House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 41% of the vote.
Foreign Affairs May 14th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, if the present government can treat Mr. Abdelrazik as it does, it can happen to any Canadian.
Parliament deserves an answer. Does the government have a policy of ignoring the rights of any Canadian simply because there may be a terrorist allegation, when our own security services say that it is unfounded and the charter mandates him coming back to Canada now?
Foreign Affairs May 14th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, in the House, the government dodges questions by saying that the Abdelrazik case is before the courts, but in the courts, the government argues that the court does not have jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Mr. Abdelrazik is stranded in Sudan.
How long will the government repeat these irrelevant and misleading lines instead of protecting his rights and bringing Mr. Abdelrazik home to Canada?
Foreign Affairs May 8th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the only reason this case is even in court is because the government refuses to honour its obligations under the charter and refuses to protect a Canadian citizen. Canadians have a right to know why this government is not protecting its citizens and why it refuses to accept the findings of its own security services. Mr. Abdelrazik has nothing to hide.
Why is the government shirking its responsibilities and what is it trying to hide?
Foreign Affairs May 8th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the government repeated the mantra that Abousfian Abdelrazik is on a UN watch list that prevents his return home. This watch list, however, expressly authorizes Canada to repatriate Mr. Abdelrazik, and the UN has made it clear that it is the government's own decision and not the watch list that is preventing Mr. Abdelrazik's return.
Why is the government continuing to breach the charter, violate Mr. Abdelrazik's rights and compound that parliamentary felony by misleading Parliament on the facts and on the law?
Caregivers May 7th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter once said that there are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.
Today the Canadian Caregiver Coalition, a diverse group of dedicated individuals and organizations, hosted a parliamentary luncheon to recognize and respect the enormous and indispensable contribution of some four million caregivers across this country, joined by the Canadian Cancer Society, which counts many caregivers among its membership.
Providing care and assistance to family members of all ages, caregivers are both the invisible yet indispensable backbone of the health care and long-term care system, contributing an estimated $25 billion worth of unpaid care each year.
With an increasingly aging population whose baby boomers have now turned 60, the role of family caregivers in this country has become increasingly vital. Today, on behalf of all parliamentarians, I say to caregivers that they are the true heroes of our society. They are the soul of our health care system. We celebrate them. We salute them and we thank them.
Israel April 28th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, Israel is celebrating its 61st anniversary in the headwinds of a gathering storm. Israel and the Jewish people are the only state and people that are the standing targets of genocidal threats, and Israel is the only state grotesquely accused of genocide, an accusation itself used as prologue and justification for its dismantling.
Today we are celebrating our profound and lasting friendship with Israel. We are celebrating its commitment to promote and protect democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We are also celebrating its extraordinary contribution to humanity in the areas of medicine, science, technology, agriculture, health care, education and culture.
I will close by reciting the age old prayer for peace in the aboriginal language of Hebrew:
[Member spoke in Hebrew as follows:]
Oseh Shalom Bimromov, Who Yaaseh Shalom, Alenu V'al Kol Israel, V'imeru, Amen.
As I said in Hebrew: May God, who establishes peace on high, grant peace for us all, Amen.
Petitions April 3rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a large number of petitions signed by residents in my riding and beyond on the occasion of the one thousandth day of captivity of the kidnapped Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.
The petitioners protest his abduction from Israel during a cease fire arrangement with Hamas-ruled Gaza, where he is being held in complete isolation. The petitioners note he has been denied any and all rights afforded to him under international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention to which Canada is a state party and which rights Canadians have a commitment to respect.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to insist that the Red Cross, United Nations and other humanitarian agencies uphold the applicable standards of humanitarian law, including proof of life, to visit the kidnapped soldier and communication between him and his family as a bare minimum, to insist that the governing Palestinian authority commit itself to the repatriation of Mr. Gilad Shalit and to use Canada's good office, in bilateral and multilateral discussions, to put an end to these violations of international humanitarian law, secure Gilad Shalit's release and return him to his family as a matter of fundamental decency and justice.
Rwandan Genocide April 3rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, April 7 marks the 15th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda.
The Canadian Parliament, in a unanimous motion, designated this day as a National Day of Reflection on the Prevention of Genocide, inviting us to appreciate and act upon the following lessons.
First is the danger of state-sanctioned incitement to genocide. Simply put, the genocide in Rwanda did not occur because of the machinery of death, but because of the state-sanctioned culture of hate.
Second is the danger of indifference and inaction in the face of incitement and mass atrocity. The horror of the Rwandan genocide is not only that of the genocide, but that this genocide was preventable. Nobody can say that we did not know. We knew, but we did not act.
Third is the danger of a culture of impunity. Let there be no mistake about it: Impunity always means coming down on the side of the victimizer, never on the side of the victim.
Fourth is the danger of targeted assaults on the most vulnerable of the vulnerable: the women and children.
Fifth and finally is the importance of remembering the heroic rescuers, who confronted evil and prevailed.
Jamais plus.
Foreign Affairs April 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, Dr. Wang Bingzhang, founder of the overseas Chinese democracy movement, was kidnapped in Vietnam in 2002 and illegally abducted into China. Following a one-day closed door star chamber proceeding, where he had no right to speak and no evidence was presented against him, Dr. Wang was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Six years ago the United Nations determined that the charges were unfounded, and this Parliament adopted a motion calling for his release. Dr. Wang, now in his sixties, continues to languish in solitary confinement in a Chinese prison, where both his health and morale deteriorate with every passing day.
His Montreal born daughter, Ti-Anna Wang, is in Ottawa today to raise awareness about the plight of her father. Indeed, it was the freedom that Dr. Wang experienced as a medical student at McGill University that impelled him to forgo his promising medical career and to dedicate himself to the cause of Chinese democracy.
The imprisonment of Dr. Wang at this point is a form of ongoing torture. His original abduction, subsequent trial and continued detention are illegal. This unjust suffering must now end. Today we join Ti-Anna Wang in calling for his release from prison and reuniting with his family in Canada.
Petitions April 1st, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition on behalf of a significant number of Quebec residents, including those of my own riding of Mount Royal.
The petition expresses its alarm at the escalating state-backed anti-Semitism in Venezuela, including attacks on Jewish persons, property and religious institutions, such as the firebombing of a synagogue in Caracas. It also expresses its alarm that members of the Jewish community in Venezuela fear for their personal safety and their denial of religious freedom.
It acknowledges that the Canadian people, who have the strongest feelings of friendship with the people of Venezuela, regret these recent developments and hold the Venezuelan people in their highest esteem.
It calls upon the Government of Canada to express its outrage at government-sponsored anti-Semitic attacks directly to the government of Venezuela in international fora, to demand an independent investigation of such attacks and to act upon the recent London declaration of the interparliamentary coalition to combat anti-Semitism.
It also calls upon governments to condemn such state-backed anti-Semitism, to work with our international partners to ensure the protection of the Venezuelan Jewish community and to safeguard against further human rights violations, in particular, those that may be authorized by state officials and state actors.