Mr. Speaker, I was not listening. Please repeat the question.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2004, with 43% of the vote.
Foreign Affairs February 27th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I was not listening. Please repeat the question.
Immigration And Refugee Protection Act February 27th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, my colleague and I would like to congratulate the hon. member for Blackstrap on her excellent speech. The House expects many more such excellent speeches from her in the years ahead.
Foreign Affairs February 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, since the Harker report the government has done a number of things, including opening an office of the Canadian embassy in Khartoum with the mandate to promote the peace process in human rights. Second, it appointed Lois Wilson as our special envoy to the Sudan peace process. Third, we expect Talisman Energy to avoid becoming involved in actions that result in more suffering for civilians.
Much more shrieks to be done in the conflict that has been going on now for almost 45 years. The suffering by civilians and children is simply beyond belief.
External Affairs February 8th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I informed President Kabila of Canada's position, including our support for a negotiated solution to the conflicts based on the Osaka agreement and the appropriate resolutions of the Security Council.
We support a dialogue among the Congolese, which would lead to democratic institutions and, if necessary, the deployment of UN forces.
In short, Canada like other countries is looking for a viable solution to the conflict to put an end to the enormous suffering of the Congolese people.
Supply February 8th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Winnipeg—Transcona knows that I have a lot of respect for him. In his view, what would be proper for a prime minister to do for a riding that has an unemployment rate, as I believe the Prime Minister's has, of approximately 20%? What in his view is proper?
Supply September 21st, 2000
Mr. Speaker, as a fellow Albertan, I would most sincerely like to welcome the new Leader of the Opposition to the House, a fellow northern Albertan. The new leader does not consider himself to be a southern Albertan.
He mentioned Ireland at least twice in his talk. Does he not think that the free post-secondary education in Ireland has had a significant part in the Irish success story?
Supply September 21st, 2000
Mr. Speaker, the Chair will know I have the highest respect for my hon. colleague from Calgary Southeast. I too took a course in logic but in second year university.
Will the member tell us why he does not see a valid distinction between lowering the tax rate for middle and low income Canadians in the tax forms and attempting to lower tax through the excise tax? An oil company might well simply put it in its pocket or a local retailer might not reduce the price by the amount of the reduction that the federal government made.
Africa June 9th, 2000
Mr. Speaker, ten days ago, I was in Addis Ababa to plead the case for a ceasefire in the region, in order to save lives in Eritrea, and of course in Ethiopia as well.
I accept with great pleasure the feelings expressed by the hon. member and I am sure that all members of this House share them.
Crimes Against Humanity Act June 9th, 2000
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague. I know that he is a renowned scholar and that everybody respects his opinions as an international law professor.
The importance of establishing the international criminal court literally cannot be overstated. The court is a legacy of the Nuremberg war trials which came out of the ashes of the Holocaust and the second world war.
We are all aware of the depths of horror that the 20th century brought to millions and millions of our fellow human beings on this planet. There have been forced famines, genocides, mass expulsions, mass rapes, that horrible term ethnic cleansing, and every war crime one could imagine. Those who commit those crimes from now on must be held accountable to humanity. People who do these things must no longer be able to hide anywhere on the face of the earth. In order for the international criminal court to be created, 60 nations must ratify this proposal before December of this year.
Many members of the House have recognized the importance and the urgency of ratifying the international criminal court and actively urge other nations to follow suit.
Human rights NGOs have echoed repeatedly the urgency of passing the bill at committee hearings. I would like to commend in particular the members for Mount Royal, Burnaby—Douglas and our colleague from Mercier for their unequivocal commitment to seeing the establishment of the court and the timely adoption of this bill.
May I also commend the members of the foreign affairs committee and in particular the chair, the hon. member for Toronto Centre—Rosedale, who played a most productive, thoughtful and constructive role at the committee.
The hon. member for Beauharnois—Salaberry is very much aware of that because he was fully involved maybe more than any other member in the committee hearings and he knows that the committee heard a lot of testimony.
It passed 18 amendments as a result of suggestions from members of all parties, including the hon. member's own party. I understand it was a most non-partisan, collaborative and satisfying process such that the chair referred to it in the House the other day. He said, “I should like to take one minute and share an observation with the House. It is often said that in committee time is not given to study bills properly and to amend them. I urge members of the House to have a look at the many amendments which were made to this bill with the co-operation of all members”. The member for Beauharnois—Salaberry expressed his satisfaction with the process calling it “une expérience tout à fait extraordinaire”.
It is therefore a surprise, although it is perfectly proper as the member knows, to see a further 20 amendments at report stage, possibly knowing it would delay passage of the bill while there are only a very critical few days left in the House before adjournment. I would submit that the amendments are either identical or similar to those considered thoroughly at the committee stage, or more relevant to the hon. member's personal interest, the role of parliament in treaty implementation.
Thus, we were surprised on this side of the House to see the hon. member submit so many amendments this morning. It must be clear that the government cannot accept any of these amendments. I must also clarify something: I mentioned that 60 countries must approve the treaty; this is a ratification issue. Sixty countries must ratify the treaty before it can come into effect.
Human Rights June 1st, 2000
Mr. Speaker, I have to say to my colleague that the OAS meeting to be held in Windsor this weekend will give careful consideration to the question of Peru. It was the unanimous opinion of the permanent council yesterday in Washington that this matter must be considered in Windsor in the coming days.