Hon. Andy Scott (Fredericton, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to pay tribute to the bravery of three heroes from my riding: Evan Green, Nick Lannigan and Ryan Atwin.

Concerned after spotting smoke coming from the back of a building, these three teenagers rescued a 60-year-old gentleman after seeing him lie helplessly on the floor through a window. Their heroism continued when they alerted sleeping tenants of the danger and assisted in the evacuation of the building.

These three young men were recently honoured as heroes and given life-saving awards at the St. John Ambulance's annual awards ceremony.

I invite my fellow members to join with me in thanking these fine young citizens for their courage and inspiring their community.

Hon. Andy Scott (Fredericton, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on the dismantling of the CBC Radio Orchestra, CBC/Radio-Canada's commitment to classical music and the changes to CBC Radio 2.

Hon. Andy Scott (Fredericton, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to pay tribute to six outstanding students from my riding who are recipients of the 2008-09 Millennium Excellence Award.

This program is one of Canada's most prestigious national scholarship initiatives. The Millennium Excellence Award, directed at Canadians preparing to enter college or university for the first time, plays a crucial role in the recognition and encouragement of excellence in the classroom and beyond.

Congratulations to Melinda Jacobs of Varde Gymnasium, Michelle Bendrich from Leo Hayes High School, and Joanne Delaney, Joshua Clark, Boshen Gao and Bushi Zhang from Fredericton High School. These bright young people have made their families, schools and community proud.

Hon. Andy Scott (Fredericton, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition initiated by the sociology students of Sir James Dunn Academy in St. Andrews, New Brunswick and signed by students and residents of St. Andrews in recognition of the fact the United Nations 2006 Millennium Development Goal report indicated that, between 1990 and 2002, the number of people living in extreme poverty in Africa increased by 140 million, that an estimated 824 million people in the developing world were affected by chronic hunger, that 10.5 million children died from preventable causes before their fifth birthday in 2004 and that global rates of HIV infection was still growing.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to immediately take the necessary steps to establish a specific plan and timetable to increase Canada's aid budget to achieve an aid level of 0.7% of Canada's GNP by 2015.

Hon. Andy Scott (Fredericton, Lib.)

Mr. Speaker, millions of Canadians of all ages are living with the daily challenge of speech, language or hearing problems that significantly affect their work, their school and all aspects of their lives. Greater awareness of where to find help is paramount in ensuring these individuals are able to lead richer, more productive and enjoyable lives.

May is Speech and Hearing Awareness Month and I wish to congratulate a constituent who has earned the prestigious national Promotions Award from the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists.

Andre Lafargue is regional manager of audiology and speech-language pathology at River Valley Health in New Brunswick and is very involved in his professional associations. He has served as president of two provincial associations and is a former president of the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists.

I express congratulations to Andre Lafargue. He is truly deserving of this honour.