Hélène Laverdière

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I think questions like the one about how experts and invited guests at a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs were selected are concise questions.

The hon. member keeps saying that a response has been made, but unfortunately, the response does not answer the question. In 2004 or 2005, the Auditor General investigated a similar situation and said that responses to members' written questions were an integral part of our parliamentary system and should be respected.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his comments.

Indeed, contrary to what the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons says, my question has not been answered. It is simple. Given that the deadline is this Friday, my question for the government is the following: when will it answer my question?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

Before I can agree that all questions be allowed to stand, I rise on a point of order. I submitted a question that I would like the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons to answer.

On page 468 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition, it states:

It is at this time that Members raise any concerns they have about their questions and request information about the status of the reply.

I have concerns about the answer to my question Q-410. The answer was tabled this Monday, March 12. In my question, I asked for specifics. Who was consulted regarding the creation of the office of religious freedom? When did the consultations take place? What are the names of those who were consulted in October 2011? What discussions were held at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade about inviting Amnesty International? Why was that organization not invited? Who are the employees responsible for the development of the office of religious freedom within the Prime Minister's Office, the Minister of Foreign Affairs's office and other ministers' offices? And so on.

All these questions were very specific, very concrete. The answer I was given was, “The government expects to have more to say about this important initiative shortly”. They say “shortly”, Mr. Speaker.

The rules tell us that members may also request that the government respond within 45 calendar days, by so indicating when submitting the question. That is what I did. I asked for an answer within 45 days.

I have specific questions about what has been done so far. The 45th day will be this Friday, March 16. The government has two days left to provide a full answer to my question. I am asking the parliamentary secretary to tell me if and when the government will provide an acceptable answer to my question.

[Foreign Affairs, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, what I wanted to know was who was consulted.

The minister said that they held consultations. Why can they not provide basic information about those consultations? What are they hiding?

The Auditor General looked into a similar situation in 2004 and found that written questions were a fundamental part of our parliamentary system.

We are facing a similar situation today.

Why do we now have a Conservative minister attacking a fundamental part of our parliamentary system?

[Foreign Affairs, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, how far will this government go to undermine our democracy?

On January 30, I submitted a written question to the Minister of Foreign Affairs about the office of religious freedom. I asked specific questions: who participated in the consultations on this subject in October 2011? Who in the department is responsible for this file?

The response I received was worthy of Kafka: nothing but hot air.

What else does the government have to hide?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, March 12th, 2012]

With regard to Ben Ali family members living in Canada: (a) what are the names of Ben Ali family members currently residing in Canada and for each individual, what is (i) their immigration or refugee status, (ii) the nature of their assets; (b) what actions has the government taken to freeze the assets of Ben Ali family members, including the Trabelsi and El Materi families, (i) what are the names of people whose assets have been or will be frozen, (ii) for each person, what is the nature and value of their assets, (iii) on what date were the assets frozen, (iv) if these assets were not frozen, why not and by what date will they be frozen; (c) will the government send assets seized from Ben Ali family members to the government of Tunisia; (d) on what day was Belhassen Trabelsi granted permanent residency in Canada, (i) how did he achieve permanent residency, (ii) were there any inconsistencies in Trabelsi’s application for permanent residency, (iii) is the government currently investigating Trabelsi’s status as a permanent resident and, if so, what are the preliminary conclusions of this investigation; (e) will the government extradite or deport members of the Ben Ali family from Canada; (f) since January 2011, what correspondence has the government had with Tunisian authorities with regard to Ben Ali family members in Canada, (i) what is the date and nature of the correspondence, (ii) what are the names of Canadian governmental officials involved in said correspondence, (iii) what response has the government sent to Tunisian authorities with regard to said correspondence; (g) what correspondence has the government received from the Tunisian community in Canada regarding the Ben Ali family and their assets, (i) what is the date and nature of the correspondence, (ii) what are the names of Canadian governmental officials involved in said correspondence, (iii) what response has the government sent to the Tunisian community in Canada in regards to said correspondence?

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 12th, 2012]

With regard to the Office of Religious Freedom: (a) when did the government decide to establish an Office of Religious Freedom and at whose request; (b) what is the mandate and the objectives of this office; (c) what is the budget breakdown of the office for (i) staff, (ii) programs, (iii) operations; (d) what is the reporting structure of the office; (e) what will the office produce; (f) how many people will be employed in this office and what will be their level; (g) what are the hiring criteria and salary levels for each person employed in this office; (h) how will this office work differently from other sections of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) already working on human rights issues; (i) who was consulted regarding the creation of the office, (i) when did the consultations take place, (ii) what are the names and affiliations of those who were consulted; (j) what are the names, positions, and religious affiliations of the guests who attended consultations on a new Office of Religious Freedom in October 2011, (i) how many people from religions including, but not limited to, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Taoism, Buddhism were invited to the meeting, (ii) how were the panellists and participants chosen for the meeting with Minister Baird, (iii) who made the final decisions on panellists and participants chosen for the meeting, (iv) what discussions were held at DFAIT about inviting Amnesty International and why was this organization not invited; and (k) who are the employees responsible for the development of the Office of Religious Freedom within (i) the PMO, (ii) the Foreign Affairs Minister’s Office, (iii) other Ministers’ offices, (iv) DFAIT, (v) other government departments?

[Status of Women, March 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we must remember our responsibilities towards the most vulnerable women.

In Montreal, the number of homeless aboriginal women, especially Inuit women, is increasing at an alarming rate. One of the few resources that helps these women is located in my riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie, but it will have to close its doors for lack of funding.

When will this government accept its responsibilities towards all women and support the Projets Autochtones du Québec shelter?

[41st General Election, March 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the onus is on the Conservatives to answer questions. The Conservatives say that they had nothing to do with the fraudulent calls. However, they previously said they were not conducting an internal investigation, but now they are.

This House unanimously called for all information on voter suppression and illegal phoning to be provided to the RCMP and Elections Canada.

Why do the Conservatives not hand over all the records immediately?

[National Defence, March 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the government will soon be introducing a bill to implement the Convention on Cluster Munitions, a convention that is comparable in scope to the Ottawa convention on anti-personnel mines.

However, we have reason to fear that the Conservatives will water down the convention and allow Canadian personnel to use and transport cluster munitions on joint missions.

Can the minister assure us that this will not happen?