Tako Van Popta

Mr. Speaker, this summer, as chair of the Conservative task force on property rights, I travelled B.C., meeting with homeowners, farmers, business owners and industry leaders. Their message was clear. They are worried that the private property security they once took for granted is being eroded. Property rights are a cornerstone of a free and prosperous society. They give families the confidence [plus]

Understood. Is this something that can be expanded in a cost-effective manner, keeping in mind that the competition is delivering natural gas, which is very expensive, or electricity, which is also expensive?

Thank you. Mr. Browne, do you have anything to add to that?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to all the witnesses for being here. I'm new to the committee, so this is all very interesting to me. I'm a southerner, being from metro Vancouver and right on the U.S. border, so this is really enlightening. Lynne, my question is for you, but my preamble relates to evidence given by Shannon and Lorne. Shannon made the point that while natural gas might be cheap [plus]

Mr. Speaker, it is great to be back in the House of Commons after a very busy summer at home in my riding of Langley Township—Fraser Heights and throughout British Columbia. Like every member of the House, I am sure, I heard from many Canadians about their concerns about the state of Canada's economy, so I would like to start with this: Conservatives are focused on saving Canadians money. [plus]

Mr. Speaker, we are absolutely supporting the modern treaty process. We underline how important it is. We underline that treaties are better than endless litigation, which we are seeing in British Columbia. I would just add that the government has mismanaged the litigation file seriously, just as it was mismanaging the treaty implementation. The Auditor General has reported on it numerous times. [plus]

Mr. Speaker, British Columbia is unique in that most of the territory is not covered by treaties, unlike Ontario, for example. However, there are areas, including my colleague's riding, where treaties have not been negotiated, so this is a Canada-wide problem. The uncertainty arising out of the litigation around property rights is undermining Canadians' confidence in one of the pillars of our [plus]

C-10 Mr. Speaker, indeed there are a lot of gaps in Bill. As a matter of fact, we are saying that the commissioner is not necessary. It would just be another layer of bureaucracy. We already have the Auditor General's office, which has been reporting on government deficiencies in implementing the modern treaties, but rather than admit that it has mismanaged the file, in typical Liberal fashion [plus]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, that is what we see with Liberal government throughout its now 11 years of history. There is a lack of accountability, a lack of getting the job done, more announcements, more photo ops and more of the Liberals' trying to convince Canadians that they are doing the job, but they are not. We just need them to get the job done and get the treaties negotiated.

Mr. Speaker, in Cowichan Tribes v. the Attorney General of Canada, the B.C. Supreme Court declared aboriginal title over private lands, and the private landowners, 150 of them, are worried. It has been well documented that the Liberals directed their federal lawyers to drop arguments protecting private property rights, to pull their punches and allow aboriginal title to take precedence. Where [plus]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that the appeal process in British Columbia is going to take years. In the meantime, homeowners in Richmond, British Columbia, and throughout the province are feeling insecure. Here is the reality in the subject territory in Richmond. Realtors are not taking listings, appraisers are devaluing property values and bankers are not lending money on title that they see as [plus]