House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 54% of the vote.
Religious Organizations November 7th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, there is no substitute for face to face negotiations between the parties. We cannot hand over our responsibilities to the people of Canada and especially to the victims to some third party. We are working to get back to the priority of helping the victims. I hope the churches will join with us in this worthy effort.
Religious Organizations November 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, instead of reading her already prepared question based on a false premise, she should have listened to my answer. I said that we were not seeking mortgages on church buildings. Instead we are seeking to work with churches to provide fair compensation to victims of abuse in Indian residential schools.
I do not know why my hon. friend is unwilling to get back to the priority of helping victims of abuse in residential schools. That is what we should be concentrating on, not false allegations, misusing the House.
Religious Organizations November 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the premise of the hon. member's question is totally wrong. We have not demanded mortgages on church buildings. The allegations on the part of Mr. Smith as reported in the National Post are totally without foundation.
Foreign Affairs November 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has encouraged negotiations. He will continue to negotiate and I hope that there will be a return to the negotiating table and that peace will be restored in the Middle East.
Foreign Affairs November 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the minister's goal is to encourage both parties to return to the negotiating table and end the violence, particularly against civilians, in Israel and elsewhere. I hope his efforts will be successful.
National Security November 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, we have already had announcements from the relevant ministers, in national revenue, immigration and transport, on measures taken to strengthen our security, including our borders.
The real problem is on the American side. We have to be pressing, as our Minister of National Revenue is doing today, the American administration and congressional officials to take the necessary steps on their side of the border so that goods can go freely back and forth in the interests of both our countries.
National Security November 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, where has the hon. member been the last number of years? Since 1995 we have had with the United States a Canada-U.S. shared border accord.
We have built on that with a Canada-U.S. shared border forum. We are pursuing the discussions based on existing agreements.
My hon. friend has an interesting idea but the world has gone on without him.
National Security November 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the American ambassador said on Canada AM yesterday:
Some people have put a spin on this that we want to eliminate the Canada-U.S. border. We have never suggested that. We have no plans to suggest that. We're talking about using technology as an ally on the U.S.-Canada border...some people have tried to spin this out of control.
If we look at what the American ambassador has said, it is directly in line with our approach, and he has certainly not adopted the fallacious Alliance approach.
National Security November 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, we are looking at all these matters. Our officials are examining them in co-operation with American officials. We treat these matters with real urgency and we are making real progress.
American officials have said that there is excellent co-operation, and this should be underscored.
National Security November 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I say that the premise of the hon. member's question is nonsense. In fact, his question is like a squashed tomato because we are having discussions with the United States on better ways of co-operating with respect to our common borders. The Minister of National Revenue is in Washington today to have discussions along these lines.
We take these matters very seriously. We are making progress on them, and this was confirmed by the U.S. ambassador in an interview on television yesterday.