Bill Graham

[Foreign Affairs, September 15th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, as well as every member of the House, the responsibility of the government is to protect Canadians abroad. The responsibility of the government is to rest in communications with governments where Canadians are in problems.

We are making statements. We are working with the Iranian government. We have taken strong positions with the Iranian government to deal with the Kazemi case. We are taking strong steps with the Saudi government to deal with the treatment of Mr. Sampson.

In spite of the efforts of this member and his party, I will not put Canadians at risk abroad by breaking off public relations--

[Government Appointments, June 12th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said in this House, Mr. Gagliano is our ambassador to Denmark and he remains our ambassador to Denmark.

[National Defence, June 12th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the minister I completely reject the allegations contained in that question.

As we all know, the hon. member is anxious to spend the government's money in her riding, which might be better used to protect our troops. We should all, when we are trying to face these issues, recognize that the Minister of National Defence is committed to a well equipped army, to a well equipped defence system, and he remains that, as does this government.

[National Defence, June 12th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege for me to respond on behalf of the Minister of National Defence today, who is over in Europe working at NATO, exactly for the security of our forces and for the security of our country. He ensures that our forces are the best equipped. He has said that in the House, and he will continue to do so.

[Government Appointments, June 12th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly have no intention of ridiculing the Queen of Denmark, but I hope the opposition member does not intend, for his part, to use the Queen of Denmark as a political pawn in this House.

[Government Appointments, June 12th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak on behalf of the Queen of Denmark. With all the authority vested in me by this government, I cannot do it. However, I can assure the House that Mr. Gagliano is and will continue to be our ambassador to Denmark.

[Government Appointments, June 11th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, this is media speculation. As the Prime Minister has said in the House, Mr. Gagliano is the ambassador to Denmark and he remains to be our ambassador in Denmark.

[Foreign Affairs, June 11th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. Just today, I spoke to Mr. Brault, our special envoy for the Congo. We appointed him a few years ago, and he has been working closely with the United Nations and Secretary Kofi Annan to bring peace to that region.

We appreciate the seriousness of the situation, but Canada has offered to contribute to the force that will be sent to the Congo. We are confident that our measures and contributions, both military and in terms of humanitarian relief, will help bring peace and restore security to the region.

[Foreign Affairs, June 11th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the hon. member for his interest and his contribution toward peace and security in West Africa. He has made a personal commitment to this.

I want to say that it was partly thanks to him and his pressure that Canada took a leadership role in the creation of the special court, and has contributed significantly to its work. In fact there are many Canadians working in senior positions on the court. I have every confidence that justice will be served by the court.

On the other hand, we also look to President Kufuor of Ghana as chair of ECOWAS, to make peace in the region.

I want to draw to the attention of the House that I have just learned that today this matter will be discussed by the Security Council because there is a peace proposal on the table as we speak.

[Government Appointments, June 10th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I would offer my hon. colleague across the way some down-to-earth advice. He should not spend his time surfing foreign web sites, but should instead consult the Canadian sites, which would give him reliable information on this diplomat, who is still working in Copenhagen.