Caroline St-Hilaire

[Security Certificate Detainees, February 13th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, for over two months now, three detainees at the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre have been on a hunger strike, which is something that is not taken lightly by anyone except for the key player, the Minister of Public Safety.

The three men are protesting their detention conditions, which seem to be worse than those reserved for convicted criminals. However, to be imprisoned at this detention centre, there is no need for a full trial. Being a suspected terrorist will suffice. People can be held there without knowing what, if any, evidence there is against them. They can be held there without the benefit of reasonable doubt, something the most hardened criminal would get. They can be held there without the right to appeal the Federal Court decision.

It is high time to reform this mechanism that applies to those who are suspected of terrorism and make it a process that respects basic rights, including the right to truly be able to defend oneself and the right not to be deported to a country where one might be tortured.

[Afghanistan, February 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Cooperation thinks it is unfair to compare the funds allocated to each aspect of the mission. I would like to remind the minister that in Bosnia, the government spent $325 per person on humanitarian relief, but in Afghanistan, it is spending less than $50 per person.

In light of that huge gap, does the minister realize that the people of Afghanistan urgently need a better balance?

[Afghanistan, February 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the balance between the Canadian contingent's military and humanitarian activities in Afghanistan is not as perfect as the Minister of International Cooperation would have us believe. Again this morning, the media confirmed that unless the government restores the balance, the international effort could fail.

Does the government plan to make more of an effort to reconfigure the mission in Afghanistan?

[Afghanistan, February 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, one year after the London Conference, we have to admit that nothing has really changed in Kandahar. In the words of CIDA's development director in Kandahar, aid is being granted far too slowly. Out of the $400 million promised for 2002 to 2006, Canada has, so far, committed just $290 million.

“Where did CIDA go?” asks a desperate humanitarian worker in a refugee camp near Kandahar who is overwhelmed by the extent of the problems. We are concerned about this slow pace.

The minister seems to be denying reality and is doing nothing to remedy the situation. The government keeps using the lack of security as an excuse for the slow pace of humanitarian aid and reconstruction. It is precisely this slow humanitarian action that explains the return of the Taliban. This vicious cycle urgently needs to be broken.

During this International Development Week, the minister should do more than give fine speeches. She should keep her promises and those of her government and take action as soon as possible.

[Richard Gravel, January 31st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this evening, many people will gather to mark the retirement of Richard Gravel, a community police officer from Longueuil and resident of the riding of Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher. He will retire after 30 years of service as a police officer. For 23 years, he worked on preventing crime in schools, the community, homes and businesses by responding to the needs of those sectors and providing citizens with the support they needed.

Today, Longueuil, its residents, community agencies and schools are saying farewell to a friend, confidant and protector.

Richard Gravel is known for his professionalism, discipline and devotion. He is an extremely endearing person who always inspired appreciation and respect from the public and his police officer colleagues.

I would like to take this opportunity to express to Officer Gravel how proud I am to represent him in the House of Commons and, on behalf of the people of Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, I wish him a retirement full of happy times with his loved ones.

[Holocaust Conference in Iran, December 13th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, Europe still bears the scars of the Holocaust, the Shoah. The ruins of the former concentration camps are maintained to remind us of the deaths of 6 million Jews. They were exterminated in these camps, although their only crime was living. The moral conscience of humanity demands that we never forget.

However, a conference in Tehran is questioning the existence of the Holocaust. Despite documented testimony from survivors and executioners, and despite the photographs and film footage that capture the horrors that took place in those camps, some people still cast doubt on the incontrovertible evidence. Our fear is that this conference serves only to encourage one country's aggressive interests.

The Bloc Québécois joins Germany, Great Britain, the European Union and the United States in condemning, in the strongest words possible, the political takeover of the conference and the denial of this dark period in the history of humanity.

[Status of Women, December 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the minister’s answers clearly show that she is totally out of touch with reality. If she thought that she could divide women’s groups with this attempt, she was sadly mistaken because the Canada-wide coalition of women anticipated it and demolished it.

Are we to understand the minister’s answer to mean that she has decided, under the pretext of good management, to cut all support to women’s groups that are working so hard on the political advancement of women?

[Status of Women, December 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, women’s organizations, unions, and spokespeople for all the opposition parties came and demonstrated in front of Parliament last week to denounce the cuts that this government made to programs that help women.

Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Status of Women give up her ideological approach, which sees grants for women’s programs as just more waste? Will she restore the funding of Status of Women Canada and the court challenges program, as a broad coalition of women asked her to do last weekend?

[Foreign Affairs, December 4th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, despite his best intentions, does the Prime Minister not realize that if we do not quickly re-establish a balance between the humanitarian and military aspects of the mission, the situation could deteriorate considerably in the next few months?

[Foreign Affairs, December 4th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister recently met with his NATO partners and, unfortunately, he did not push hard enough on the issue of finding some sort of balance between military interventions and humanitarian efforts.

How could the Prime Minister overlook this important aspect of the mission in Afghanistan, an aspect that would allow us to refocus Canada's interventions in Afghanistan?