House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 48% of the vote.
Afghanistan April 15th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has said, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs has said, and as I am repeating, Afghanistan is a sovereign state that makes its own decisions about government appointments. I can assure the member that Canada fully respects this and is not calling for any changes in the Afghan government.
As the Prime Minister has said, everybody has full confidence in the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is doing a great job for Canada, for his constituency, and for Quebec.
Afghanistan April 15th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the Liberal stand-in leader.
Afghanistan is a foreign state that makes its own decisions about government appointments. I can assure members that Canada fully respects this and is not calling for any change in the Government of Afghanistan. We have full confidence in the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is doing a great job for Canada.
Afghanistan April 15th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, Afghanistan is a foreign state that makes its own decisions about government appointments. I can assure members that Canada fully respects this and is not calling for any changes to the Afghan government.
Members need to know that Canada is in Afghanistan to help it become a stable, democratic and self-sustaining state so that never again can Afghanistan become a haven for terrorists threatening both global and Canadian security.
As the Prime Minister said, we have full confidence in the Minister of Foreign Affairs because he is doing a great job for Canada.
Afghanistan April 15th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, Afghanistan is its own state and it makes its own decisions about government appointments.
Canada is helping Afghanistan to become a stable, democratic and self-sustaining state so it can never again serve as a haven for terrorists threatening global and Canadian security.
Since 2006, Canada's efforts have been guided by the Afghanistan Compact. We are there to do our business. As the Prime Minister said, we have full confidence in the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Canada-Japan Treaty April 14th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, under Section 32(2) of the Standing Orders of the House of Commons, I have the pleasure to table, in both official languages, a treaty entitled “Exchange of Notes between the Government of Canada and the Government of Japan constituting an Agreement on Special Measures concerning Supply Assistance Activities in Support of Counter-Terrorism Maritime Interdiction Activities”.
An explanatory memorandum is enclosed with the treaty.
Cluster Bombs April 11th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. member that this government takes the banning of cluster bombs very seriously. We have been working with Norway and our partners to ensure that we can come to a proper resolution. We will continue doing that. I can assure the hon. member that we will be working very hard on that file because we agree with him that the issue of cluster bombs needs to be addressed.
Foreign Affairs April 11th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, this government's priority is human rights. As said by the Prime Minister, we are very much concerned about the hostage crisis in Colombia. We call upon the rebels to release the hostage as quickly as possible and also to accept the medical team that the French government was sending.
Foreign Affairs April 11th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, Canada expects China, as a member of the Human Rights Council, to live to the highest standards of cooperation with the UN human rights system. We call upon China to receive the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the earliest possible data.
Canada also reiterates and supports the call for unrestricted access by generalists, diplomats and independent experts to Tibet and nearby regions affected by the recent violence.
Tibet April 11th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, recently I met with members of the Tibetan community in Toronto to discuss the ongoing unrest in Tibet. It was an open exchange of views.
I was also encouraged to see Chinese Canadians demonstrating and calling for dialogue.
China needs to move forward. A golden opportunity has been presented to the Chinese through the hand of friendship and cooperation offered by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We encourage the Chinese to seize it.
Canada will continue to encourage China to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama, to fully respect human rights, respect peaceful protest, show restraint in dealing with the situation in Tibet, and allow unrestricted access to the entire affected region.
An early peaceful and sustainable resolution is in the interest of all.
Mr. Speaker, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Sport has these cases, and I am sure she will continue working on these files, and I can assure the hon. member that the government has taken this case and the Martin case very seriously.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, as I stated, talked just yesterday to Mexico's foreign minister and the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism is in contact with Brenda Martin as well. His office is in contact with Brenda Martin at all times. We are watching this file and putting on as much pressure as we can for this file to go very quickly. We are also concerned about her well-being and about the length of time this case has taken.