Albina Guarnieri

[Citizenship and Immigration, April 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration said he was proud of Gwyn Morgan and his rogue views of Jamaican and Vietnamese immigrants. Mr. Morgan also believes that refugees abuse our society and refugees are “more likely to have violent tendencies”.

I ask the minister to guarantee that refugees fleeing persecution will not face prejudice from Mr. Morgan's appointments to the IRB and that Mr. Morgan will have no impact on IRB appointments. Will he at least do that much?

[Citizenship and Immigration, April 27th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the member is more concerned about the reputation of one oil baron. He should be more concerned about the reputation of thousands of hard-working immigrants and new Canadians here in this country.

Gwyn Morgan is responsible for more than his own opinions. He is now responsible for overseeing appointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board. Mr. Morgan said that “most immigrants who abuse our society have come in as refugee claimants--

[Citizenship and Immigration, April 27th, 2006]

First, Mr. Speaker, the fate of Portuguese construction workers was declared a low priority by the government. Now we have an appointments commissioner who has declared that immigration from Jamaica and Vietnam is to blame for gang violence in our cities. He says that Jamaican and Vietnamese cultures are “dominated by violence and lawlessness”. We have not heard a public figure slander immigrants like this since the days of the Reform Party.

I ask the Minister of Immigration to apologize to Jamaican and Vietnamese Canadians for the appointment of Gwyn Morgan.

[Veterans Affairs, November 25th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct the record. Earlier the member asserted that the U.S. used the presumptive model on U.S. bases where agent orange was sprayed. The member knows that the claim he made is not factual. We are using exactly the same criteria as is used in the U.S. for spraying on domestic bases. We recognize exactly the same conditions.

The member would have us believe that a department that has awarded 10,000 pensions so far for veterans this year is not doing everything it can for our veterans. We have awarded 14 pensions for agent orange--

[Veterans Affairs, October 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, in the year of the veteran, of course we want to honour all those who served honourably in the second world war. I have asked my department officials to consult with veterans organizations. I am working closely with DND to excavate the facts and dig up the truth. If there are any individuals who have been misclassified, we will do justice.

[Veterans Affairs, June 20th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians can expect that this government will treat our veterans fairly and with proper due diligence. We will take the time necessary to review the cases so that we can be accurate and fair and not a minute longer.

[Veterans Affairs, June 20th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is never easy to correct the errors of history, but this is a government that has always put the interests of veterans first. There was nothing quiet about delivering pensions for three veterans who were affected by agent orange. We will deliver for Canadians who are suffering from decisions of the past, and that is a record we will maintain.

[Veterans Affairs, June 14th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the veteran member knows that I cannot talk about individual cases. The veteran member obviously did not listen to my answer when I stated that we have in fact established a review committee to review cases related to agent orange and agent purple.

No amount of irresponsible rhetoric from the other side will advance the cases. I invite the member to work with me to advance veterans' cases.

[Veterans Affairs, June 14th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, no one is ever denied a pension at veterans affairs for being late. No information is ever denied for a veteran to advance his or her case--

[Veterans Affairs, June 14th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, at Veterans Affairs Canada we have an agenda of care, as the hon. member well knows. We have established a review committee to ensure that our programs deliver for our veterans.

The member knows that there is a longstanding policy of assisting our veterans in terms of getting their--