Belinda Stronach

[Passports, February 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the passport problem has become so large that the Minister of Public Safety has called for a brand new passport facility. Guess where? In his riding.

American border politicians, premiers, the Liberal opposition and Canadians all have tried to tell the government it was not getting the job done when it came to making the passport case to the U.S. If the Conservatives will not listen to taxpayers, why will they not at least listen to their backbench? At least six Conservative MPs have had to hold passport clinics to deal with the anger and confusion over the change in the rules.

The government was unable to convince the U.S. to change its decision. It was unable to staff the passport offices in time. It did not even listen to its own backbench. Why was it so unprepared?

[Passports, February 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, because of the lack of leadership shown by the Conservatives on the passport issue, provincial premiers have had to take the lead in lobbying the United States. As the new passport rules threaten to devastate border communities and cost tourism billions of dollars, the Conservatives are doing nothing.

When it is actually time to stand up for Canadians on the passport issue, why is it that the only ones left standing are the premiers and not Canada's not so new government?

[Status of Women, December 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, Finance Canada's website clearly shows a $5 million cut to the Status of Women as part of the government's elimination of so-called wasteful and ineffective programs. On September 26 and 28, the Minister responsible for the Status of Women confirmed to this House in her own words that she had cut that $5 million.

Now the minister and other Conservative ministers have said that the money that was not actually cut will be redirected. Can the Minister responsible for the Status of Women tell us on what page and on what line of the estimates we will find this explicit reinvestment?

[Status of Women, December 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the recent cuts to the Status of Women and the removal of the goal of equality from the mandate of the women's program speak volumes about the Conservatives' regressive approach to women's concerns.

Canada has made great strides toward greater equality, but the current government has put that success at risk. Women still earn only 71 cents on the dollar of what a man earns. That is not equality.

If the minister has indeed changed her mind on that cut, will she also change her mind and reinstate the goal of equality into the mandate of the women's program?

[Marriage, December 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, we will be having a free vote on this, but the Minister of Justice has said that if the vote fails, he has a backup plan.

The issue of equal marriage has been debated and voted upon in this House many times and we are about to vote on this issue again. The Prime Minister and his government owe it to Canadians to state definitively today, is this the last time?

[Marriage, December 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I support equal marriage because I believe in a Canada where rights are safeguarded, liberties are protected and all Canadians are treated equally under the law, but I also support it because it is the right thing to do. We are talking about people, our friends, our neighbours, our fellow citizens, people who love each other and want to spend their lives together.

I am asking anyone from the government side to stand up today and answer if we are revisiting this because that party believes that equal marriage has in any way had a negative impact on our society.

[Marriage, December 5th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives made another commitment not to break their promise on income trusts, but they had no problem with that one.

Does the Conservative government plan on taking a new look at other minority rights guaranteed in the charter, and if there are no plans to go after other minorities, can the Prime Minister assure this House that gay and lesbian rights are the only minority rights currently under review?

[Marriage, December 5th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

Does the Prime Minister believe that same sex marriage has in any way had a negative impact on our society or on traditional marriage, and if so, could he explain how?

[Firearms Registry, November 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am a member of Parliament from the GTA. We have all seen the increased gun violence, especially since last Christmas. I am listening to my constituents. Look where I stand. My position is clear. Old quotes are not good enough for these families.

One cannot claim to be tough on crime and then publicly share the stage with the president of the largest gun lobby in the world. Talk about insensitivity; the door prize at this event was a rifle and a scope.

Why is the government sending conflicting messages to Canadians about gun control?

[Firearms Registry, November 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday the member for Yorkton—Melville shared the stage with the president of the National Rifle Association at an event in Toronto.

Today, victims of the Dawson College shootings are on Parliament Hill pleading for the government to stop listening to the U.S. gun lobby and to start respecting the victims of gun violence. Unfortunately, they are not getting the same access to the Conservative government as is the president of the NRA.

Will the minister finally admit, if not to the Dawson survivors and their families, then to the front line police officers who use the registry over 6,500 times a day, that his attempts to shut it down are misguided?