Bob Rae

[Afghanistan, April 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, for 17 months now this government has failed to address allegations of torture and evidence of corruption in Afghanistan. Now, at a very delicate moment, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has made an extreme clumsy mistake that undermines international efforts in Kandahar.

Both the Minister of Defence and General Hillier have spoken warmly in public about the governor, but behind closed doors, apparently, it is another message and another tune from the government. Then the minister makes the colossal mistake of babbling in front of the media. What does the Prime Minister intend to do about this mess?

[Afghanistan, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, there is a problem. What the minister has just said completely contradicts what his government's Minister of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

How can he explain that his government is in complete disarray?

[Afghanistan, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago the Minister of National Defence said the government was not going to interfere in the internal affairs of Kandahar. A few days ago General Hillier was praising the governor and said he was doing phenomenal work. Yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs contradicted that statement and said that it was the government's view that the governor of Kandahar should be removed.

I would like to ask somebody over there who can clear up this confusion, what does the government really think of the governor of Kandahar?

[Multiculturalism, April 11th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I anticipated a heartfelt response from the minister and what we get is the same old, same old from the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism, in which he uses 16 year old comments to try to match what he himself said.

My question for the secretary of state is very simple. He said, “Now, this notion that there's somebody tied to the Heritage Front on the executive. How do we know that and how do we know that this isn't overheated Sikhs...?”

He spoke about overheated Sikhs and today he is still accusing us. Will—

[Multiculturalism, April 11th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would just observe that members opposite have used at least 30 year old material against many of us on this side, so I think the minister can hardly complain.

I want to say to the Secretary of State that of course on this side we accept his apology, but I want to ask him if he can explain a pattern that we see, a pattern in which things are said behind closed doors that are very different from what is said in public, a pattern in which things caught on tape or caught on microphone unexpectedly are very different from the public statements that ministers say and do. How can he explain that pattern when it so clearly runs against the stated positions of his government?

[Multiculturalism, April 11th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, according to today's Ottawa Citizen, the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism was quoted as saying the following at a party meeting some time ago, and I am quoting from what he is supposed to have said in this conversation, a quote that is directly attributed to him:

Now, this notion that there's somebody tied to the Heritage Front on the executive. How do we know that and how do we know that this isn't overheated Sikhs using the race card, which they so often do when their credentials are being questioned?

My question for the Secretary of State is this: did he in fact use these words in a conversation and does he feel that these comments are appropriate?

[Olympic Games, April 9th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, we have the position of the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism. We have the position of the Minister of National Defence. We have what you told the Minister of Foreign Affairs in China.

What is the position of the Canadian government?

[Olympic Games, April 9th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, there is clearly a need for mediation with respect to the situation of human rights in China. Certainly everyone in the House can agree on what needs to happen with respect to the leadership in Tibet.

However, the other big mediation that needs to happen in Canadian foreign policy at the moment is within the Conservative Party. We have all sorts of different factions saying all sorts of different things. It is absolutely imperative.

I want to ask the minister—

[Olympic Games, April 9th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs about China, Tibet and the Olympic Games.

Recently, his colleague, the Minister of National Defence, opened the door to a potential boycott of the Olympics.

At the same time, or just before, the minister spoke with China's foreign affairs minister and said the complete opposite.

I would like to give the minister the chance to set the record straight and to state the position of the Government of Canada.

[Business of Supply, April 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, there have been a number of reports over the last while. Most recently, in a statement by the head of the Central Intelligence Agency in the United States, he said that he was convinced there was a substantial presence of al-Qaeda still in the border territory and that the support for the Taliban insurgency was both financial and military as well as ideological in Pakistan.

Could the minister keep the House up to date on that question?