House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 48% of the vote.
Committees of the House March 12th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, very clearly, Canada is at the forefront of working for child soldiers around the world who have been sucked into wars for economic reasons. We are doing what we can and we stand at the forefront of it.
In this particular instance, a medic has died. These are serious charges, as I stated, and we should not be comparing that situation here.
Committees of the House March 12th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for this debate today. Of course I have discussed this issue with him on many occasions when he has put forward a question on the late show. He is very well aware of the position of this government in reference to Mr. Omar Khadr. Basically our position has not changed.
Today he has been talking about many issues. He talked about Canada's reputation on the Security Council, where I will be going shortly to campaign as well.
I would like to remind my hon. colleague about something. A couple of years ago I was in Burundi, where I met with child soldiers. When I talked to those young people, the most important issue that came out as to why they were child soldiers was economic reasons. They were living in dire poverty and their economic conditions were the main reason they were recruited. They were promised a house and other things.
Through multilateral institutions such as the UN, and I must tell this to viewers who are listening, Canada is at the forefront regarding child soldiers who have been sucked into the war in Africa for reasons which are economic.
Mr. Speaker, you are rising, but I thought it was 10 minutes for questions and answers.
Northern Ireland March 10th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, in recent days we have been witness to tragic events in Northern Ireland, including the murder of two soldiers and a policeman.
We offer our sympathy to the families of the victims of these cowardly acts.
Canada condemns these incidents. These cynical acts of violence are the work of a small number of disaffected individuals who want to turn back the clock on the progress that has been made in establishing a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
Canada and Canadians have consistently supported the cause of peace in Northern Ireland.
Canada stands steadfast in its support of the governments of the United Kingdom, Ireland and the political parties in Northern Ireland in their efforts to consolidate the gains of the peace process.
Foreign Affairs March 6th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I presume my hon. colleague is talking about Mr. Abdelrazik.
We continue to provide Mr. Abdelrazik with counsel assistance. However, I would like to advise my hon. colleague that Mr. Abdelrazik is on the UN international no-fly list.
Liberal Party of Canada March 6th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the civil war in Sri Lanka is tragic for both Sinhalese and Tamils, but nothing can condone terrorist actions.
The Tamil Tigers are listed by countries around the world as a terrorist organization and have done little to promote peace in Sri Lanka. Not only did they invent suicide bombing, but they in fact prey upon the very Tamil population they claim to represent.
At a protest yesterday where dozens of Tamil Tiger flags were being flown openly, the Liberal member for Bramalea—Gore—Malton was quoted as saying, “You are here today for a great cause. I am helping you guys because you are fighting for a right cause”.
Canadian foreign policy has always preached dialogue over hatred, peace and politics over violence. This is just another example of the Liberal leader tolerating extremism and intolerance within his caucus.
Foreign Affairs March 5th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, this is a very complex family dispute case with no easy solution.
During the past month, when I visited Saudi Arabia, I met with Ms. Morin and we spoke. We are bound, however, by both the Saudi laws and our own adherence to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, under which children cannot leave without the father's permission.
Foreign Affairs March 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, as I have said on many occasions in the House, Mr. Omar Khadr faces serious charges including murder, attempted murder as well as the charge of murder of a medic.
We continue to closely monitor the situation, including the work of the American committee formed to study the fate of the Guantanamo detainees, including Mr. Khadr. Our position has not changed.
Foreign Affairs March 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, on many occasions I have repeated that Mr. Khadr faces very serious charges in the United States. Our position has not changed. We are aware that the trial of all cases before the military commission was halted in Guantanamo Bay on January 26, and that the U.S. administration is reviewing all the cases. We will wait for whatever results the U.S. administration comes out with.
Service Canada March 2nd, 2009
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to share some thoughts with my hon. colleagues on the very effective work of our national passport agency, Passport Canada.
In particular, I want to share important information on the challenges faced by Passport Canada since 2006, the numerous changes and innovations that the agency has introduced to meet these challenges, and the excellent service Passport Canada provides to Canadians.
First and most importantly, I want to emphasize that even with the current increase in demand for passports, both in terms of mail-in applications and the volume of applicants appearing in person at passport offices, Passport Canada is delivering its services within normal advertised times. In fact, Passport Canada is currently issuing passports within 12 working days through all service channels. This is actually one of the fastest passport services worldwide.
Notwithstanding some reports that have implied otherwise, Canadians who apply for passports, whether they are first-time applicants or applying for renewals, are receiving the same service today as they did six months ago when demand was much lower.
That being said, it is important to look not at the few media reports but at the facts and accomplishments, so I would like to share some recent history of Passport Canada. Let me take members back to late 2006. That is when the implementation date of the first phase of the United States western hemisphere travel initiative, or WHTI, was finally announced.
For the first time, Canadians were told they would need a passport to enter the United States if travelling by air, as of January 23, 2007. That meant that Passport Canada and Canadians travelling to and through the U.S. by air had about 60 days notice of the most important change in the history of border relations between our two countries.
Almost overnight, Passport Canada was engulfed by a wave of demand as an overwhelming number of applications poured in. To put this into context, in four months Passport Canada received about the same number of applications as it handled during an entire year earlier in the decade.
However, our government and Passport Canada responded quickly. To add immediate capacity, a number of temporary measures were put into action. Passport Canada employees worked longer hours on weekdays and took on additional weekend shifts. In fact, every Passport Canada employee including support staff and senior managers helped process applications for one day each week.
At walk-in passport offices, waiting room and processing space were added where feasible. Some offices remained open longer hours and some added an additional evening processing shift.
Two new policy measures, the simplified passport renewal and more flexible guarantor requirements, were introduced by our government in the summer of 2007. These measures made it easier for Canadians to apply for passports, speeded up processing within Passport Canada, but maintained the agency's high security standards.
By December 2007, a little over a year after the WHTI announcement, service standards had returned to approximately the pre-WHTI transition numbers. The bulk of Passport Canada's business was now back on track.
Another detail bears mentioning, and that concerns how Passport Canada is funded. Many Canadians probably do not realize that Passport Canada does not get regular appropriations from the government and its funding is not based on tax revenues. Rather, Passport Canada is funded through the passport fee, namely $62 out of the $87 it collects for each passport. This means that Passport Canada must live within its financial means. That is particularly true when we look at the agency's walk-in offices.
It is probably fair to say that each and every hon. member of this House would like to see a passport office in his or her riding. However, that is simply not feasible from an economic standpoint.
Our government and Passport Canada are continuously looking at ways to improve client services. In the past, when regional demand was sufficient for the agency to provide walk-in services, it did so. Indeed, the number of regional passport offices has increased to 33 from 18 since 1988. A new office is scheduled to open in Kelowna, British Columbia, in 2010. Passport Canada can and does open offices where a business case can be made for doing so.
To suggest that this business must be amended to justify opening more offices would mean that Passport Canada would be obliged to fund this unnecessary expansion in services through a dramatic increase in its revenue.
The only way Passport Canada can increase its revenue to cover a major expansion in offices is either through a significant increase in passport fees or by a budget subsidy from tax revenues.
I think all of my hon. colleagues would agree that in these times of economic uncertainty, when so many Canadians across the country are taking exceptional care with their finances, now is not the time to unnecessarily expand government infrastructure. Canadians do not want to pay for a passport.
Passport Canada has an agreement with Service Canada whereby Service Canada provides receiving agent services in areas not served by a passport office, but there is a tremendous difference between receiving agent services and passport office services.
Passport Canada staff receive specialized training in handling and examining a wide range of documents. This includes birth certificates, evidence of citizenship and court orders. This expertise is continually being updated.
Not only is the environment secure but as we would expect in an era where document fraud, identity theft, child abductions and international terrorism are daily headlines, a great deal of Passport Canada's work deals with making sure that the Canadian passport remains a secure and trusted document worldwide.
This means that Passport Canada maintains stringent security checks to ensure that each and every person who applies for a Canadian passport is who they claim to be, is entitled to a Canadian passport, and does not pose a threat to the security of Canada or other countries. As we can imagine, this scope of work is unique within government.
I believe that the quality of service provided by Passport Canada is something in which all Canadians can take pride. Not only are Passport Canada's service standards one of the fastest in the world, but it is able to carry out its very specialized and secure work without any inconvenience to the vast majority of those who apply for Canadian passports.
The 2008 passport national client satisfaction survey revealed that 96% of Canadians are satisfied with the overall service provided by Passport Canada, up 7% from last year. The survey also indicated that 81% believed that the office locations were convenient, up 8% from last year.
For all these reasons, I believe that it is in our best interest and in the best interests of all Canadians to oppose the motion put forward by my hon. colleague.
I just want to add one more thing. Among the G8 countries, Passport Canada is one of the only passport agencies to fully operate at a cost recovery basis. Despite this fact, at $87, a Canadian passport is one of the cheapest in all the developed countries. In current Canadian dollars, the American passport costs $127, an Irish passport costs $128, a British passport costs $130, and a French passport costs $143.
As I said, this is a cost recovery process, and I do not think that we would like to spend more money. While I appreciate my hon. colleague's desire to ensure that in some areas passport service be provided faster, we have to take an all round picture and, as I stated in my speech, the service level of satisfaction provided by Passport Canada is quite satisfactory.
Promoting Mobility of Young Citizens February 27th, 2009
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, the treaty entitled “An Agreement Between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of Poland Concerning the Promotion of Mobility of Young Citizens”.
An explanatory memorandum is included with this paper.