Harjit S. Sajjan

[The Ombudsman for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces, October 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, copies of the 2015-16 annual report of the Office of the Ombudsman for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces.

[Foreign Affairs, September 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as I have stated many times before, our government believes in a dialogue with China. It allows us to have those difficult conversations. That is exactly what we are doing: having a dialogue with China on the rule of law, on the important discussion on national security, and also on human rights.

[Foreign Affairs, September 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we announced a high-level national security and rule-of-law dialogue as part of comprehensive discussions with China.

Dialogue is important. Dialogue is what helps us move consular cases forward. Dialogue allows us to actually bring up difficult subjects, like human rights, and move the yardstick forward. We are proud of our dialogue, and that is the direction we will be going.

[Foreign Affairs, September 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned from the mistakes of the past. We need to make sure that we have a robust mandate. That is one of the reasons I took retired General Roméo Dallaire with me to Africa, and Madame Louise Arbour as well, to make sure that I have the right perspective on this; to make sure that when we look at a mission we will have the appropriate United Nations mandate with robust rules of engagement, that has the protection of civilians; to make sure that our troops are properly trained and properly equipped so they can actually make the contribution that we send them there for.

[Foreign Affairs, September 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I actually applaud and honour the great work that the previous generals have done, but I take advice from my Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance, who has exceptional operational experience. I can assure the member that our troops are very proud of their work and will do wonderful work in Africa and make a massive contribution like they have always done in every mission that we have sent them on.

[Foreign Affairs, September 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the previous government closed its eyes to the atrocities in Africa. It closed its eyes to the fight against disease, basically the root cause that causes the young folks to be radicalized and join those groups. We need to do our part. We will have a whole-of-government approach to peace operations. The Canadian Armed Forces will do their part. They have been proud of their work from previous missions all the way back to Cyprus and the Sinai, and they will be proud of the work they will continue to do in Africa as well.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, September 20th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, our government has been very clear. We need to start a dialogue, and we will be able to promote the objectives of the Canadian government.

We believe in human rights. It is through dialogue that we can actually start a conversation and be able to have those difficult conversations with nations where there are issues with human rights. Without dialogue, we cannot move the yardstick forward. Being loud from here in Canada does not help the people who are actually affected by human rights violations.

[Foreign Affairs, September 20th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, one thing for certain is that our government believes in dialogue, and through dialogue, we can have change. With this dialogue, we will be able to push human rights. When it comes to agreements like this, we will be pushing on the issue of the death penalty, because human rights are an integral part of our government's mandate.

[Foreign Affairs, September 20th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we announced our national security and rule of law dialogue during the Prime Minister's visit on September 12 as part of a comprehensive discussion on expanding our relationship with China. The U.S. and the U.K. had similar dialogues. Rule of law discussions included extradition and transfers of offenders, where we stressed that Canada is governed by very high standards.

The promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of Canadian foreign policy and is a key priority in our relationship with China.

[Foreign Affairs, September 20th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we have been extremely transparent about my mandate letter on re-engagement in the peace operations of the United Nations. When it comes to our important part in the world, I made it quite transparent on the recent trip I took to Africa with retired general Roméo Dallaire and Madame Louise Arbour. We have been extremely transparent. We announced, in Canada, the number of troops we will be committing to peace operations before we actually went to the UN ministerial peacekeeping summit.

When we have more information and do a thorough analysis, we will communicate with Canadians properly and debate it in this House.