Rahim Jaffer

[Iraq, October 2nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, clearly it is great to hear the secretary of state today talk about some of the concerns that I think everyone has, especially as we discuss Iraq.

It is clear that Saddam Hussein is a bad man, and I do not think many people would disagree with that, but what I would like to hear from the government, especially the secretary of state responsible for that area, is what things he and the government have been doing to improve diplomatic relations in the area.

I understand there was a public service announcement today stating that he will be going on a junket next week to promote some economic ties in the region, but clearly there has been no leadership on this front when it comes to easing tensions in the area and trying to reduce potential spill-over if in fact we end up with military intervention on behalf of the allies in Iraq.

Maybe he could bring us up to speed. Hopefully the government is doing something useful when it comes to exerting some diplomatic pressures in the region.

[Africa, June 21st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, this is the exact problem. The Canadian Alliance and the Canadian people actually are in favour of providing support to people in desperate need. What we do not support is sending the money over there without the safeguards and assurances that it will get to the people who in fact need it.

The Prime Minister seems to be willing to rely on people like Robert Mugabe to distribute Canadian aid. Members of his caucus have voted down an Alliance request for a closer examination of these expenditures.

Will the Prime Minister agree today to an independent public audit of hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid spending to ensure the money gets to those who need it?

[Africa, June 21st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is staking a lot of his legacy on what he can accomplish at the G-8 meeting in Kananaskis.

Since he will be doing it on the backs of Canadian taxpayers, we need a clear response on his African agenda, especially in light of his weak reaction to democratic violations by Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.

What assurance can he give Canadians that their hard-earned tax dollars will flow only to those nations which clearly embrace democracy, the rule of law and human rights for all their citizens?

[Health, June 21st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, research can save lives. It can help us discover medicine to treat diseases that we never thought possible. It can help us reduce hospital stays and improve our overall quality of life.

We know that Canada's health care system needs adjustments. There are too few doctors and too many long lineups. The future will see an influx of seniors who will no doubt rely on our health care system, and it is not ready.

One way to help, however, is to support the development of new medicine, but the approval time for the new medicines is too long. The time it takes to review and approve new drug submissions is longer than Health Canada's own targets. Its target is 345 days but it now takes it 717 days. That is almost double. It is also a year longer than it takes the United States.

We are talking about saving and/or improving lives, and our neighbours in the U.S.A. are getting medicine a year before Canadians. They are getting well while Canadians are getting sick. That is not acceptable.

We must improve drug approval times. After all, time is a luxury that some Canadians do not have.

[Government Contracts, June 20th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the only action clearly was group action over there. The government had a cozy arrangement set up with firms like Groupaction, Groupe Everest, Lafleur, Polygone and Coffin. The evidence is conclusive. Its alibis do not stand up. Now, with the scam exposed, it is scrambling to find some way to make us believe the Liberal government is the victim. It is the perpetrator.

Will the Prime Minister finally admit that he has been the mastermind in this cash for contracts scam?

[Government Contracts, June 20th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, to listen to the minister of public works we would think he moves swiftly to correct the problems, but that is not really true. The first red flag on Groupaction was raised nearly six years ago. Audits were conducted four years later and only now, once the scam was exposed, have measures been introduced to clean up this mess.

Why did it take so long to cut off the funds to Groupaction?

[Canada-United States Border, June 18th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, if security is a priority, why do the agents not have the proper information to actually look up some of this stuff at the borders?

When Mr. Kiss crossed the border at Niagara Falls, 28 of the 44 customs officers on duty were summer students who get three weeks of on the job training. The government committed to Canadians that it would heighten border security yet 65% of the officers on duty were temporary workers.

How can the minister say our borders are secure when nearly two-thirds of the officers at one of Canada's busiest crossings are temps with limited training and no supervision?

[Canada-United States Border, June 18th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration said Canada customs computers at the border have information about criminal records but not restraining orders. Today customs officials informed us that their access to information is not as extensive as the minister led us to believe. In fact 45% of border crossings do not even have access to the customs computer system.

How could the minister make such an error in a matter of security and safety?

[Human Resources Development, June 11th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, Michel Béliveau is a vice president of the Liberal Party of Canada and quite adept at getting tax dollars for companies in the Prime Minister's riding. He netted $1.2 million for Placeteco from the transitional jobs fund and big bucks from CIDA for Transelec, all in the Prime Minister's riding. He somehow pried the jobs fund money out of the government after his application was rejected.

Is this not more proof that the government is only interested in rewarding its friends than serving the public interest?

[Government Contracts, June 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the problem will be solved when they start cutting off their friends.

Last year big Liberal donors received $12 million for business services to the government, but that is not the end of the story. Media IDA Vision, which already has received 75% of all government advertising in the last 12 months, got another $25 million in business service contracts last year from the minister's department.

Is it not time to shut down the Liberal pipeline to Liberal friends?