House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 44% of the vote.
Citizenship and Immigration May 1st, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the facts are simply wrong. Gary Freeman lived in Canada for 40 years, and has several children here. We met the press with Natercia Coelho, his wife.
It is a clear case of a double standard, one for an American black man from Chicago, another for a British white man coming out of federal penitentiary in Chicago.
The Conservatives should be ashamed of their double standard.
Citizenship and Immigration May 1st, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the member for Trinity—Spadina and I last year asked why Gary Freeman, who lived in this country peaceably for 40 years and had several children, was not being allowed back in the country. The answer was because of an event that happened in Chicago in the sixties for which he had served a short jail time. They said that because he was not a Canadian he was not allowed back in.
We just learned that the British criminal Conrad Black will be allowed in despite serving a second term in a federal American penitentiary. Why the double standard?
National Defence May 1st, 2012
Mr. Speaker, there has to come a time when common sense prevails over stubbornness on the F-35. The plane is years late, billions over budget and does not meet Canada's requirements. The Auditor General said there was no due diligence. Years have already been wasted on a rigged process.
Responsible civil servants are now reportedly recommending a reset of the entire process, something the NDP has been suggesting all along. The Conservatives have accepted to change the name of the F-35 secretariat, and it is a start.
Will the Prime Minister also confirm that the F-35 is not the only option to replace the CF-18?
National Defence May 1st, 2012
Mr. Speaker, that is the exact term the Parliamentary Budget Officer used.
The Minister of National Defence has admitted that cabinet was fully aware of the cost of the F-35. He said that cabinet approved his approach, which both the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Auditor General himself have criticized.
Rather than stubbornly defending a minister who has lost control and a process that is out of control, why does the Prime Minister not act like a good public administrator for once and reset the entire process for replacing the CF-18s and, this time, do it according to the rules?
National Defence May 1st, 2012
Mr. Speaker, when scandal breaks, the first question needing an answer is: Who knew and when did they know it?
On the F-35s, the Minister of National Defence has provided an answer. He said that the whole cabinet knew about the full costs of the F-35 and knew about the two sets of books, one for internal use and another for the public.
The Prime Minister is head of cabinet. Why did the Prime Minister allow his ministers to present figures to Parliament that they knew were wrong by over $10 billion?
International Workers' Day May 1st, 2012
Mr. Speaker, today is International Workers' Day. This is an opportunity to celebrate the immense contribution of all workers who work tirelessly to make our society a better place to live in.
However, we have had little to celebrate this past year, as the government locked out postal workers and then legislated them back to work. What a fine example of bad faith.
In fact, the government has declared open season on workers' rights. It has trampled on collective bargaining rights, mismanaged the EI fund, rolled back the clock on pay equity and missed every opportunity to help protect workers' pensions.
New Democrats take a different approach. From people working on construction projects to harnessing our natural resources, from store clerks to public servants, workers are the backbone of our economy, yet many feel under threat.
Today, we are taking a moment to acknowledge their contribution and to reiterate our commitment to making Canada a more prosperous country for everyone.
National Defence April 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, when will they stop trying to hoodwink us with answers like that? From the F-35s to combat vehicles, not to mention search and rescue aircraft, the Conservatives' sorry management is hurting our Canadian Forces and costing taxpayers dearly.
The Conservatives are trying to conceal information, camouflage costs and confuse the issue by misleading Canadians. According to the rules of good public administration, there must be a public tender and the contract should be awarded to the lowest qualified bidder.
Why are they refusing to follow the rules of good public administration?
National Defence April 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have two sets of books for the F-35s: the private one with the real numbers and the public one they have used to mislead Parliament and the public.
They have already spent millions of dollars and are about to squander billions more on a plane that does not even work. At the same time, a two-billion-dollar plan to buy new combat vehicles that is two years behind schedule has to go back to the drawing board because it was poorly managed as well.
When will they get their military procurement house in order?
National Defence April 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer says that he agrees with the Auditor General that there were two sets of books for the F-35, one presented publicly, the other, with much higher figures, for Conservative eyes only. Kevin Page said, “you do get the sense there were different books.... It looked like (the government was) lowballing”.
Canadians are still waiting to know the real price tag for these jets.
When will the Conservatives stop lowballing, cancel this program and start from scratch with a transparent and open tender process? When will they start respecting taxpayer money?
Justice April 26th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I see that there will be a debate in the House on Motion M-312, a Conservative motion. It is a debate on abortion. If a Conservative motion triggers a debate on abortion in the House, then the Conservatives have reopened the debate on abortion. Otherwise there would be no debate and no vote.
Why has the Prime Minister allowed the abortion debate to be reopened?