their operations.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in the House today, yet again in opposition to the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement. This time it is Bill C-2, An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Colombia, the Agreement on the Environment between Canada and the Republic of Colombia and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Colombia.