Grit MP Eyking mourns loss of local Inverary Inn, Cape Breton landmark

I rise today with truly sad news. A landmark in Cape Breton, the Inverary Inn, was destroyed in a massive fire last night. Many in the House and visitors from around the world are familiar with the inn. The Liberal caucus gathered there just a few years ago and had a wonderful retreat along the Bras d'Or lakes. The Inverary Inn was opened in the late 1800s as a three-storey house. During World War II, the estate was purchased and founded as the Inverary Inn after Scottish Inverary Castle. The inn expanded over time, but always kept its Scottish charm. Alongside the MacAulays, many dedicated staff contributed to an unforgettable experience for their guests. I was 16 years old the first time I experienced the warmth and hospitality of the inn delivering eggs from our family farm. My wife Pam and I had many wonderful stays at the inn. Our thoughts are with the MacAulay family and the people of Baddeck with this difficult loss, but I know Baddeck, a resilient community, will overcome this devastation. Liberal MP Mark Eyking Sydney-Viking, N.S. Liberals' carbon tax harms Canada's agricultural industry, says Conservative MP Falk The Liberal carbon tax harms Canada's agricultural industry and unfairly penalizes rural communities, a reality that the Liberal agriculture minister continues to disregard. Instead, the agriculture minister declared that most farmers fully support the Liberal carbon tax and went so far as to say that farmers got exactly what they voted for. It is unclear what evidence the minister has to support that statement. One would be hard pressed to find a single farmer in my riding of Battlefords-Lloydminster who supports the carbon tax. My constituents are concerned that it undermines their competitiveness and hurts their already-strained bottom line. On top of that, contrary to the Liberal government's claims that it is working together with provinces, it refuses to acknowledge the merits of a made-in-Saskatchewan plan to tackle climate change. The Liberal government needs to listen to the serious concerns of farmers and rural communities, drop its punitive carbon tax, and work in co-operation with my province of Saskatchewan. Conservative MP Rosemarie Falk Battlefords-Llodyminster, Sask. NDP MP Blaikie highlights 100th anniversary of Winnipeg General Strike I rise today to speak to my motion, Motion No. 195, a motion to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike. Despite the fact that the iconic image of the strike is an overturned streetcar, the remarkable feature of the strike was that with about 30,000 workers on strike, the Central Strike Committee effectively ran the city peacefully for six weeks. The purpose of the strike was simply to secure the right to bargain collectively, and it ended only after the strike leaders were arrested on trumped-up charges and an act of state violence killed two workers and injured many more. The strike showed how readily the powers of the state can be co-opted by the rich and powerful to suppress the legitimate demands of working people. However, it also showed the power that workers have when they stand together in solidarity, a power that would be used to win the labour standards we now enjoy across the country today. The battle to protect and expand those standards continues. I call on Parliament to recognize the strike for its role in inspiring workers across the country to demand a better life for themselves and their neighbours. NDP MP Daniel Blaikie Elmwood-Transcona, Man. Grit MP Wrzesnewskyj says Sentsov on hunger strike to raise awareness of 74 Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar political prisoners On Monday, film director Oleg Sentsov entered the fourth week of his hunger strike in an Arctic hard-labour penal colony 5,000 kilometres from his native Crimea. He is slowly starving to death to raise awareness of 74 Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar political prisoners who have been abducted to Russia and put on show trials for their opposition to Russia's military annexation of Crimea. Sentsov's case is being championed by European and Canadian cultural figures, yet when a journalist asked President Putin about Sentsov, he snapped that Sentsov was part of a terrorist community—this from the president whose military invasion of Ukraine has killed 11,000, whose pilots bomb civilian markets and hospitals in Syria, who shields those who shot down MH-17, and who poisons and assassinates opponents and journalists. It is time to use the Magnitsky law and sanction Sentsov's abductors, torturers, prosecutors, and show-trial judges. Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj Etobicoke Centre, Ont.