Bob Rae

[Correctional Service Canada, November 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is odd that the minister who is aware of the situation did not answer the question, but I am willing to accept the other minister's response on behalf of the government as long as he provides the specific answers we need. I asked the minister very specific questions, and I think that we are entitled to receive answers that are just as specific.

What facts led the government to settle with Ashley Smith's family? Is the government in possession of any other videos with respect to the treatment of Ashley Smith? Is the government in possession of any other videos with respect to the treatment of other mentally ill people in the Canadian prison system?

[Correctional Service Canada, November 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, to the Minister of Public Safety, yesterday he told the House, in the course of an answer, that he in fact had been instrumental in instructing officials to settle the civil suit between Ashley Smith's family and the Government of Canada.

What facts was the minister aware of that led him to reach that conclusion? Second, does the government have other videos in its possession with respect to the treatment of Ashley Smith? Does it have other videos in its possession with respect to the treatment of other people in our prison system?

[Correctional Service Canada, November 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the minister who is in charge of Correctional Service Canada either knows or does not know whether there are videos for the period that he knows perfectly well are not covered by the coroner's inquest.

I am asking the minister very directly. If the Government of Canada is really interested in getting to the bottom of this, why not deal with the jurisdictional issues that are still before the coroner because of the objections of some of the contracting physicians? Why not hold a public inquiry that will deal with the entire period under which Ashley Smith was in custody? The facts dealing with her case have to come out.

[Correctional Service Canada, November 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the member did not answer my question, which was very specific. Is the government in possession of other videos that have not been made public, yes or no? I would like an answer, because it is important to know what the government knows and what it will do with that information. Ontario's coroner will not have the authority to look into it for one year. So we must know whether the government is in possession of other videos.

[Correctional Service Canada, November 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, my question is on the same subject. The coroner's inquest in Ontario only covers the last year in custody.

Is Correctional Service Canada in possession of other videos with respect to the care and treatment of Ashley Smith prior to the period under the jurisdiction of the coroner's inquest? Has anyone in the government seen those videos? Is the government now prepared to make any such videos public?

[Correctional Service Canada, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety praised the Prime Minister for changing the direction of the coroner's inquest in Toronto and for giving different instructions to Corrections officials than in fact took place.

I would like to ask the minister very directly, why did he not issue these instructions months, indeed years ago? Why did lawyers for the Government of Canada consistently take the position that the coroner's inquest did not have jurisdiction over critical issues facing Ashley Smith?

Why would the minister have left this up to a statement by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons in response to a question from the opposition?

[Foreign Investment, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, when talking about the situation of the economic environment in India, the Minister of International Trade said that “we [still] have a relatively opaque investment environment here in India”.

I wonder if the minister can tell us, what did the Prime Minister tell the Indian government about the climate for foreign investment in Canada? What did he tell them about the rules? What did he tell them about the definition of net benefit? What did he tell them about the process that would be gone through? What did he tell them about the transparency in this country?

It could well be argued that we have an opaque economic environment—

[Intergovernmental Affairs, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that Canadians would not mind if the Prime Minister took his limousine to Halifax if he wanted, if that meant that the Prime Minister would finally meet not just a premier or two, but all the provincial premiers together in order to deal with our economic problems and challenges.

That is how every successful federation operates. The Prime Minister of Canada is the only one who refuses to attend the first ministers' meeting. Why not deal with our economic challenges together instead of individually?

[Intergovernmental Affairs, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as we do know that the Prime Minister is prepared to go almost anywhere in the world, is he also prepared to meet with the premiers in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to deal with the issues that affect all Canadians on the economy?

Every single issue that affects the federal government affects the provinces as well. Every successful federation involves prime ministers and premiers, first ministers, all meeting together in co-operation. Whether it is Germany or India or any other federation in the world, first ministers meet.

Why would they not meet when the Prime Minister goes to Halifax?

[Robert Kaplan, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Robert Kaplan served the House with distinction as a member of Parliament from 1968 to 1972 and again from 1974 to 1993. He became Solicitor General in 1980 and served in that post until 1984.

He was a thoughtful, intelligent man. He cared deeply about Canada, about the democratic process, about protecting and advancing human rights as well as ensuring Canada's security interests.

As Solicitor General he introduced important legislation on the creation of Canada's security agency, CSIS, and the civilian oversight that would be necessary to ensure that the protection of national security did not infringe on individual liberty.

I saw Bob Kaplan for the last time in late summer this year. He was very ill with cancer but lucid and of good cheer. As always, he was following events around him closely, and with that sense of gentle irony that I came to know as his hallmark.

We send our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Shalom chaver shalom.