Debates of April 4th, 2005

Zahra Kazemi

[Diane Bourgeois, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Dr. Shahram Azam eloquently and courageously revealed the details of the brutal rape and torture that Zahra Kazemi endured.

Despite this information, it seems that the Iranian government has no intention of getting to the bottom of this case. It is time for the Canadian government to put its words into action in order for justice to be served in this important matter, by taking this case to the International Court of Justice. Furthermore, Canada must do everything in its power to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. This tragic story must also prompt the government to develop better means of protecting individuals with dual citizenship. Words are not enough, and the government must take concrete action so that Zahra Kazemi's death does not remain unpunished.

Infrastructure

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Simcoe—Grey recently stood in the House to comment on the government's investment in infrastructure and municipalities.

Her sudden interest in cities was quite surprising. Perhaps she is not aware that her party campaigned on scrapping three of the four infrastructure funds that communities rely upon. Maybe she missed the Conservative policy convention where they voted against sharing the gas tax with municipalities.

The truth is that while the Conservatives would do nothing, this government cares about Canada's communities. That is why we have invested $12 billion in their infrastructure since 1993, and that is why we have provided $5 billion from the gas tax for municipalities.

We promised to invest in Canada's cities and communities and we are keeping that promise.

Liberal Party of Canada

[Garry Breitkreuz, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, for the last month I have been making notes of the responses from ministers and I have concluded that dithering is contagious. The dithering disease is spreading from the Prime Minister to his cabinet.

Here are just a few of the dithering phrases used by Liberal ministers as they explain their inaction to questioners, “This is an issue that requires further discussion”. “We are currently studying the matter”. “The Kyoto plan will evolve over time”. “The answer will come in the fullness of time”. “We will do what is right at the time of our choosing”.

Liberals are dithering on the softwood lumber dispute, dithering on a Kyoto plan, dithering on Senate reform, dithering on western alienation and dithering on real solutions to the crisis in agriculture.

It is not just the Prime Minister who is dithering. It is the whole rickety cabinet.

The Liberals have no agenda and no vision whatsoever for the country so they dither and fiddle while Rome--I mean our tax dollars--burn.

Agriculture

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if our farmers needed any more proof that the Liberal Party defends their interests, they received it on March 29. That is the day our government announced $1 billion in aid under the Farm Income Payment Program in order to ease cashflow pressures on farmers in Canada.

This new measure is in addition to the federal, provincial and territorial programs currently in place to help the agriculture sector, which paid out a record $4.9 billion in aid to our farmers last year. In addition, our government has addressed farmers directly through national consultations to discuss ways of developing the sector and improving sales revenue.

Our government has been helping Canadian farmers for over 10 years when there have been income crises and it will continue to support them in the short, medium and long terms.

Pope John Paul II

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, like many Canadians, residents in my Sault Ste. Marie riding this weekend mourned the death and celebrated the life of Pope John Paul II.

This Pope was an extraordinary man of faith, intellect and prayer. He inspired so many of us in working tirelessly for social justice and for peace throughout the world.

I will remember particularly his solidarity with workers as he spoke up for just, social and economic conditions in the workplace.

He was a voice for genuine fellowship with other world religions.

Pope John Paul II is credited with helping to begin the process of democratization of in eastern Europe.

I know Pope John Paul II holds a special place in the hearts of Canadians.

As a Catholic, I was moved by his personal example of reconciliation in forgiving the man who tried to kill him and by his historic apology in 2000 for past misdeeds of the church.

I want to express my deepest condolences to Catholic Canadians, the faithful around the world and to people everywhere who have been touched by the exceptional life of Pope John Paul II.

Volleyball

[Bob Mills, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as the member for Red Deer, I rise today to congratulate the Red Deer College Kings for winning their sixth consecutive national volleyball championship. They did so by downing the Capilano College Blues from North Vancouver 25-18, 25-21, 25-21 in the final Canadian Colleges Athletic Association men's volleyball championship on Saturday, March 12.

The Red Deer College Kings' win tied Limoilou College of Quebec City for the longest win streak in CCAA history and gave the Kings eight titles in eleven years, leaving them just one back of Limoilou for the overall record. The Kings have now won 38 straight matches in provincial and national competition.

On behalf of my constituents, I wish to congratulate the Kings for their brilliant record and their perseverance for achieving what has now become a volleyball dynasty in Red Deer.

Pope John Paul II

[Paule Brunelle, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Pope John Paul II, this great messenger and apostle of peace, is no more.

He entered the clandestine seminary of Krakow in 1942. He witnessed the Nazi and communist dictatorships. From the day he was elected Pope in 1978 until his death on Saturday, Karol Wojtyla was a man of prayer and action, a man of word and thought.

True to the teachings of Jesus Christ, John Paul II was a staunch protector of peace and human rights. He expressed his dignified acceptance of suffering in these terms, in 1994:

Dear brothers and sisters who suffer in body and in spirit, it is my wish that all of you will be able to recognize and accept God's call for you to be workers of peace through the offering of your pain. It is not easy to respond to such a demanding call.

John Paul II was the embodiment of this extraordinary hope.

[Lynne Yelich, Conservative, Blackstrap, SK]

Mr. Speaker, as we mourn the passing of one of our great moral leaders, we must also celebrate the life of Pope John Paul II.

His Holiness was a remarkable leader whose passion for the advancement of truth, liberty and human dignity made him one of the giants of history.

He was an advocate of the oppressed and the poor, a champion of freedom in a time of totalitarianism, an unwavering defender of the Catholic faith, yet he was accessible to all, Catholics and non-Catholics, believers and non-believers, willing to embrace the interfaith relations to an extent once considered unimaginable.

He was, above all, a beacon of courage.

Aristotle said, “Courage is the first of the virtues because it makes all others possible`.

Pope John Paul II defined his life through courage, the courage to forgive and ask forgiveness, the courage to profess his faith in an age of tyranny and, in the end, the courage to bravely suffer.

As we mourn today, we must also celebrate his life and his message of “be not afraid”.

This great spirit of hope will echo throughout the ages.

[Shawn Murphy, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, like many others in the House, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and career of Karol Jozef Wojtyla, better known to the world as Pope John Paul II, who passed away on Saturday.

The entire world will feel the loss of Pope John Paul II. His influence and vision extended far beyond the Roman Catholic Church. He was not only a source of spiritual guidance but also a leader in world peace, democracy and human rights.

When one reviews his lengthy career, it is only then that one can appreciate the enormity of his accomplishments: from living under the Nazi occupation of Poland, then under Communist rule, to the fall of the cold war, urging the advent of democracy in eastern European countries, reaching out to other faiths and forever fighting for human rights, social justice and peace. I submit that he has changed the very fabric of society.

In addition to being the leader of the world's Catholics, he influenced the world like few others, and maybe it could be suggested like no other. He was, throughout his career, a man of extraordinary faith, dignity and courage.

As his worldly journey is now over, may he rest in eternal peace.

Sponsorship Program

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, today Liberal spin doctors and Liberal lawyers actually have the gall to try to depict the Liberal Party as the victim of the sponsorship scandal. Caught as it is, will the government at least have the decency to simply admit that the only victim is the Canadian taxpayer whose money was stolen?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party consists of thousands of men and women in Quebec and right across this country who are dedicated to the Liberal Party and to their country. They work day in and day out for the benefit of Canadians. Those members of the Liberal Party should not have to bear the rumours or the burden of the activities of a very small few who may have colluded against the party and against the well-being of Canadians.

We will defend those Liberals. These are Canadians who have given their all for their country.

Iran

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the judge, the police and Canadians will be the judges of how involved the Liberal Party has been.

On another subject, last week Canadians finally learned the details of the brutal torture and murder of journalist Zahra Kazemi in Iran. It turns out that for months the Prime Minister knew the true extent of the brutality inflicted upon Ms. Kazemi. Instead of taking a firm stand against Iran, he sent our ambassador back to that oppressive regime.

What kind of callous, spineless government re-establishes normal diplomatic relations with that kind of regime?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let me respond first to the preamble. The fact is that Canadians do merit having the facts and should have the facts. That is why I called for the Gomery commission. That is why this government put that commission in place. It is precisely to have those facts. That is why there should not be an election until Justice Gomery has reported, because Canadians deserve to know the facts.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Paul Martin, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Now if I may respond to the hon. member's question over the baying on the other side--

[The Speaker]

I am afraid the right hon. Prime Minister has used up the time responding to the preamble, but I suspect there might be a supplementary question from the hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, let me just say that was a perfect example of what is wrong with the government. He should have used the opportunity to defend a Canadian citizen, not the Liberal Party.

A Canadian citizen was tortured and murdered by the Iranian government. While the family was looking for answers, the government hid the facts, and the Prime Minister kept silent.

What can we call a government that lets its citizens be murdered?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

If the Leader of the Opposition wants answers to his questions, he should not mix questions fundamental to Canadians with partisan questions, accusations and allegations.

Canada has the intention and has already shown clearly that we will defend Canadians and that the position of the Iranian government is unacceptable. We do not accept it. Iran is in the wrong. It was murder. This is why we brought Dr. Azam here. We want to show the facts clearly.

We have protected the life of Dr. Azam. We have brought him here in order to demonstrate to the world the murder in which--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Okanagan--Coquihalla.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that doctor was safe in Sweden five months ago when this information was revealed. Last week while we were not in session, the Liberals, red-faced and humiliated, admitted that a Canadian woman was brutally tortured and murdered. They found this out in early November and what was their response? In late November they sent our ambassador back to Iran.

This response was absolutely devoid of principle and absolutely disrespectful of the most precious human rights. Why? Why did the Liberals respond this way?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have facilitated Dr. Azam's coming to this country precisely because we wanted to say to the face of the planet exactly what took place in Iran. Dr. Azam's troubling elements, this very troubling demonstration, is something that we can absolutely put to every other country. We have been working hard with the international community to maintain pressure on Iran. We have been doing it at the United Nations commission in Geneva. We have done it in New York. We will continue until justice is rendered.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

They are so troubled, Mr. Speaker, all they can do is dither.

It is incredible. This government did nothing, while it knew that outrageous violations of human rights were being committed against a Canadian. Worse yet, how could the government release this information five months later without ever rebuking the Iranian government?

It is high time this government did something. When is it going to get around to sending a clear message of indignation to the government of Iran, recalling the Canadian ambassador to Tehran and demanding that the government of Iran give—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member has been. For two years, this government has said in this House to all Canadians that what happened in Iran is murder. The member is saying we should state it strongly and clearly for once. For two years, we have been saying what Dr. Azam has just stated.

We helped him come to Canada precisely to show the world that Canada, in its crusade against Iran, with its lack of respect for human rights, deserves the support of the international community. It is by working as a team and with the other members of the international community that we will see justice done in Iran.

The Environment

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, everyone is waiting for the Liberals to implement the Kyoto protocol. Industry wants a comprehensive plan so it knows what to expect. The environmentalists are worried, because one and a half months after the protocol's coming into force, the government still does not have a complete and improved plan, despite the commitment made by the Minister of the Environment. Worse yet, the government is divided.

Will the Prime Minister take advantage of today's cabinet meeting to stop dithering, to finally make a decision, and ensure that his government makes its implementation plan for the Kyoto protocol public this week?