Diane Marleau

[Afghanistan, April 26th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we want to talk about panic. First it was the Red Cross, then it was the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, then it was some other body and then last night we heard we would have a new agreement. I have heard that Correctional Service Canada will be involved.

Will Correctional Service Canada be the body charged with monitoring full time the conditions of detainees? When will we see this agreement?

[Afghanistan, April 26th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the chief of the defence Staff and the Minister of Foreign Affairs were unaware of a new agreement that would give access to prisoners transferred by the Canadian Forces. Now we know why: there was no agreement.

Now, we are being told that there will be an agreement, but when? When will we have details about this new agreement? What will the government do to make sure these prisoners are being well treated?

[Afghanistan, April 24th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want straight answers to questions about Canada's international reputation and our troops' involvement in southern Afghanistan.

When will Canadians finally see a clear plan to end the combat mission?

Does the Prime Minister plan to wait until it is too late to withdraw our troops from southern Afghanistan before making a decision?

[Afghanistan, April 24th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the defence minister has been careless with the facts and incompetent when it comes to defending the government's murky foreign policy positions and responding to Canadians' concerns.

Whether it is the treatment of detainees or the scope and length of Canada's current Afghan mission, in terms of clarity, the government continues to mislead Canadians.

Last summer, Parliament voted to extend the combat mission to February 2009. Will the Prime Minister respect the results of today's upcoming vote--

[Afghanistan, April 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, if the Minister of National Defence is speaking in good faith when he says that the Canadian Forces will leave southern Afghanistan in 2009, he has the duty to so inform our allies.

Has the minister notified NATO that Canadian troops will withdraw in 2009, and if not, what is he waiting for?

If this government is sincere in its intentions, why wait until the last minute to send a clear message?

[Afghanistan, April 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know how and when Canada's mission in southern Afghanistan will conclude.

Yesterday, the minister tried to hide his true intentions after blurting out that we would be bogged down in Afghanistan for 10 years.

Why does the government not have a coherent exit strategy for this mission? Has the minister advised NATO that it should start looking for troops to replace Canadians past 2009?

[Status of Women, March 2nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, March 8 is International Women's Day, but Canadian women will have little to celebrate, thanks to the regressive measures taken by the Conservative government.

Six Nobel Prize winners wrote to the Prime Minister to condemn his attacks on women's equality, and to ask that Canada continue to fulfill its leading role in the promotion of women's rights.

These recipients said that, for the past number of years, they could count on the Liberal government's leadership regarding these issues. They added that the actions of this Conservative government are very disturbing.

I am asking the government to heed this message and to revert back to policies that promote women's rights. One solution would be to ensure that the newly proposed agency for women at the UN get the necessary funding and is independent. It is time to act.

[Income Trusts, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, CARP does not applaud the fiasco of the income trusts.

This morning the finance minister announced that his ill-conceived income trust legislation will be a part of his upcoming budget. I want to point out that the minister's first official budget announcement was a $25 billion slam on the pockets of ordinary Canadians. MPs deserve a clear vote on this so they can effectively represent those who lost so much money.

Will the minister at least have the courage to table this in stand-alone legislation?

[Income Trusts, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, today, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons reminded Canadians of the terrible letdown of thousands of small investors who, because of this government, lost their savings. The income trusts fiasco continues to reverberate across the country.

How can Canadians trust this incompetent and deceitful government that was responsible for ordinary Canadians losing billions of dollars in savings?

[Committees of the House, December 13th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.

The committee has considered the matter of implementation of accrual budgeting and appropriations in the federal government. This report was passed unanimously by all parties who worked on it. I want to thank everyone for doing such great work.