Deepak Obhrai

[Sri Lanka, June 22nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has been monitoring events in Sri Lanka closely and is concerned with the recent escalation of violence in the country and its troubling impact on the peace process. It is important that the Government of Sri Lanka now shows leadership and fosters a climate of trust where the peace process can move forward.

We are concerned that paramilitary groups are being used to disturb the peace process and call upon both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to ensure that these paramilitary groups are dismantled and that they both return to peace talks as quickly as possible. We commend Norway for its efforts.

Canada commits unwaveringly to help advance the peace process.

[Federal Accountability Act, June 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, let me say that it is very simple. The government is in this House and the government is held accountable by the opposition. The opposition here has been asking questions in relation to that portfolio and they have been answered, because ultimately the Prime Minister is responsible and he sits in this chamber.

In reference to the Minister of Public Works, he has said that he would be running in the next election to come into this office.

[Federal Accountability Act, June 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member asked this question. Let me point out that Mr. Gwyn Morgan is one of the best CEOs. He was voted the best CEO of the year for this country. He led one of the best-run companies in the world. He had a stellar record both as a businessman and as a man who contributed to Calgary's art, culture and everything. He was a community driven man. He accepted only $1 to come here to do his share of public service.

Of course, his views may not be what the NDP wanted. That is fine. But it does not mean that if his views did not meet with the NDP's views that the man was not qualified to take one of the best jobs and bring accountability to this country.

[Federal Accountability Act, June 21st, 2006]

Sometimes we get carried away, Mr. Speaker.

Those members are sitting over there for the simple reason that they do not understand accountability. Their record on accountability was so bad that Canadians were fed up and voted them out of office. We just have to look at what happened in the Gomery inquiry. The member said that there was no corruption in the Liberal Party. If there was no corruption why was there a Gomery inquiry? Why did the previous prime minister try to distance himself from the sponsorship scandal? Where did the money go? Why did the Liberal Party return the money to the government? The Liberals returned $700,000 because they said they had taken it. That is the issue today.

On January 23, Canadians decided to give the Conservatives a chance. We stood up for our priorities. We told Canadians what we stood for. We had no hidden agenda. We promised Canadians this bill and we are delivering. As the President of Treasury Board said, this accountability bill is one of the toughest in the western hemisphere. It brings accountability back to politics, back to running the government.

We just heard about a leadership candidate going after children. That is how much nonsense this has become. The last speaker stood up and tried to defend this by saying that she brought in an amendment to raise the age to 18. I did not hear her say one word about condemning that leadership candidate. I did not hear her say that he was wrong. Why could she not stand up publicly and say that the leadership candidate was wrong? She then pretended that she was now bringing accountability into this thing. She had every opportunity when she was in government to bring in accountability but at that time she found it difficult to do so. However, not the Conservative government.

The member for Halifax tried to put us in the same light as the Liberals when she said that we had no rules for leadership races. She should look at the accountability act under “Reforming the Financing of Political Parties”. It is very clear. I hope her party will support this. It is quite simple. A candidate in a nomination contest or a party leadership candidate cannot receive more than $1,000 in contributions. If that is not accountability, then what is? This is an attempt by the Conservative Party to bring some semblance here. It would take away the influence of business. We know of Liberal cronyism. We must not forget the Dingwall affair and the culture of entitlement that went on for 13 years.

The accountability act would bring Canadians' confidence back because politicians will finally be accountable to the people. They would no longer be accountable to special interest groups or to people who give large donations. The bill is a direct result of the Liberal sponsorship scandal.

I am pleased to say that the Conservative Party is fulfilling its promise and we are delivering on what we said in the election. That is foreign to members of the Liberal Party. They promised so much but what did they deliver? They delivered nothing.

The Liberal candidate was going after children and of course it was quite amusing to see the member from Winnipeg telling him, “Please don't go to schools. Don't attack my children”.

However, on a serious note, the accountability act will bring in what Canadians were asking for. They were looking forward to relying on politicians and those who govern them to do that. They send us their tax dollars without question, but they want us to use them carefully. That is what this accountability act is.

I am extremely happy and proud to be associated with a government that has brought such a strong accountability act forward, but there is more than that, because what we promised is what we have delivered: our five priorities. The opposition may not like it, but the fact of the matter is that this is what we told Canadians and that is what we have delivered.

On July 1 we will have a GST cut of 1%. That is what we promised. It was not what the Liberals promised in 1993, which was that they were going to scrap the GST. We said we would cut it and on July 1 we will cut it.

I also am very happy to note that Liberal Party and of course the NDP were out there saying they opposed the budget, everything in the budget, yet when the budget bill came to the House, they passed it. Some may want to say that they were sleeping. Others may want to say that on the issues they do not know what they are doing and they do not know what they are talking about.

Again, they go out there and they tell Canadians “this is what we stand for”. Then when we look at the record of what they have done, it is absolutely the opposite. One would wonder: if they were so opposed to this budget, why did they pass the budget unanimously? That is because they know the budget is good. We want to thank them for passing the budget.

I am happy to say that I am very proud to be associated with this government that is bringing forward this accountability act and bringing back to the Canadian people the power to make politicians accountable.

[Federal Accountability Act, June 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague from St. Catharines.

I have been sitting here listening to the members on that side of the House for the last three months and I have come to the conclusion that they do not really know or understand why they are sitting on that side of the House. They think they have some divine right wherever they are and do not understand why they are sitting on the opposite side of the House. Perhaps I should remind them that on January 23, Canadians sent them a message and sent them into the opposition, out of the government, because Canadians lost trust in those people.

I do not understand how they can sit over there as if nothing has happened and keep puffing their chests and screaming at all these things. It is all absolute nonsense. Perhaps they should look at themselves in the mirror and try to analyze why they are sitting over there. Your own leadership candidates are now questioning what you were doing sitting over there for the last 12 years.

[Foreign Affairs, June 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is extremely concerned with the breakup of ceasefire and peace talks between the warring parties in Sri Lanka. We are calling on both parties to come back to the table, to come back to a truce and adhere to the ceasefire. We are going, with our likeminded nations, to put pressure on bringing both parties to the table.

[Foreign Affairs, June 16th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, officials of the Canadian Embassy in Burma met with senior Burmese officials to express Canada's concern about the continuing detention of Aung San Suu Kyi. We are also concerned about her health and we have expressed our deep concern. We are hoping that the Burmese authorities will take some steps to work toward her release.

[Foreign Affairs, June 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, we are extremely concerned about the situation in East Timor. We agree with the hon. member on the other side that the situation calls for attention. Canada is working with its partners to ensure that all parties come to the table and that a peaceful resolution is made there.

[June 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, in brief response, I am sure the member does not want us not to follow the Auditor General's recommendations. She has raised the concern of security and the concern of verifying the information.

With regard to the member's concern, it would be best for all Canadians that we all work together to address the issues that have been raised and to come up with a satisfactory answer so that we can provide services to his office and to his constituents.

It would be better for all of us to have a dialogue to see how members of Parliament can resolve the issue, but take into account the other issues highlighted by the Auditor General, such as security.

[June 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Sault Ste. Marie for bringing this issue to Parliament. As members of Parliament we both know how important it is to assist our constituents when they are dealing with federal government issues. I am very happy to note that he is working very hard for his constituents. The member has highlighted an issue that he says is creating some problems.

Last April the Auditor General in her report on passport services, which was tabled in Parliament, specifically raised the importance of further analyzing security and privacy issues in regard to the services provided by members of Parliament.

In direct response to this observation, a new policy guideline regarding the roles and responsibilities of members of Parliament and the passport office were introduced on April 1, 2006 to address increased security and privacy requirements.

Since September 11, 2001 we all know that security has been highlighted due to the threats from terrorists. As Canadian passports have become attractive to those people, we naturally have had to introduce these new security measures, as has been pointed out by the Auditor General.

Passport Canada values the services provided by members of Parliament and is committed to working with MPs to provide services to Canadians. Passport Canada has a section dedicated to ensure that service requests from members of Parliament are actioned effectively and efficiently.

The normal standard of service for an application submitted through the office of a member of Parliament is 20 working days. For exceptional cases where a passport is required in less than 20 working days for humanitarian and compassionate reasons or imminent travel business, members of Parliament are to contact the MP section of Passport Canada during normal working hours. After hours, emergency services are available through a network of duty officers.

Passport Canada will take appropriate action on a case by case basis to assist any Canadian who legitimately requires a passport on an urgent basis regardless of where they reside. These cases are exceptional and will be dealt with accordingly. Past history has shown that these cases represent less than 1% of requests received through members of Parliament.

It is important to bear in mind that even in exceptional cases, a personal appearance before a Passport Canada officer is an integral part of the security and integrity of the passport issuing process. This measure is intended to authenticate the identity of Canadians applying for a passport and to reduce the risk of identity fraud by allowing for an immediate and thorough verification of the identity.

Each member of Parliament has been provided with a comprehensive guide to assist with processing passport applications.

A Passport Canada guide for members of Parliament is available. Detailed information of the service locations can be found in this guide. Information on passport services provided by members of Parliament is also available on the Passport Canada MP website. An information session hosted by Passport Canada for members of Parliament and their staff has been held and more sessions will follow.

I would like to assure the member that our objective is to improve security while maintaining the level of client service through multiple business channels. Passport Canada continues to be committed to--