Bill Siksay

[Human Rights, May 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, health activists from GLBTT communities note that the government has failed to deal with issues of life expectancy, suicide, smoking, alcohol and drug use, depression, access, HIV-AIDS, specific cancers, violence, bullying, blood and organ donations, and seniors' health as they affect GLBTT Canadians. Others note that medically necessary sex reassignment surgery is denied to many trans Canadians.

Will the government, working with the GLBTT community, immediately institute comprehensive and specific GLBTT health policies and programs?

[Human Rights, May 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, many gay, lesbian, transgender and transsexual refugees have had to flee their home countries due to direct threats against their lives, sometimes due to political unrest and sometimes due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. However, in a growing number of troubling instances, the situation in the country of refuge is no better, since they face legal sanctions, violence and death.

Will the government work with international NGOs, human rights organizations and refugee agencies to urgently settle GLBTT refugees in safe countries, including Canada?

[International Day Against Homophobia, May 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Sunday, May 17 is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. This day is a worldwide call to action to end violence and discrimination against members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, two-spirited and queer communities.

In Canada, 2009 is the 40th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality. However, around the world 86 countries still criminalize consensual gay and lesbian sex, including seven where the punishment can be death. Sadly, homophobic violence continues here in Canada as well.

Earlier this month, Gender Euphoria Day was celebrated by the trans community in Vancouver. New appreciations of gender identity and its expression can enrich our communities and us as individuals. Transphobic violence, prejudice and discrimination continue to silence our full understanding of gender identity and restrict the lives of those who come to new understandings.

We must act against homophobia and transphobia and stand in solidarity with the GLBTT community in this important struggle.

[Public Appointments Commission, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, clearly the grieving period is over. Once upon a time, Conservatives believed in open government. In opposition, they pushed for greater transparency, for proactive disclosure, for independent analysis, for access to information and for budgetary oversight.

Now that they have power, things have changed, and dramatically. Rather than welcoming the work of the Parliamentary Budget Officer to shed light on government finances, one minister has dismissed his work as a complete pain.

Will the government ensure independence and full and proper funding for the Parliamentary Budget Officer?

[Public Appointments Commission, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, sadly, the 2006 Conservative campaign promise to fix the accountability deficit left by the Liberals has been left in the dust, as today the Conservatives have become one of the most secretive governments in recent memory.

One of their key promises to establish a public appointments commission was quickly broken when thePrime Minister's hand-picked choice for commissioner was rejected by Parliament. Since then, the commission has been mothballed and hundreds of partisan appointments go unvetted every year.

Will the Conservatives stand up for accountability and transparency and finally fully establish the public appointments commission?

[Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his review of the discussions that took place at committee. It was very helpful to know the work that went into this stage of the bill.

I want to ask him about some of the things that were not there, the concerns of the voluntary sector. One thing we often heard from voluntary sector people was that they had no opposition to being accountable and transparent in how they were operating their agencies. However, they were concerned about having the skills to do that kind of financial accountability, to get the support for the required financial management. Did the committee have any discussion on that?

Concerns were also raised about some of the complications around advocacy work. Many of the agencies saw this as important, but limitations were placed on their ability to do that. There were complications with the so-called 10% rule of activity that could go into political or advocacy kinds of work.

Concerns were also raised about the complications of establishing charitable status in the first place, how the process took so much time and the complication of that. Were there any discussions about simplifying that process?

Then there has always been the suggestion that volunteers should receive some kind of tax relief for the work they put into non-profit agencies. Did that issue came up in the committee discussions?

[Petitions, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this morning I have the pleasure to table petitions signed by people from Burnaby, other parts of British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario who are concerned about the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement.

They note in particular their concern about violence against workers and members of civil society by paramilitaries in Colombia, pointing out that more than 2,200 trade unionists have been murdered since 1991 as well as violence committed against indigenous people, Afro-Colombians, human rights activists, workers, farmers, labour leaders and journalists.

They call on the Government of Canada to do a full human rights impact assessment while the agreement is being negotiated to ensure that the principles of fair trade would be taken into account with full environmental, social and human impact studies, so that the agreement sincerely respects labour rights and the rights of all parties affected.

[Business of Supply, April 23rd, 2009]

Madam Speaker, in speeches this afternoon we have heard often that many retailers and merchants in Canada are having difficulties because of the interchange fees charged for use of the credit card system and that they have seen huge profits for the credit card companies which provide the service. The rates that are charged to retailers for the use of that system are increased frequently. One of my constituents pointed out that his fees went up eight times in 2008. Up to about October 2008 alone it went up four times in that period.

When my constituent and I wrote to the Minister of Finance about that issue, the regulation of interchange fees and what the government might be prepared to do to both protect retailers and consumers from those high fees, the response we received from the minister completely ignored that issue. He did not comment on the issue of interchange fees at all. This was in the pre-budget period when Conservatives were looking for ideas about how to support Canadians, retailers and consumers.

I wonder if the member might speculate about why the Minister of Finance ignored that issue completely. Is it something that the government is absolutely unprepared to make any changes on?

[Business of Supply, April 23rd, 2009]

Madam Speaker, no, I am not really concerned about the banks. Banks are large institutions. They are extremely profitable and the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in those banks. I believe that banks will find ways to make money to keep themselves and their shareholders happy. I do not believe that these measures to reasonably protect Canadians would do damage to the banks in Canada.

I think it is time we had governments and parliamentarians who are willing to stand on the side of ordinary people against this kind of gouging, against these outrageous interest rates, and make sure that there is protection available to those consumers.

[Business of Supply, April 23rd, 2009]

Madam Speaker, the member for Mississauga South started by pointing out the response of the Conservative Party to the motion today. He said the Conservatives have been saying they do not understand the motion and they do not understand its importance.

We also saw during question period the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance dismiss this whole issue very cavalierly, actually. He said that it was a small issue, that there were bigger issues, and that the minister was attending to bigger issues than this one. I would like the parliamentary secretary to say that to the families who are dealing with the debt crisis in their own families, who are dealing with the issues of paying the bills when they have been laid off and cannot collect EI, or when they are on EI and there is not a hope for a job in their community.

This is not a small issue when we talk to Canadians who have been paying through the nose for the availability of this kind of credit and this kind of service. It is not a side issue or something that can be ignored, but it has been ignored for far too long. It has been far too long since we have had a government that has been willing to take on the banks directly on this issue and tell them they have gone too far and they continue to go too far, to tell the major retailers that their credit card services are going too far and their interest rates are far too high.

We need a government with the courage of that conviction, the courage to stand up for ordinary Canadians and say that this gouging has to stop and it has to stop now and that we will not put it off any longer. We have not had that to date in this country.

When we raised the issue of ATM fees, where consumers have to pay to take their own money out of a bank, the Minister of Finance said he would write the banks a letter or talk to them. Nothing was ever really resolved about that issue.

These corporations and banks are raking in huge profits on the backs of Canadians. We are not saying there should not be a fee for services offered, but we are saying it needs to be reasonable. We are not saying that credit should not come with an interest rate, but we are saying that should be a reasonable rate and that it should be regulated and carefully monitored so that consumers have a modicum of protection when it comes to using this kind of service.