House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 41% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, the reason I asked the question is that I wanted to know whether or not the government members could actually answer a question in a direct fashion. I am glad to say that they are able to answer a direct question.
Perhaps I could ask the parliamentary secretary, was he aware that the judge in the Khadr case had been dismissed? Were you aware of that?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, I wonder if the parliamentary secretary can tell me, what is two plus two?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, there was a press report this afternoon that the military judge in the Omar Khadr case has in fact been dismissed because, according to the press report, he was seen to have been critical of the prosecution for its having not disclosed information to the defendant.
I wonder if the government can tell us what it will take with respect to the prosecution of this case in the United States. They have dismissed the issue of child soldiers, which we have raised consistently. They have now dismissed the military judge in this case. What exactly will it take for Canada to intervene the way every other country has in seeking to repatriate people who are still in Guantanamo?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, a former deputy minister has taken the rather unusual step of writing an op-ed piece in the Globe and Mail to talk about what he perceives to be a major deterioration in the political relationship between Canada and China. This is a relationship, I might to say to hon. members opposite, that Mr. Diefenbaker started by significantly opening up trade along with the minister of agriculture, Alvin Hamilton, back in the days of Mao Zedong. He did not seem to have any difficulty doing business in that way, and neither did Mr. Pearson, Mr. Trudeau, and Mr. Mulroney, the former Prime Minister of Canada.
I would like to ask the minister once again, does he not see the folly of insisting that we either choose the human rights route or the economic route, and does he not believe that, as the minister said in his opening remarks, “it is a matter of Canada pursuing both its interests and its values”? I would ask him: Does he not see the importance of the Prime Minister understanding the necessity to do that with respect to China?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, I am sure the minister has read the article by Mr. Harder and I am sure he will know perfectly well that neither Mr. Harder nor anyone else I know believes that Canada should ever pull its punches with respect to human rights in China or anywhere else, in Colombia or any other country. That is not the issue.
The issue is that there is undoubtedly a political chill because of the failure of the Prime Minister to address the important nature of the relationship with China. Does the minister believe that the Prime Minister himself should be visiting China very soon?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, I want to ask the minister a question about China. Mr. Harder, the former deputy minister of foreign affairs, wrote an article the other day in the Globe and Mail which said something which a number of us have been feeling and that is that there is a definite political chill in the relationship between the Government of Canada and the government of China. He said:
Canadian business leaders are reporting that contracts are definitely being lost as a direct result of the chill between our most senior political leaders.
It would be good to have the minister's view on this issue since the former deputy minister has made that comment.
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, I must say, frankly, that I would have expected an answer like that in question period. I have been asking questions for 20 years in question period, here and in Ontario, but I am astonished in a discussion like this one, when we have all the public servants here who know the answers very well, not to get a clear answer from the government. It is amazing, but that is life. It is obviously just the kind of government we have.
Let me ask the minister a question, then, if he can answer this question concerning the events of today with respect to the press release or press commentary made with respect to the meetings between the Prime Minister and Mr. Berlusconi.
I wonder if the minister would agree that if we wanted the Italian government to reduce the number of caveats it had with respect to the activity of its troops in Afghanistan, just about the worst way to do this would be to indicate in a press release that it had in fact agreed to something to which it has not.
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, I will not take note of the minister’s personal remarks. I am asking very simple questions about the official role played by Ms. Couillard.
Did she have an official Government of Canada passport, that is to say, a special green passport or a red diplomatic one? That is a very clear, simple question.
Were there any invitations from the minister? There are receptions at the department sometimes when hon. members travel or are back in Ottawa. I do not know, I am asking him the question.
I cannot understand why it is so difficult for the government to answer such simple, direct questions. I hope that we will be able to get an answer from the department.
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, what I understand is that Madam Couillard's name was submitted by the minister as his travelling companion to the Board of Internal Economy for the purposes of travel.
I am asking a question with respect to her role in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. She travelled on official business with the minister.
I am asking the question: Did she or did she not? I am then asking the question: On what kind of passport did she travel? I am then asking the question: Were any invitations to receptions or events issued with her name by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade on behalf of her and the minister?
These are very simple, factual questions.
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, that is not acceptable. We are asking questions about the fact that she was designated as an official spouse or as an official companion to the minister. She travelled with the minister on official business. I am asking some very simple, factual questions.
Were invitations issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in the name of the minister and Madam Couillard to receptions or events of any kind? Did she travel on an official passport, either a green one or a red one? What is the answer to that question?
These are official questions dealing with her status as a designated companion of the minister. They are not unreasonable questions. They are not personal. They are not about her private life. They are about her public responsibilities.