Issues

Chris read the following letter into the official record today:

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition today on behalf of the 32,400 Hamiltonians who were unemployed as of April.

The petitioners point out that they have paid into EI all of their working lives but now that they need the safety net that they themselves built it is no longer there for them.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, CPP Investment Board members lost a staggering $24 billion, wiping out four years of CPP contributions. They will get millions in bonuses, while retirees will get on average a mere $500 a month. This is an unethical abuse of power.

What is the response from the government? A letter from the minister, asking them to respect a vague set of G20 rules. That simply is not good enough.

Will the minister finally find the courage to do the right thing and demand that the executives pay back these outrageous bonuses?

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP):

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today and join my NDP colleagues in speaking against Bill C-20, the nuclear liability and compensation act. In fact, we are the only party in this House that refuses to give the government a blank cheque on this inadequate reform to the limits of nuclear liability.

Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be participating in this evening’s debate on motion M-300 which calls on the government to enhance access to, and the level of, GIS benefits for Canada’s poorest seniors.

Let me say at the outset that I fully support this motion.

By Kevin Werner, Hamilton Mountain News

Hamilton Mountain residents won’t catch their NDP MP wearing a Canadian flag lapel pin anytime soon.

Chris Charlton this week condemned the federal government’s decision earlier this year to award a contract to a Canadian company that outsourced the manufacture of the flag pins in China.

“I would be embarrassed to wear one,” she said. “We are in the midst of one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression, with Hamilton losing manufacturing jobs, and the Canadian government is spending taxpayers’ money on a foreign company.”

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, last week I introduced a bill to fix EI so new moms could access their regular EI benefits if they lost their jobs during or after their maternity leave.

I challenged the government to act by Mother's Day. That is this Sunday, and new moms are still waiting.

The meagre EI extension that the minister constantly trumpets does absolutely nothing for a new mom who cannot access those regular EI benefits in the first place.

Chris Charlton (NDP, Hamilton Mountain):

Mr. Speaker, the maple leaf is a symbol of our national goals and aspirations. Canadian troops put their lives on the line for the values symbolized by the maple leaf. It speaks to our pride as Canadians.

But today that pride is diminished. In the middle of a manufacturing meltdown, this Conservative government out-sourced the production of Canadian flag pins to China. Why is the Prime Minister giving our tax dollars to foreign factories? Why doesn’t the Prime Minister support Canadian jobs?

Mark Newman, Hamilton Mountain News

Chris Charlton has a special Mother’s Day gift in mind for new or soon-to-be moms, equality when it comes to eligibility for employment insurance.

The Mountain NDP MP was set to introduce a private member’s bill Thursday (April 30) to revamp the Employment Insurance Act.

Lyn Cockburn, The Edmonton Sun

The making-a-fuss-over-mom day is about a week and a half away, so is it too early to start giving Mother's Day presents?