Deepak Obhrai

[Iran Accountability Week, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Chair, I do agree with the hon. member, that with the P5+1 negotiations going on during the campaign for the UN resolution, there were some countries that expressed the same sentiment that the member just addressed.

We in the government, including the opposition, including the member's committee, will make sure that we keep these things up front and keep the pressure on.

As far as targeted sanctions are concerned, as we proceed further we will see how things move forward, to see if there is any improvement on the human rights situation in Iran.

[Iran Accountability Week, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Chair, I rise today to express the grave concerns of the Government of Canada about the dire human rights situation in Iran. Abuses and violations happen regularly and are pervasive throughout Iran's judicial system and extensive security apparatus.

Over the past two years, the Iranian regime has had some success in reshaping its public image. Iran's president continues to make public comments that allude to the support for rights and freedoms for the people of Iran. Sadly, this slick diplomacy and charm offensive is contradicted by the reality on the ground. The human rights situation remains as dismal as ever, with no measurable improvement since the 2013 election of President Rouhani.

Canada remains profoundly concerned by the alarming rate of executions in Iran, a rate that spiked considerably after the election of President Rouhani. In the first three and a half months of 2015, Iranian officials have already executed at least 300 people. Last year, Iranian authorities reportedly executed more than 750 people. We cannot know for sure how many, because the regime carries out hundreds of executions every year without officially acknowledging them. Many of the executions take place in public without fair and public trials, and sometimes without warning to the victim's family. The regime also continues to execute juvenile offenders.

On October 25, 2014, a 26-year-old woman, Reyhaneh Jabbari, was hanged to death, convicted of killing a man who she asserted was trying to sexually assault her. A 30-year-old man is on death row as we speak for a post he made on Facebook. Soheil Arabi, a husband and father, was sentenced to death for insulting the prophet in his Facebook posts. It is inconceivable to Canadians that someone could be executed for something that they posted on social media, but that is exactly what is planned for Mr. Arabi. His case is one example of the extraordinary restrictions on freedom of expression in Iran and the regime's increased targeting of average Iranians for their activities on the popular social media sites. This past fall, six young Iranians were sentenced to prison terms and lashes simply for dancing to a pop song about being happy in a YouTube video.

Iran is among the 10 most censored countries in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and was the second highest jailer of journalists in 2014. Authorities regularly threaten, harass, and arbitrarily arrest journalists, as the regime exerts its control of information and any expression of dissent that might challenge its authority. The Washington Post's Tehran bureau chief, Jason Rezaian, has now been in prison for 283 days, facing trumped-up charges, including espionage, simply for reporting on issues of interest to the Iranian people.

The women of Iran face serious restrictions to their fundamental rights and freedoms. They are denied equality in law and in practice, rendering their full participation in political and economic life impossible. In the 2013 elections, all female presidential hopefuls were barred from running by Iran's Guardian Council. Iran has extraordinary female lawyers, but women are not permitted to preside over a court as a judge.

Women endure state-condoned harassment. This past fall, a number of women were attacked with acid by men on motorbikes believed to be targeting women who they saw as dressing immodestly. A number of draft laws and policies at different levels of government in Iran have emerged through 2013 and 2014 that aim to further limit women's rights, including by limiting equal access to the labour market with their male counterparts, access to birth control, and access to education.

Iran, like Canada, is a culturally and linguistically diverse country. Unfortunately, the Iranian regime views this rich diversity as a threat. Ethnic and religious minority communities in Iran face persistent marginalization, harassment, arbitrary arrests, and detention. Iran's Baha'i community has suffered some of the most overt state-led discrimination in Iran and has been especially targeted for intimidation and persecution. In October 2013, the Iranian security officials raided 14 Baha'i homes in the city of Abadeh. This past October, 79 Baha'i shops were closed by the authorities in the Kerman province after the shop owners closed their businesses to observe the Baha'i holiday.

Christian converts have also seen brutal treatment by authorities in Iran, including reports of violent raids on private gatherings, arbitrary arrests, and detentions.

We remain troubled by the deliberate failure of the Iranian regime to abide by its human rights obligations and commitments.

We cannot forget the case of the photographer, Zahra Kazemi, who was tortured and killed by Iranian officials while in detention.

It is because of these persistent human rights violations that Canada, in partnership with the strong cross-regional group of similarly concerned countries, leads the resolution in the United Nations General Assembly on the situation of human rights in Iran, which highlights and brings international scrutiny to bear on Iran's human rights record, calling on the government of Iran to fulfill its human rights obligations in law and in practice, and provide a public signal to human rights defenders that they are supported by the international community.

The 2014 resolution, drawing on credible and well-informed sources, including reports of the UN Secretary General and the UN Special Rapporteur, was successfully adopted with broad international support.

I am proud to convey Canada's support for those inside and outside Iran who have worked tirelessly for positive change in the country. Iranians deserve to live in freedom and have their rights respected.

[Maldives, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the situation in the Maldives is a cause of concern to Canada. Canada condemns the crackdown by the Maldives government and its lack of respect for democracy.

We are appalled by the trial and treatment of former president Mohamed Nasheed. An effective review of the investigation and legal proceedings is significant to ensure that international and domestic obligations related to fair trials and the rule of law are respected. We are also concerned that the opposition leaders have been arrested. These actions go against the core principles of the Commonwealth. Canada will continue to call on the Maldives to reaffirm its commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Canada stands with the Maldivian people who have peacefully congregated to call for the release of political prisoners and the restoration of the rule of law.

[The Budget, April 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have to give credit to the member. At least he is not doing what previous members were doing and insulting others personally.

Let me say one thing about what he said. How did the Liberals balance the budget? They did it by cutting transfers to the provinces. The Liberal government he is talking about made massive cuts to transfers to the provinces to balance the budget, and he should feel ashamed. His government downloaded everything so that it could take credit, and it left the provinces on their own. It is this government that came into power and restored them. This government has increased transfers since 2006 so that front-line services could be provided to Canadians with the transfers his government cut by downloading to the provinces.

[The Budget, April 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the member is talking about my being concerned about oil prices. He should be concerned too about oil prices, because it impacts the whole country.

I am absolutely amazed and stunned, and in my speech I said so, that Canada did not need to bail out the banks during the worldwide recession, as other countries did. Therefore, I have no clue what he is talking about when he says that we subsidized the banks. As a matter of fact, we had excellent regulations that ensured that the banks would not take the risk. He should be proud of some of the things that have taken place instead of giving the NDP rhetoric, as it always does, about wanting high corporate taxes and about helping banks, which did not take place.

Let me remind him quite clearly: Canada did not bail out the banks in the worldwide recession in 2008.

[The Budget, April 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand in the House and speak once more on a budget. As a matter of fact, this is my 18th budget speech I am making today, and 11 of them were on Conservatives budgets.

Before I talk about the budget, I want to pause and reflect on the terrible tragedy that has befallen Nepal due to an earthquake.

In January, I went to Nepal to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Canada-Nepal relations. Our relationship has been a long and good one, and it was a successful visit. I saw the development challenges Nepal was facing due to the long Maoist rebellion. It was looking forward to moving on; then this tragedy struck. Nepal is poor, and the Nepali are poor and struggling to provide for themselves and their families.

The government has responded in a variety of ways. I today want to make an appeal to Canadians to give to organizations that are in the forefront of assistance. The government will match contributions. Please help the people of Nepal in their time of need.

Turning to the budget, I will be sharing my time with the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville.

It would come as a big surprise to have the NDP and the Liberals actually supporting the budget. As in the past, this year they have indicated without looking at the budget that they will not be supporting it, and then they went on to find reasons why they do not want to support it.

I come from Calgary, Alberta, an oil-producing province. No one here is talking about the dramatic collapse of oil prices, as if the price of oil falling would have no impact at all on the budget or on the economy, not recognizing the fact that all of Canada benefits from the oil industry, including from eastern Canada. Everybody is saying we want money, we want money, and the government has not done this, and that it went into the contingency fund to balance the budget. What are we talking about? There has been a massive shortfall in revenue.

My own family works in the oil industry. My daughter, my son, and my son-in-law are facing an uncertain future today. Massive layoffs are taking place. This is impacting the whole of Canada, yet this is the time to provide sound economic management of the economy and that is what the budget would do.

The budget has focused on growth, on jobs, and on security. In October last year, we were attacked in Parliament. These are the concerns of Canadians. When I went doorknocking last weekend for my colleagues in the Conservative Party in Alberta, this is what I heard from people. Yet, here we have the NDP and the Liberal Party talking about no investment here, no investment there. It is time they took a pause and said it is time to provide sound management.

When the price of oil goes back up and the economy moves forward, then there will be choices to be made where we can invest, but currently, what Canadians want is security of their jobs. That is what we are facing. That is what the budget is talking about. That is why the budget is a forward-looking budget.

It is amazing that the Liberal MP said this budget will hit in 2017. The price of oil is low today and revenues are compromised and even then we managed, without raising taxes, to bring in a balanced budget. What is the contingency fund for? This is a rainy day. Opposition members do not know what a rainy day is, as the Liberal member talked about. When the price of oil was $100 a barrel and today it is close to $50, is that not a rainy day? When is a rainy day then?

Nevertheless, this government has made sound decisions on where it will invest and which ones it will invest in, so that there is confidence that the Canadian economy is moving.

I am the parliamentary secretary. When I go overseas and when I meet people, all of them have questions to ask me. How did we manage to escape the 2008 recession? Are our banks not failing? How is Canada providing such strong, economic stability while other countries are facing different challenges?

Who are we? We are an oil producing country. We are not an oil consuming country that is benefiting from low prices.

At the end of the day, I want to say to my colleagues that at this given time when there are challenges out there of low oil prices, it is time to make sound judgement. The NDP opposed the pipeline that would help export our oil. That would benefit the whole country, but no. The NDP nitpicks here and there.

For the Liberals, let me say this. As I have said, this is my 18th budget. Of them, 11 were Conservative and 7 were Liberal. Members should have seen the rhetoric that was coming from the Liberal Party. Today, the last Liberal speaker to stand up was insulting the Minister of Finance. That is all the Liberals love to do. They love to insult people. They do not come up with any good ideas. All they do is insult. What a shame. I have sat in this Parliament. Canadians do not like other people insulting them. If they want to talk, they should talk about exactly what it is that they are standing up for.

That is why there is confusion now. The question was asked by the NDP to the Liberals: what do they stand for? There is total confusion out there.

I was here in Parliament when the Liberals presented their budgets, and did they come up with anything? Now they are blaming the Conservatives for doing anything, specifically when there was the 2008 global recession. We went through that, with banks failing. No Canadian bank failed. Where do they think that came from, the Liberals? It absolutely did not.

Now, with low oil prices, we are still doing okay. The country is still managing well because of sound management. Do they think it came from the Liberals? It absolutely did not.

The NDP, of course, wants high taxes. That would be their government. I have no idea where they would get the money that they are talking about, spending with high taxes. This is something where, these days, the Liberals and the NDP are becoming pretty difficult to distinguish between. They have different names, but they seem to be talking the same language. Maybe this is the coalition that they are trying to form for the next federal election. I can tell the House that the way in which this budget was presented and from the feedback that I got, we are on solid footing and we will remain on solid footing.

This government, under the Prime Minister, has provided excellent leadership on economics as well as on security. Let us talk for a minute about security. Canadians are concerned about security. We hear it time after time. We just heard from the security agencies that, yes, Canadians are under threat, and the jihadis have made absolutely no secret about wanting to attack Canada. Would it not be prudent for us to invest money there for our own security? Would that not be prudent?

My opponent from the Liberal Party came out and said that we should not be in Iraq, that we should be out of Iraq, until he got such a severe backlash that he had to withdraw what he wrote on his Facebook page.

Mr. Speaker, you have pointed out that I have a minute. I want to say this. This is the budget that would provide the security of jobs and national security for the people of Canada, and I am very happy to support it.

[The Budget, April 22nd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was the 18th time I sat in this chamber and listened to a budget being presented in this House of Commons. Eleven of them have been Conservative budgets. This was only possible because of the constituents of Calgary East. This morning, Canadians of all ages and from all walks of life are pleased that we have kept our promise to them by balancing the budget in 2015, the first balanced budget since the great recession.

This budget reaches out to all Canadians, from the hard-working constituents of Calgary East to everyone else across this great country. This budget supports jobs and growth. It helps our families and our communities prosper. It ensures the security of Canadians. It lowers taxes and provides benefits directly to families, assist small businesses and support seniors.

Our government will continue to manage Canada's economy well, focus on job creation and keep Canada safe.

[Military Contribution Against ISIL, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we do have an exit strategy. The exit strategy is when we defeat ISIL. That is the exit strategy.

[Military Contribution Against ISIL, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, let me remind the hon. member that our government has brought the debate into the House. When the Liberals were in power, they did not bring the debate to the House when they sent troops to Afghanistan. They made their own decision, so for them to say that they did the right thing is wrong.

Why are we going into Syria? It is because ISIL is in Syria. Their headquarters are in Syria. They run their murderous organization from there. It is therefore necessary to go and fight in Syria, where they are, so that we stop them. I have said before that Assad must go. We are not supporting Assad, but we need to stop ISIL, and ISIL is in Syria.

As for what this mission is, it is very clear in the motion. It is for one year. The objectives are there. Everything is there. They were briefed, as well as the opposition critic, so I do not understand what the whole problem is that they keep bringing up.

[Military Contribution Against ISIL, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I was here too when we debated Afghanistan and when New Democrats opposed everything about defending Afghanistan. When they say that they have supported something like Libya, sometimes when they see public opinion has changed, they will change their position, but very soon they go back to their original position and stop supporting any of the missions.

New Democrats keep saying humanitarian aid. Yes, that is a very important component, but that is after what has happened. We have to stop the root cause of these refugees. As the Minister of National Defence said during question period, Syrians are saying they would like to go back home. They want to stay home. Let us now help them stay home. That should be the goal, and that can only be done if we fight the terrorist groups back there.