Pierre Pettigrew

[Foreign Affairs, November 15th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, Reverend Quang's case was among several cases that were raised by the Canadian ambassador with high-ranking officials from the Vietnamese ministry of foreign affairs and public security in July 2004.

Our Canadian consulate in Ho Chi Minh City requested and has been denied access to Reverend Quang's trial. The Consulate General sent a representative to the courthouse to ask for permission to observe the trial on November 12 in order to highlight Canadian interest, but was denied entry.

[Canada-U.S. Relations, November 4th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it has been the daunting task of the leader of the official opposition to change the prejudices of a number of backbenchers he has on his side. Those prejudices on the charter of rights and the number of prejudices have resulted in many of his prominent spokesmen from the past Parliament to be seated way back, precisely because he is trying to change the image of his party.

I can tell members one thing. We will work with the Bush administration in the best interests of Canada.

[Canada-U.S. Relations, November 4th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, this is the government that has negotiated the smart border with the United States which is helping our commerce and trade. This is the government that has been working with the United States to fight terrorism on the North American continent. This is the government that has worked with the Americans and other members of the international community to bring back stability in Afghanistan. This is the government that is working in Haiti alongside--

[Canada-U.S. Relations, November 4th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I know the opposition takes great pleasure in trying to demonstrate that we do not work well with the United States. I know that the opposition takes pleasure in drawing attention to some--

[National Defence, November 4th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite important to understand that the ballistic missile defence system that the Americans have decided to implement was not an issue supported only by President Bush. It was also supported by Senator Kerry. It is important that the leader of the NDP realize that. It was not an issue in the last campaign in the United States.

As far as we are concerned, the Prime Minister has defined our foreign policy. We are working on it and we will continue to work on it. We will have discussions with the Americans in terms of the best possible way of getting Canada to ensure its defence in North America.

[Canada-U.S. Relations, November 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I think all Canadians know that it is the official opposition members who are calling a lot more attention to a few remarks that may have been made. It is the opposition members who have brought the attention of the United States to it. They are the ones who go down to Washington knocking on the doors of senators and congressmen to tell them that some obscure member of Parliament might have said something about them. They are the ones who call the attention all the time to some remarks.

This government will continue to build a strong continental North America alongside the United States of America.

[Canada-U.S. Relations, November 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think the opposition's questions are very useful when they try to say that this government or Canadians are anti-American.

We, alongside the Americans, have built the best continent on the planet in terms of the levels of justice, in terms of prosperity and in terms of having the most secure continent on the planet. We will continue to work with the Americans to make sure North America is safe, secure, prosperous and free.

[Trade, November 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, this government has made it absolutely clear that the Prime Minister and all of us are absolutely pleased to work with the Bush administration. We have done so in the past. We have developed good, strong working relationships. Americans have been very divided themselves on the choice they have had to make. They themselves were quite split. They made a choice and we are absolutely going to work with them constructively. However, on our side of the House, we do it in the interests of Canada. That is the difference between us.

[Canada-U.S. Relations, November 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, our government will continue to work in close cooperation with the administration that the Americans have chosen, the Bush administration. We will continue to work in close cooperation with that administration, and I urge all members of the House and of the Senate to do the same.

In Washington, it is common knowledge that the administration, along with Congress and the Senate, will discuss the missile defence shield issue. Earlier, the NDP leader referred to it and tried to turn it into a partisan issue. However, in the United States, both Senator Kerry and President Bush support the North American missile defence shield. This is not a partisan issue, but—

[Canada-U.S. Relations, November 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been very responsible in dealing with the United States administration. We have been developing extremely strong links with the Bush administration, and we will be quite pleased to continue to work very closely with them. We would like the opposition members to contribute as well in their relationships with Congress and the senate and contribute to the interests and the values of Canadians.

Working with the United States is teamwork. All of us, the government and members of Parliament on all sides should be involved in promoting our interests on BSE, on softwood and on our values.