Bev Oda

[International Co-operation, December 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, departments are responsible for making recommendations all the time but ultimately it is the responsibility of the minister to make the decision.

This government is choosing to make its international assistance more efficient, more effective and more focused. This means more food, more education and more help for people living in poverty in developing countries.

[Serious Time for the Most Serious Crime Act, December 10th, 2010]

moved:

Motion No. 1

That Bill S-6 be amended by restoring Clause 1 as follows:

“1. This Act may be cited as the Serious Time for the Most Serious Crime Act.”

Motion No. 2

That Bill S-6, in Clause 3, be amended by deleting the following after line 28 on page 3:

“(2.7) The 90-day time limits for the making of any application referred to in subsections (2.1) to (2.5) may be extended by the appropriate Chief Justice, or his or her designate, to a maximum of 180 days if the person, due to circumstances beyond their control, is unable to make an application within the 90-day time limit.

(2.7) If a person convicted of murder does not make an application under subsection (1) within the maximum time period allowed by this section, the Commissioner of Correctional Service Canada, or his or her designate, shall immediately notify in writing a parent, child, spouse or common-law partner of the victim that the convicted person did not make an application. If it is not possible to notify one of the aforementioned relatives, then the notification shall be given to another relative of the victim. The notification shall specify the next date on which the convicted person will be eligible to make an application under subsection (1).”

Motion No. 3

That Bill S-6, in Clause 7, be amended

a) by replacing line 9 on page 6 with the following:

“3(1), within 90 days after the end of two years”

(b) by replacing line 19 on page 6 with the following:

“amended by subsection 3(1), within 90 days”

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, in response to (i), up to November 2, 2010, for fiscal year 2010-11, the Canadian International Development Agency, CIDA, has disbursed $1.75 million to Canadian and foreign non-governmental organizations, NGOs, for maternal and reproductive health, and family planning. Please note that the final disbursement figures for this fiscal year will not be available until sometime after March 2011. As such, there will be additional disbursements linked to the Muskoka initiative announced at the 2010 G8 summit.

In response to (ii), the following table details CIDA disbursements to Canadian and foreign NGOs for maternal and reproductive health, and family planning for the last five fiscal years. The figures are in millions.

CIDA is focused on delivering programs designed to improve the availability and accessibility of critical health care services to women and children. Maternal health is an area that has been a significant focus of Canadian development efforts, and for which Canada has a strong history of support.

[Afghanistan, December 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, access to health care in Afghanistan has grown, from 9% to 66%. I am pleased to tell the House that Canada is helping to get more medicine to Afghanistan to help the Afghan people through Health Partners International and Canadian generic and research-based pharmaceutical companies. We are providing antibiotics, anesthesia for surgeries, intravenous medicines and medical supplies. In fact, last year HPIC and CIDA treated more than one million people in 68 countries with the adequate medicines and medical supplies.

[Afghanistan, December 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we want to reiterate how we have been actually helping those who are living in poverty under very challenging situations.

Girls are going to school. More people have access to health services. We have supported the participation of women in an election process. We have also supported the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. We have supported an electoral commission. We have supported the building of the agricultural sector and the economic development of women in all of those. Literacy rates have gone up. I could continue with the list.

[Protecting Children from Sexual Predators Act, December 3rd, 2010]

moved that Bill C-54, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sexual offences against children), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 2nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), following the January 12, 2010 earthquake, CIDA allocated $150.15 million in humanitarian assistance. In March 2010, at the International Donors Conference on Haiti in New York, Canada committed $400 million over two years, 2010-11 and 2011-12, for the reconstruction of Haiti to support the Government of Haiti action plan and priorities. The $400 million is in addition to Canada's long–term development assistance in Haiti, $555 million from 2006 to 2011. In total, the Government of Canada's current commitment to Haiti is now over $1 billion, 2006 to 2012, making it the largest development recipient in the Americas. The bulk of this amount flows from CIDA.

In response to (b), while some projects are targeting specific regions, such as Nord-Ouest, Nord, Nord-Est, Artibonite, Centre, Ouest, Sud-est, Nippes, Grande-Anse, and Sud, most projects are active across the country.

Post-earthquake projects are present in earthquake-affected regions and “host regions”, where displaced persons are relocated.

In response to (c), Canada has been providing official development assistance to Haiti since 1968. Based on preliminary data, CIDA allocated $227 million in official development assistance to Haiti in 2009-10.

In response to (d), in response to the earthquake, Canadians generously donated a total of $220 million to registered charities. The Government of Canada matched their donations through the Haiti earthquake relief fund.

This fund is financed partly through the $150.15 million provided for humanitarian assistance and the $400 million commitment over two years for recovery and reconstruction.

To date, the Government of Canada has earmarked through CIDA more than half of the Haiti earthquake relief fund through the provision of $65.5 million in humanitarian assistance, $20 million for a school feeding project, $30 million for a call for proposals from Canadian organizations, and $5 million for climate change adaptation initiatives.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 29th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of addressing the health needs of women and children in developing countries. At the 2010 G8 summit in Muskoka, the Prime Minister announced that Canada will contribute $2.85 billion over five years to improve maternal, newborn and child health, MNCH. This commitment includes $1.1 billion in new funding over the next five years, in addition to maintaining existing levels of funding estimated to be $1.75 billion over the same period.

In response to (b), of Canada’s $1.1 billion contribution in new funding to the Muskoka initiative, $241.4 million, or approximately 22%, has been earmarked for specific projects and programs.

In response to (c), at the September 2010 Millennium Development Goals Summit in New York, the Prime Minister announced $540 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the third replenishment cycle, 2011 to 2013, of which $41.4 million, or approximately 8%, is sourced from Canada’s $1.1 billion contribution to the Muskoka initiative.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 29th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), CIDA’s allocations to Sudan are up to $100 million annually.

In response to (b), CIDA applies a whole of Sudan approach. CIDA’s programming in Sudan is focused on humanitarian assistance and early recovery programming throughout Sudan, including in Darfur, the south, the north, and the east. Furthermore, the majority of CIDA's humanitarian funding is provided at the national level, through multilateral agencies, which then determine where needs are greatest.

In response to (c), in 2009, the following thematic priorities were identified and approved through the country strategy by the Minister for International Cooperation: children and youth, food security, governance, and humanitarian assistance. Gender equality and environmental sustainability are crosscutting themes and thus integral to program development. Last, based on Canada’s G8 commitments, Sudan is one of 10 countries selected to focus on maternal, newborn and child health, MNCH. Children and youth projects aim to increase the social and economic contributions of at risk young men and women and girls and boys, age 12 to 24, to their communities and to enable them to cope better and manage risks and vulnerabilities related to ongoing instability.

Food security projects aim to increase the subsistence agriculture production of men, women and their households to enable them to become more resilient and cope better with the physical, nutritional, and economic risks and vulnerabilities related to ongoing instability.

Governance projects aim to increase the ability of state institutions and Sudanese men, women, young males and females to execute and actively participate in democratic processes and manage public resources.

Humanitarian assistance is provided to meet immediate, life-saving needs and includes emergency food aid, water and sanitation, medical care and nutritional support, emergency shelter, and protection.

[International Aid, November 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for recognizing how important this Red Cross initiative is. It means that we have a civilian field hospital that will be able to respond to any disaster in the Americas. It means that we will have Canadian expertise, medical help and technicians who will be part of this team.

I know it will be sending medical units to help with the cholera epidemic. In fact, Canadians want this kind of responsible support and use of their funds to help people—