Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): May I have leave for a nonpolitical statement?

Madam Speaker: Does the honourable Leader of the official opposition have leave for a nonpolitical statement? [agreed]

Mr. Doer: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Again the generosity of Canadians from coast to coast to coast is pouring into the communities and the victims of the flood of 1997. I want to congratulate--

Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.

Madam Speaker: Order, please. I am experiencing great difficulty hearing the Leader of the official opposition, and I would ask for the co-operation of all those members having private meetings to do so either in the loge or outside the Chamber.

Mr. Doer: Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate Tom Jackson for hosting a wonderful CBC Forks concert that was covered nationally from The Forks site in Winnipeg. Artists from across Canada performed at this concert. As I understand it, it has raised over $2 million for flood victims in Manitoba, and I think, again, it is the spirit of Canada and the spirit of unity, the spirit of co-operation that we cherish in this Chamber. Again, congratulations to Tom Jackson for bringing it together and the CBC for covering it.

For those of us who used to watch Tom play at the Royal Albert Arms years ago, we can certainly applaud his wonderful career, his successful career, but whether it is this concert or the Huron concert, we know that he has continued to have his heart and mind in our community and for the people who are victims of disasters such as our flood or other victims of our economic system in terms of poverty and other issues that must be addressed by our community.

I also want to applaud the United Way and the Winnipeg Labour Council. There have been a number of corporate donations that have received some publicity, but it might be useful for all of us to applaud the efforts of unions that have been raising money, as well, from across Canada. Buzz Hargrove for the Canadian Auto Workers Union has donated $125,000 from the auto workers, and he has challenged the auto makers to also come in on this campaign, and I applaud the membership here in Manitoba and the workers of that union.

The Canadian Labour Congress, Dick Martin, a member of our community from Manitoba, a good friend of the Deputy Premier (Mr. Downey), the secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress, donated $3,000 and helped sandbag in Selkirk, Manitoba. Thank you for the Canadian Labour Congress--[interjection] more than one sandbag, I would add--and Dick Martin, of course, it was good to see him help us out.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Local 522, has donated to the United Way of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Labour Council. The IWA, Local 324, in The Pas and 830 in Winnipeg have donated $2,500. We would like to thank the members of those local unions. IWA, Local 71, Courtenay, British Columbia, $2,800 raised by the workers in that union; the Grain Services Union in Regina, $5,500 raised on behalf of flood victims.

Also, we have the United Steelworkers of America, the national office, Ken Neumann, the vice-president from western Canada, a person who represents many of the workers in the steelworkers' union and the miners in the steelworkers', has donated a tremendous amount of money to Manitoba flood victims, $90,000.

We would like to thank those unions and locals and workers for joining other Canadians in donating this money to flood victims in Manitoba and in working with the United Way and with the Winnipeg Labour Council to co-ordinate their efforts.

So thank you very much for allowing me to give this nonpolitical statement today.

Mr. Marcel Laurendeau (St. Norbert): May I have leave to make a nonpolitical statement?

Madam Speaker: Does the honourable member for St. Norbert have leave to make a nonpolitical statement? [agreed]

Mr. Laurendeau: Madam Speaker, I have been away from this establishment now for a little while working in my community. I actually missed the place, but I do recognize a lot of faces that were out on the front lines with us, and I would like to thank the members who filled in for me here for my duties that I have been lacking of in the past 30 days or so. It has just proved that I am replaceable in the Chamber, so I figured I had better start coming back.

Madam Speaker, I do not think there is any way to say thank you that would express how I and my community feel on the volunteer effort that has come out in the past while to help not only my community but the rest of Manitoba to fight back Mother Nature. We had one gentleman there and we called him the very old gentleman on our line. It was Binx Remnant, the Clerk of our Legislative Assembly.

Madam Speaker, it is not nice to pick out one person out of the thousands and thousands, but this gentleman sat there for eight hours a day. We felt sorry for him at the end of the day. We tried to get him to retire, but same as in here, we just cannot seem to get him to do it. He is still around, so we keep having him come out over and over again.

It is the corporations that the Leader of the official opposition has spoken about; it is the youth that have come out; it is the unions that have come out; it is the members in this Chamber that have come out. It is everyone who has been involved since Day One that we all owe more than a thank you to but just a congratulations on a job well done. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank you personally for having taken my place more than once in this Chamber when I was not here. Thank you to all of you and thank you to Manitobans. This proves why we will remain a one and united Canada.

Mr. George Hickes (Point Douglas): I move, seconded by the member for Broadway (Mr. Santos), that the composition of the Standing Committee on Public Utilities and Natural Resources be amended as follows: St. Johns (Mr. Mackintosh) for Selkirk (Mr. Gregory Dewar), The Pas (Mr. Lathlin) for Flin Flon (Mr. Jennissen), for Thursday, May 22, 1997, for 10 a.m.

Motion agreed to.

Mr. Hickes: I move, seconded by the member for Broadway, that the composition of the Standing Committee on Economic Development be amended as follows: Rupertsland (Mr. Robinson) for Thompson (Mr. Ashton); Brandon East (Mr. Leonard Evans) for Radisson (Ms. Cerilli); Kildonan (Mr. Chomiak) for Burrows (Mr. Martindale); for Thursday, May 22, 1997, for 10 a.m.

Motion agreed to.