David Sweet

[Business of Supply, April 19th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this. It was interesting that two-thirds of the member's speech was a bunch of bluster in regard to history rather than the facts of the case that is before us.

He mentioned their proposed standard of withstanding the highest of public scrutiny, so I have some very simple questions for the member.

Does a pay-to-play event by a minister of justice for $500 meet Canadians' highest public scrutiny? Does a $500 donation and a face-to-face meeting with a minister of justice who makes judicial appointments withstand the highest public scrutiny in Canadians' eyes? Does a minister accepting an invitation by a law firm which has significant dealings with the federal government to attend a lavish reception catered by the law firm in its offices withstand the highest public scrutiny? Finally, would any appointment in the future of any person who attended that event withstand the highest public scrutiny?

[Air Canada Public Participation Act, April 15th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, in one point of principle I agree with my colleague from Montreal in regard to Canadian workers absolutely having the capability to be competitive, but this legislation, based on the decision the Liberal Party made before, imposes an unfair playing field on other airlines, such as Porter Airlines, which does not have the capability of buying the Bombardier airplanes because it cannot have its runway lengthened in order to be able to land those planes there.

I would ask my colleague about the aspect of this legislation that puts other Canadian companies on an unfair playing field as well.

[Petitions, April 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition, signed by dozens of my constituents, who are concerned about the imbalance in health care that was created by the government with regard to health care provided to regular Canadian citizens versus that provided to refugees presently.

[Fairness in Charitable Gifts Act, April 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, the hon. member for Provencher, for bringing forward this bill to encourage Canadians to contribute more to our charities by ensuring fairness in how these contributions are treated as tax credits. More than fairness, this initiative would make a strong statement on how these contributions are respected and valued. There is so much good done by charities in every community across Canada that we as a civil society should be doing more, not less, to promote this.

The people of my constituency of Flamborough—Glanbrook and in fact all of the greater Hamilton area are well known for their generosity. They are above-average contributors to a wide range of local, national, and international charities and causes that make life better for their fellow human beings. I would refer to a comment published in a local newspaper editorial in December 2009 from the director of community relations at Mission Services in downtown Hamilton. He said, “Hamilton is the most generous community I've ever lived in. People have really responded despite the difficult economic climate”.

I see this first hand at hundreds of local charity breakfasts, walks, fundraising dinners and auctions that I attend on a regular basis in the greater Hamilton area. If people want to see how community-based organizations stretch a dollar to make a real difference in people's lives, they just need to tag along to one of these events or join me in serving dinners at the downtown Hamilton mission at Christmas and Thanksgiving. I know many hon. members from all sides and parties in the House can attest to similar experiences in their own communities on a regular basis.

This is why the model proposed by the hon. member for Provencher in Bill C-239 makes so much sense. It would lift up the contributions to charities doing outstanding work on a local, national, and international basis to an equal footing with donations to federal political parties. It is a simple notion that the hon. member has articulated well already: Why should feeding politicians be more important than feeding the hungry, or helping youth who are struggling with addiction, or providing the desperately needed funds for research that would find a cure for cancer? Cancer is something that pretty well every member of this House, somewhere among their families and friends, has been touched by. The answer is quite simply, it should not.

Built on the principle that donations to registered charities in Canada should get equal treatment to political contributions, what Bill C-239, the fairness in charitable gifts act, would do effectively would be to incentivize donations under $750 per year. Frankly, that is the majority of Canadians and it has the potential to have the greatest impact. To reiterate in a nutshell, and I know these numbers are familiar to members of the House, donations under $400 would receive a 75% tax credit compared to the current 15% on the first $200 donated, expanding to 29% on the next $200. Contributions between $400 and $750 would see a 50% tax credit versus the present-day 29%. Meanwhile, the portion of total contributions over $750 would see a modest incentive of 33.3% compared to 29%.

Members of this House and all Canadians can readily see why this would encourage greater participation of Canadians donating to registered charities at higher dollar amounts than they currently do. When we consider that the median level of donations to registered charities claimed on tax returns is currently $280, there is lots of room to grow, and lots of new donors to bring into the family of charities as well.

Why is this so important? One of the reasons is demographics. At a time when there is increasing pressure to provide social services of all kinds in our communities, there is a decreasing participation by Canadians as donors to charities. Fewer tax filers are making contributions. The average age of a donor is also rising. Just as our population ages and the need for many services increases, charities are struggling to meet annual fundraising targets. As my colleague has pointed out, we have seen a staggering drop since 1990 in the number of Canadians who contribute. Add it all up and the long-term trend is less than positive. With greater need, fewer resources, and an aging population, we need to stem this tide, and Bill C-239 is a practical solution to do just that.

This is particularly true when we consider the range of services, support, and medical research that the charitable sector does, and that this reduces the burden on government today and tomorrow. If we can reverse the charitable donations trend, we can help pre-empt a funding crisis in the future.

Is this good public policy? We can bet it is. Is it good economics? Absolutely, and here is why. It helps offset social spending by governments at all levels, freeing up resources for other priorities. It is also very effective because often the local organizations are the closest to the problem, understand the circumstances they are in, and therefore are best suited to help. They know best how to marshal the support of all local volunteers and show compassion in our communities.

We should also consider and review in the debate on Bill C-239 that the reinvestment in the economy of the tax refunds of Canadians has a considerable impact. We know this and it is well documented, especially when local charities stretch those dollars for maximum impact in delivering programs and real-world solutions as mentioned earlier. That is why instead of asking whether we can afford to do this, we should really be asking ourselves whether we can afford not to do this.

In closing, I would like to come full circle and mention a few examples from my hometown.

I would like to talk about Liberty for Youth and Living Rock that are there day in and day out to take those youth who many people would write off saying they are not any use to society, to rebuild their lives and help them to be contributing citizens.

Threshold School of Building is another one that helps to educate youth who have not made better choices in their life so they can start at ground level on construction jobs and begin to build a career for themselves.

There is The Bridge and St. Leonard's Society that do a great job taking those who have been convicted of crimes and re-assimilating them, teaching them life skills, helping them to rehabilitate, get out and be contributing citizens in our society.

There is the Bob Kemp Hospice and Good Shepherd Emmanuel House where my own younger brother passed away this past summer during the election.

These places are funded by charitable donations, and they are there at a time of life when people are desperate for love and compassion. They are there to help every day of the week. They rely on those people who are generous to give.

The Salvation Army helps people with addictions. I was just in there the other day in downtown Hamilton. They have a trustee program for people who are recovering from addictions and do not know how to handle their finances. They can pay their rent, and make sure they have money at the end of the month, even though they are on social services. It is extraordinary, but the funding has just been cut. It needs more charitable donations in order to cover that. The hostel program helps those who have been struggling with addiction to get back on their feet. There are 12 separate rooms in the Salvation Army that are helping individuals get back out and reconnect with their families, and be contributing citizens in our society.

Flamborough Women's Resource Centre, Drummond House, and Interval House are helping women who have come across a family tragedy and are dealing with violence.

This past December, my wife Almut and I had the pleasure of serving breakfast on behalf of the Farmers’ Dell Co-operative Preschool fundraiser. This registered charity serves families in Binbrook and Upper Stoney Creek.

Binbrook Scouting Group is also very active, holding massive annual spring cleanup days every year. The group picks up mountains of garbage. It benefits from charitable donations as well.

There is one more that I think deserves special mention. Every year for the past 13 years I volunteered for the annual Ancaster Community Food Drive. Some years my wife and I have helped run routes and have collected food donations from doorsteps. Other times we have stayed inside and have worked six or seven hours just sorting food. I am always joined by Hamilton firefighters and members of the Hamilton Police Service.

The food drive is run with precision by an outstanding group of volunteers, not the least of whom is the energetic retired Ancaster High School guidance counsellor and teacher, Jan Lukas, who welcomes everyone with her bright smile.

The Ancaster food drive is a huge local success story. In its 23 years of operations, it is now approaching 1.5 million pounds of food donated and processed. This food goes to a number of organizations throughout the greater city of Hamilton and helps thousands of families.

I was heartened to learn that the food drive has grown so much over the years that they have now committed to a larger facility to be able to sort all the food that is collected during the food drive. It is simply amazing. While much of the food is donated without getting a tax receipt, financial contributions to the organization that underpin the food drive is what makes it possible.

I could go on and on, but I have limited time for debate. These are great examples of what happens when we allow people to have more opportunities to give, and we give them more incentive to do that. Bill C-239 does exactly that. I encourage all my colleagues to support this bill, to make sure we are giving help to charities, to make sure that we reach all those people who are less fortunate, and build our communities to be stronger ones.

[Business of Supply, March 21st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, with all due respect, I 100% disagree with my colleague.

I mentioned the Office of Religious Freedom projects in regard to the Jewish faith and I mentioned projects in regard to a multiplicity of religious minorities that exist in Pakistan. The whole notion that the office was selective in defending any kind of stream of religion is absolutely, categorically false.

If my colleague is concerned about other rights, such as freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, or freedom of assembly, all these fall from religious freedom. If we have religious freedom, we have all these other rights.

I am not suggesting that other efforts are not necessary. I mentioned in my speech the years I spent on the Subcommittee on International Human Rights. That subcommittee has done great work in conjunction with the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs by releasing reports, holding countries to account, and being a voice for those people who are persecuted, but I certainly think that the Office of Religious Freedom is a great tool that the present government can use to continue to give a voice to those people who do not have a voice internationally. It would make all Canadians proud if it continued.

[Business of Supply, March 21st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I am not certain if I understand the question entirely about expanding the Office of Religious Freedom and having it be a threat to some kind of work that has already been done, but let me say this. For the eight-plus years that I have served on the Subcommittee on International Human Rights here in this chamber, we heard about persecutions around the world over and over again, and there are many.

However, among all of the persecutions that we studied at that committee—those against gay and lesbian communities, those against socio-economic minorities, those against those in a lower caste in countries that have the caste system—by far most of the cases that we dealt with had to do with religious minorities. It was Yazidis, Ahmadis, Christians, Muslim minorities. The persecutions, the human rights violations, were persecutions for religion.

Any expansion of the Office of Religious Freedom would obviously be welcomed by all of us in this chamber, because it would make sure that human rights of every kind were defended and that those people who did not have the opportunity to defend themselves would have a voice.

[Business of Supply, March 21st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for bringing forward this timely and most important motion today.

As a member of the subcommittee of this House on international human rights, the substance of this motion is something that I am most passionate about. I sincerely hope that upon reflection on this motion in this debate, the government will see fit to renew the very important mandate of the Office of Religious Freedom at a moment in the history of humanity when it is most needed.

I should note up front that I will be sharing my time allocation to speak to this motion with the hon. member for Edmonton Manning.

When the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan spoke in this House a couple of weeks ago, he ended his remarks with a parting thought that perfectly encapsulates the essence of this motion. He said:

While we cannot solve every problem, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. The Office of Religious Freedom is the candle that is burning bright far beyond its size would suggest it could. I ask the government to please not snuff this candle out.

Let me also iterate for the purpose of this debate on this motion today a line from the joint letter sent by Jewish, Sikh, and Muslim leaders to the Minister of Foreign Affairs that noted the fact that the current Syrian refugee crisis is exacerbated by the flight of religious minorities targeted by ISIS on the basis of their faith. In their letter of support for the Office of Religious Freedom, Mr. Shimon Fogel, Dr. Amritpal Singh Shergill, and Mr. Asif Khan wrote:

This is an issue that touches the conscience of all Canadians, regardless of any particular religious affiliation, many of whom arrived in Canada as refugees fleeing religious-based persecution overseas - whether recently or in previous generations.

The point they make so eloquently is that standing up for tolerance, standing up for human rights, standing up for rights of minority faith groups is very much the Canadian way, so much so that these very principles are reflected in our own Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including, and not limited to, freedom of religion, which is why, as Canadians, we understand that we have more than a moral obligation, we have a duty, to put words into action.

This was the impetus behind the Office of Religious Freedoms when it was formed in 2013, within what was then called the Department of Foreign Affairs. With a most modest budget and a talented ambassador in Andrew Bennett, the mandate of the office is to be focused on those countries or situations where there is evidence of the worst kinds of violence, hatred, and systemic discrimination on the basis of religion.

Sadly, it was an international tragedy that brought about the formation of the office. In March 2011, the shocking assassination of the Honourable Shahbaz Bhatti, the federal Minister of Minorities of the Republic of Pakistan, shook all of us who believe in peace, tolerance, and understanding. Shahbaz Bhatti was the sole Christian minister in the Government of Pakistan, and his brutal murder in broad daylight was designed to send a wave of terror through that nation.

What was particularly disturbing to observers in both Pakistan and the international community was that Shahbaz Bhatti's life work was to promote peace, tolerance, and understanding among peoples of all faiths. He knew he would likely pay the price of his life for advocating for religious freedom for all minorities in Pakistan. He said that to me personally here in this House just weeks before he was assassinated back home.

In light of Shahbaz's life, and with the pursuit and the goal of defending those who cannot defend themselves, the Office of Religious Freedom was conceived. It was officially opened in 2013. I was honoured and privileged to attend the mosque where the announcement of its first ambassador took place.

I have been even more honoured to get to know martyr Shahbaz Bhatti's brother, Peter Bhatti, over the past few years. We have had many conversations about the work of his brother, the violence and persecution in Pakistan and the region, and the promise of the Office of Religious Freedom. In fact Peter Bhatti, who immigrated to Canada in 1997, is one of 23 prominent Canadians and leaders of faith communities who are part of the external advisory committee that advises the Office of Religious Freedom.

For those in this chamber who have heard the passion in Peter Bhatti's voice and seen the impact of his work, there is no doubt of the effectiveness of the Office of Religious Freedom.

Yet Peter Bhatti is not alone. The advisory committee includes the imam of the Lebanese Islamic Center in Montreal; my friend Rabbi Reuven Bulka, right here from Ottawa, who is the former co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress; and Dr. Mario Silva, to name a few.

Many members of this House will know Dr. Mario Silva, as he served as the Liberal member of Parliament for Davenport from 2004 to 2011. I am proud that he was a colleague on the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism. In fact, he has continued his work as an international legal scholar to speak out on those issues, and I am honoured to call him a friend.

I think this demonstrates the calibre of people involved with the Office of Religious Freedom. They are leading Canadian lights on international human rights and they are making a difference on a daily basis. For this reason alone, the mandate of the office should be renewed.

However, I would also like to point out a few examples of the work of the office and what it is accomplishing on the ground in some of the most difficult places in the world.

It is clear that we live in an increasingly dangerous world. We need only to remember the Paris attacks of last November and the attacks on Canadian soil in 2014 to see this. Unfortunately, it is also clear that religious persecution underpins this brand of terrorism and extremism, the advance of ISIS, and many other global conflicts. That is why the heavy lifting being done by the Office of Religious Freedom is so crucially important.

In Iraq, support and funding of a quarter-million-dollar project with Minority Rights Group International is strengthening the ability of local Iraqi organizations to monitor and report on religious persecutions. That is directly helping persecuted people on the ground.

Similarly, a $200,000 project to document injustices faced by non-Muslim Pakistanis as well as to sensitize Pakistani parliamentarians to the circumstances of religious minorities in the country is making a difference in the very place where Shahbaz Bhatti was assassinated. This is also directly helping persecuted people on the ground. What is more, the project includes work to develop policy recommendations to provide religious minorities with relief from persecution, something that the Office of Religious Freedom, with its access to some of Canada's and the world's leading lights on international human rights, is uniquely suited to do.

There is one other example I would like to highlight, because it speaks to the injustices raised and the alarm bells sounded by the international and Canadian parliamentary coalitions to combat anti-Semitism, with which Dr. Mario Silva and other past and present members of the House have been actively involved. Through the religious freedom fund, the Office of Religious Freedom is supporting the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation with $400,000 and providing $100,000 to UNESCO for Holocaust awareness-raising events and educational activities around Holocaust remembrance and genocide prevention. Most importantly, this particular project includes funds toward the conservation of the buildings, grounds, and archival holdings of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

As all members of this House know, especially those who heard testimony during the panel of inquiry conducted by the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism in 2010 and 2011, if the world is not to learn the lessons of history, we are doomed to repeat them. Too often the trampling of minority religious freedoms is just the beginning of something far more sinister, which again reinforces why the work of the office must continue.

There is one other case I wish to touch upon before I yield the floor to the member for Edmonton Manning. This is the case of Pastor Saeed Abedini, a courageous young Christian pastor who was arrested by Iranian authorities, beaten, and held for three and a half years in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, often in solitary confinement. A dual citizen of Iran and the United States, Pastor Abedini was deemed by the Iranian regime to be a national security threat for peacefully observing his Christian faith in Iran.

I have spoken about Pastor Abedini's case before as part of the annual Iran Accountability Week in this chamber. Cases like that of Pastor Abedini are the reason we must continue to draw attention to human rights abuses against religious minorities and speak out for human rights everywhere.

The amazing and heartwarming news is that when Pastor Abedini offers his annual Easter message of Christian hope and reflection this week, as he did every Easter during his brutal tenure in an Iranian jail, he will be doing it from the midst of his church community in Idaho, having been freed from Iran this January.

This is what it is all about. This is what the Office of Religious Freedom is all about: upholding the global fight for freedom of religion, advancing human rights, standing up for something as fundamentally Canadian as freedom of religion, and putting words to action.

[Outstanding Business Achievement Awards, March 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Flamborough Chamber of Commerce announced the winners of their 2016 Outstanding Business Achievement Awards. These top businesses will be recognized on April 1 and, I can assure members that they are not fooling.

The Flamborough chamber is a very active organization in our community and is truly a model for supporting the small and medium-sized enterprises that are the backbone of the Canadian economy.

While every winner is outstanding in their own right, there will be two special awards given out this year that I want to highlight.

First, the Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Jim Wilkinson of Wilkinson Heavy Precast. Jim is a past president of the Flamborough chamber and his business has been an innovative local manufacturer for over 60 years.

Second, the Town of Flamborough Award goes to Pat McNally for 40 years of service to the Rotary Club of Waterdown. What is truly amazing is that Pat is 101 years old, an incredible lifetime community service record.

On behalf of all the members of the House, I extend my thanks and congratulations to the Flamborough chamber and the thriving businesses within the Flamborough community.

[Foreign Affairs, February 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I was pleased to see backbench members from across the aisle clearly condemn the anti-Semitic boycott, divest, and sanctions movement and agree to support our motion.

Will the frontbench Liberals be clear and unequivocal in fully condemning the boycott, divest, and sanctions movement, as our allies in Britain have already done, and will they launch an education program to inform Canadians of the anti-Semitic nature of the boycott, divest, and sanctions movement, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated was the best course of action in his speech yesterday here in the House?

[Business of Supply, February 18th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I have stated the case with regard to the BDS movement, but let me reassert that. We need to send a clear signal that no form of racism, anti-Semitism, or Jew hatred is acceptable, however cloaked, however minimal somebody may think it is, no matter how devious one is in fashioning it as some kind of legitimate criticism for Israel, even though it is Jew hatred.

Also, it is important for us to remember history and understand what the situation is. Many members have talked about the Middle East conflict. Hopefully our decision here will encourage some people to learn about what actually happens on a day-to-day basis in Israel. There were two stabbings today, one person is dead and another is in hospital critically injured. They were stabbed by a Palestinian activist. People should understand that there are thousands of missiles sent annually into Sderot and Ashdod and are reaching farther, almost to Tel Aviv now.

Let me share one quick story. When I was there, I was talking to a psychologist who got a call from his daughter. She was finally able to visit Jerusalem. She lived for 12 years under missile attacks every day and the first thing she said to him was, “Dad, you won't believe it. In Jerusalem when the alarm goes off, we have a full minute to get to the bomb shelter.” In Sderot, people have 12 seconds and that is why every bus stop is a bomb shelter. We need Canadians to learn about the actual situation there on the ground.