House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2008, with 42% of the vote.
Afghanistan February 1st, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the government knew Asadullah Khalid was personally accused of torture and abuse of detainees. The government has kept this secret for nine months.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of National Defence are defendants in federal court over these manipulative actions.
Justice Mactavish said that transfers should not resume until a judgment is made.
Will the government commit today not to restart that transfer of detainees? Will the government respect Canada's courts?
Afghanistan February 1st, 2008
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the war in Afghanistan, the Conservative culture of secrecy has no limit.
Today, the Globe and Mail is reporting that the governor of Kandahar is involved in torture. The government reported this to the Red Cross but there is no indication these allegations have been investigated, as is required by the detainee transfer agreement.
The Conservatives failed to tell Parliament. They suppressed this information in federal court. Why did the Conservatives not tell Canadians about these cases? Why do they continue to hide the truth from Canadians?
Criminal Code January 29th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague across the floor for his presentation today. I listened to everything he had to say and agree with most of what he presented here.
Identity theft is a very serious issue. I have had my identity stolen and had credit card bills run up in my name which were not my bills. I understand what a personal affront this could be, and I am probably not alone in the House in having been through this experience.
We will also support the bill, but we agree that it needs to be strengthened, and hope that the committee will have the opportunity to do that.
The situation now is that the police can find individuals with multiple identifications in their possession and they are powerless to act. That is just ludicrous and is long overdue to be changed.
One of the issues I want to raise however is the fact that the government brought forward a voter ID act in the last session. In that bill the government insisted that the voters list would have personalized information published that would include a person's birth date and their residence. I believe this could be another avenue that the criminal element could use to steal identities and commit more fraud.
I would ask my colleague for his opinion on the voter ID act and whether or not I am correct that it would give criminal elements another opportunity or another avenue to pursue fraud, and whether or not that will be part of the committee's deliberation as well.
Public Transit January 29th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, several years ago, families in Coquitlam and Port Moody were promised a solution to their transit woes. In 2004, the Evergreen Line was approved to connect our communities with Skytrain, with buses and with each other.
Today, the project is on hold until a $400 million shortfall is filled. In the meantime, ordinary families are without an affordable, sustainable transit system.
We know that investment in public transit helps families get their kids to school and regular folks to work. It is good for business and it is good for the environment.
Last year the Conservative government provided nearly a billion dollars to fund transit in Toronto. Why are families in B.C. left in the cold?
It is time for this government to step up to the plate and fund the Evergreen Line. For too long, Coquitlam and Port Moody have been ignored by this Conservative government. Working families and a sustainable environment must come first.
It is about fairness for B.C. and it is simply common sense.
Privilege January 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I have a question of privilege to raise regarding statements made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the House.
As the result of recent media reports and statements by the Prime Minister's Office, I believe the minister has been less than truthful with the House about the government's detainee policy in Afghanistan. Specifically, I believe that in answering the question I posed on Thursday, November 15, 2007, which appears on page 935 of Hansard, the Minister of Foreign Affairs misled the House.
I asked whether the government had the capacity to track detainees and I raised doubts about whether the current agreement on the transfer of detainees was being followed.
In response, the minister assured me:
We released yesterday all of the details about what we are doing right now and what we did in the past. It is very clear. It is very transparent.
It was recently revealed that all transfers of detainees in Afghanistan stopped on November 5, 2007. I posed my question nine days later and the minister made no mention of this change. I believe the Minister of Foreign Affairs deliberately misled the House because he did not provide all the information at that time that was available to him.
The updated agreement on the transfer of prisoners was coordinated by the Department of Foreign Affairs, and I have an affidavit that was filed in Federal Court to this effect. I will table that document if you wish, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the minister responsible for this policy and if there were any change in the protocol for detainees, he should have provided a fulsome response to my question. If the minister truly believed that he could not give a full response because of operational security, he should have told the House that. Instead the minister went out of his way to say that he was releasing “all of the details” and that he was being “very transparent”.
If the minister wishes to inform the House that he was misinformed, I would like to give him an opportunity to do so. Failing that, Mr. Speaker, I would ask you to consider the matter. Should you find a prima facie breach of privilege, I would be prepared to move the appropriate motion so this matter could be dealt with by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.
Questions on the Order Paper December 12th, 2007
With regards to the Prime Minister’s Independent Panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan: (a) what is the current and expected cost of the panel; (b) what is the name and job classification of each civil servant who will be working full time, or part time with the panel; (c) when did the panel first meet; (d) how many meetings will the panel have; (e) when is their last expected meeting; (f) what remuneration or honoraria will be offered to the panel; (g) which government departments have been tasked with preparing briefing material; (h) will the panellists be provided with personal staff for the duration of the panel; (i) what are the terms of reference for the panel; (j) what foreign trips will the panel make; (k) which government department will be coordinating the final report of the panel; and (l) what is the government's position with regard to following the panel's recommendations on the four options, as announced by the Prime Minister on October 12, 2007?
Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2007 December 11th, 2007
Where are they supposed to go?
Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2007 December 11th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I also congratulate my colleague from Sault Ste. Marie for his advocacy work on social issues in our country. He is a role model for many of us in my caucus and should be a role model for many other members of Parliament.
Canada is living off the social investment made in the seventies and the early eighties. Much of that social infrastructure is crumbling and is in great need of investment. There is a social structure deficit, and I find that very distressing.
I have noticed in certain sectors in my own community, and certainly in the downtown east side of Vancouver, that emergency services personnel are being left to deal with the people in most need in our society, the very poor and the mentally ill. It is a shame that the Conservative government and our country have left the care of the most vulnerable to emergency services personnel, whether they be paramedics or police officers. Would the member for Sault Ste. Marie comment on that? All of the issues he raised around housing, about investing in the homeless, relate to this.
What a shame for Canada to be left now with emergency services personnel being the last resort to deal with the people in our society, people who the government and many Canadians have forgotten.
Violence against Women December 6th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, on December 6, we not only remember the 14 young women who were murdered at the École polytechnique, we vow to act. We must ensure that no woman, no matter where she lives, the colour of her skin or her race, suffers violence simply because she is a woman.
Sadly, in the years since the massacre, we have made little progress toward ending gender violence. In Canada, nearly two women a week die at the hands of men they loved, the men they shared their lives with. Across the world, women are overwhelmingly the victims of war. Rape is used as a weapon of war to violate and shame women.
We are quick to make a trend out of crimes like gun violence, but so slow to link together spousal abuse and rape and sexual assault to form a pattern of global and endemic violence against women.
Today is not just a day to remember. It is a day to act together to end the horrific abuse of women in Canada and across the world.
Starred Question December 5th, 2007
With regard to meetings and planning by senior members of the civil service relating to Afghanistan for the period of August 15, 2005, until today: (a) how many Deputy Minister-level meetings have taken place; (b) what were the dates and locations of those meetings; (c) who chaired the meetings; and (d) who was present at each meeting?