Sarkis Assadourian

[Kirk Magarian, October 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to pay homage to the late Mr. Kirk Magarian.

Born in Armenia in 1914, Mr. Magarian came to Canada in 1923 as one of the Georgetown Boys. Orphaned as a result of the Armenian genocide of 1915, the boys represent the first wave of Armenian immigration to Canada.

Mr. Magarian was an outstanding member of the community of Campbellford, dedicating himself to many charitable and social issues in his neighbourhood. His efforts on behalf of the community will be remembered and sorely missed.

I ask my fellow members of Parliament to join me in passing on our condolences to his wife, Marjorie, and in celebrating the life of Mr. Kirk Magarian.

[Supply, September 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I was following very carefully the comments made by my colleague from the Bloc Québécois. My question has to do with his mentioning that we need to have proportional representation for certain groups for members of Parliament.

In our system we do not elect the party leaders. The members of the party elect their own leadership. That will happen for the Liberal Party on November 14 and 15. I am sure the members of the Bloc Québécois will elect their own leadership for their party. The party leadership will decide who will go on the list. At the end of the day, people will have no say on who is going to be on the list except the members who are party to the leadership chosen by the members. I wonder if the hon. member agrees with me that it is possible the person chosen by this system would be more accountable to the leadership of his or her own party rather than people in general, the way it is now.

[Citizenship and Immigration, September 26th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, education is a provincial jurisdiction. If the hon. member is proposing that we go into the provincial jurisdiction, she should make that very clear to us. If she gives us a letter from the minister of education in Alberta telling us to get involved in education in Alberta, we probably would consider it.

[Citizenship and Immigration, September 26th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows very well that we take each and every application for student visas very seriously. They have to go through the examination and a security check and medical check. Further, we check every document we receive from the school. If the school provides false documents we make sure we investigate that.

I would also like to remind the member that certification of the schools is under provincial jurisdiction. We do not look at the school certificate. Provincial governments provide the certificate for bona fide schools.

[Sports, September 26th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise in the House and congratulate a constituent in my riding of Brampton Centre, Ms. Alecia Brown, who won the bronze medal at the Pan-American junior track and field championships in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Alecia is a student at Central Peel Secondary School and a member of the Brampton Track and Field Club. She earned the bronze medal for running the second leg of Canada's 4x400 metre relay.

I urge my fellow members to join me in congratulating Ms. Alecia Brown and wishing her success in her studies and in her promising career in track and field.

[Supply, September 23rd, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I followed the hon. member's comments very carefully.

My riding of Brampton Centre, like most ridings in the Toronto area, does not have any cattle farmers. However they continually ask us what has happened to supply and demand. I want to tell my colleague about the Chrysler Corporation in my riding. Every time there is an over supply of cars it reduces the price of its vehicles. If someone buys a car, it gives $1,000 rebates, reduces the interest rate or makes the purchase interest free.

Most consumers in my riding have been asking me why they have not seen a drop in the price of beef for consumers to encourage them to buy Canadian beef when the price of a cow has gone from $500 or $600 to $60 or $70.

[Criminal Code, September 17th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to oppose Motion No. 2 also.

[Supply, September 16th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I was following the debate by the hon. member from the Bloc Québécois who raised the issue of human rights. I have a document here which says that there is no jurisdiction in the world that defines marriage of same sex couples as a human rights issue. Even in Holland and Belgium they do not discuss it as a human rights issue. The UN does not define it as a human rights issue. New Zealand does not define it as a human rights issue.

Can the hon. member give an example of a jurisdiction that defines the marriage of same sex couples as a human rights issue?

[Citizenship Act, June 10th, 2003]

Madam Speaker, on a point of order. I believe the hon. member has spoken in this debate.

[Citizenship and Immigration, May 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, we take the security of our nation very seriously. This man will be found guilty, I am sure. She will have the check the facts. This person will serve his sentence fully to the maximum allowed by the law.