Daniel Turp

[Burma, April 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the exiled Prime Minister of Burma, Sein Win, appeared this morning before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade and described the systematic human rights violations occurring in Burma. He even told the committee of the government's intended genocide of Burmese minorities.

Does the Minister of Foreign Affairs not consider it vital to adopt stricter sanctions against Burma and order Canadian businesses to stop doing business with this country?

[Cuba, April 22nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

Outside the Second Summit of the Americas, the Prime Minister indicated that he was going to make an official visit to Cuba. This is the first official visit since 1976 by a head of the Canadian government to a country that continues to be cut off from the rest of the Americas.

Will the Prime Minister tell the House what concrete proposals he intends to make to President Castro to make it possible for him to participate in the Summit of the Americas and to facilitate Cuba's reintegration into inter-American institutions?

[Customs Controls, March 24th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, in light of the comments recently made by Mrs. Albright during her trip to Canada, regarding the wonderful co-operation that exists between Canada and the United States, does the minister intend to remind U.S. official of the comments she made, so that the situation can get back to normal as quickly as possible?

[Customs Controls, March 24th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, there has recently been an increase in excessive controls by U.S. customs, at the Canadian border.

There are even some members of this House who were subjected to these picky controls and to the rudeness of U.S. customs inspectors.

My question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Given the good relations that exist between Canada and the United States, including at the border, does the minister intend to make representations to put a stop to this unacceptable behaviour on the part of U.S. customs inspectors?

[Canadian Ambassador Jacques Roy, March 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs ought to be embarrassed by Ambassador Roy's words.

He ought to be embarrassed as well by the ambassador's actions when he came to Quebec to support Canadian unity and boasted of the important role francophones play in Canada, while now back in France he is relegating francophones to the ranks of a small minority.

How can the government explain this doublespeak by its ambassador to France?

[Canadian Ambassador Jacques Roy, March 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

At Nice, France on March 12, Ambassador Jacques Roy made the following statement: “People must realize, however, that francophones represent only a small minority of Canadians”.

Do these words by the ambassador represent the opinion of the Canadian government?

[Jeux De La Francophonie, March 17th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

In a letter dated March 12, the Quebec international relations minister and his municipal affairs colleague question the willingness of the federal government to include Quebec in any serious way in organizing the Jeux de la Francophonie. They contend that the federal government is in fact “placing Quebec before a fait accompli”.

How can the minister justify that, more than eight months after Ottawa-Hull won the games, the minister—

[Kosovo, March 16th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

It seems more and more unlikely that a dialogue between Kosovo's Serbs and Albanians will solve the current crisis, but the Serbian government is refusing to let the international community get involved, on the grounds that the conflict is an internal issue. The United Kingdom proposed international mediation, while Canada and the United States seem in favour of sending a peace-restoring force.

Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell us whether he agrees with the British government's proposal for a mediation team?

[Kosovo, March 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, will the minister recognize that it may be necessary to expand the role of SFOR, the stabilization force in Bosnia, that was set up to restore peace there, which may well be needed to restore peace this time in Kosovo?

[Kosovo, March 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, another major conflict appears to be brewing in the Balkans with the crisis in Kosovo, and once again the international community is being asked to come to the aid of peoples threatened by massacres.

My question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Does he consider that the bilateral sanctions he announced and the multilateral sanctions proposed by the U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, are truly effective ways to restore peace to Kosovo?