House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 62% of the vote.
Foreign Affairs October 18th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, we spoke out strongly against the bombing in Yemen by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition. We gave a very clear statement, and I can certainly repeat it in the House and say how much we condemn what has happened.
We are calling for an investigation and we are monitoring the situation very closely to ensure that arms sold by Canadian companies are used with respect for human rights and in the interests of Canada and its allies.
Foreign Affairs October 7th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I will certainly not reveal information that will hurt the case. I have no other goal than to bring these children home with their mother.
I am only saying that in order to succeed, we need to work all together and avoid politicizing this issue.
If the opposition has concrete suggestions to make on how to bring these children out of Iran, my door is open, and the door of my parliamentary secretary is open, for constructive suggestions from any of our colleagues.
Foreign Affairs October 7th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, it is imperative in order to resolve heart-breaking cases as this family's that all colleagues in this House work together. The opposition is free to instead politicize this issue in an unhelpful way, as my colleague did yesterday.
Now that members know how I feel about harmful politicization, I will come back to my usual impeccable parliamentary behaviour, and again I will say that my door is open. Let us all work together to reunite this family.
Consular Affairs October 7th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I certainly feel sorry that what I did yesterday was interpreted as being directed at Madam Azer, because obviously, that was not the case.
I am encouraging all colleagues to not politicize this really difficult issue, to all work together to see which way, with constructive propositions, we may bring these kids into the arms of their mother.
This is the only goal the Prime Minister has, and I have, and the whole government has. I hope each member of this House will work together to solve this problem.
Consular Affairs October 7th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that some interpreted it to be directed at Madame Azer. It was obviously not the case. I have nothing but compassion for Madame Azer and cannot imagine the anguish she must be going through.
I am disappointed in how the opposition is politicizing this heartbreaking situation. This is not helpful to Madame Azer and her children. Instead, we must all work together, all of us, to bring her children home. I am always open to consultative ways on how to do this.
Points of Order October 6th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I would like to once again call on all my colleagues to work together on difficult consular cases. They want these children to be with their mother. For that reason, we should not play politics. We should not question the will of the Prime Minister to solve the situation, the way it is being done.
If I expressed my disregard of the behaviour of the member in responding, it is because I mean it.
Foreign Affairs October 6th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, there is proof that when we work together, we get results, and we want to get results for this family. We want the children to be in the arms of their mother. For that I urge all of my colleagues to stop their politics and work together. We have the proof with us today that when we work together, we get good results for Canadians.
Foreign Affairs October 6th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the opposition members are free to behave as they want, but the proof is that when we work together, we do not take cheap shots against the Prime Minister and we do not accuse him of not caring. As my colleague said—
Foreign Affairs October 6th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I reject the premise of the question.
Clearly, the Government of Canada is not silent in China. The Government of Canada advocates the case for universal human rights in China on every occasion. We do it very strongly, and we are there. The big difference from when the opposition was the government, in fact, is that its members were staying in Canada instead of arguing the case for human rights in China.
Foreign Affairs October 5th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, Canada's goal is to ensure that peacekeeping operations are carried out in a manner that protects civilians, which is why we want to be involved. For too long, Canada remained on the sidelines.
If we want those operations to better protect people and promote peace, Canada must be there on its own terms and conditions. That is what we will do, along with the minister responsible for the Canadian Armed Forces.
We are committed to ensuring that our troops are only deployed under conditions that correspond to our values and convictions.