Jack Harris

[Veterans Affairs, October 28th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the minister needs to meet with her.

It is because of what has happened to families like the Fynes and veterans like Sean Bruyea that a national demonstration has been planned for November 6 for people to demonstrate their concerns over the treatment of those who have served our country. We have heard reports of RCMP officers, Canadian Forces members and DND employees being told by their superiors not to attend these demonstrations.

Will the Minister of National Defence assure Canadian Forces members and civilians that it is perfectly okay for them to attend this demonstration in civilian attire to show their support for the concerns raised?

[Veterans Affairs, October 28th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Corporal Stuart Langridge served proudly, with distinction, the Canadian Forces in both Bosnia and Afghanistan. From his time in Afghanistan, he began to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder that tragically led to his death by suicide in 2008.

What should have been a time for honouring his sacrifice and grieving his loss has become for his family two and a half years of bureaucratic hell and indignity. It is shameful that Mrs. Fynes, a grieving mother of a proud soldier, should have to come all the way from Victoria to Ottawa to publicly seek justice after the Minister of National Defence and the CDS have known about this for months.

Mr. Speaker--

[Avalon Peninsula, October 28th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, National Geographic Traveler had a panel of experts rate 99 of the world's great islands, coastlines, and beaches for sustainability and authenticity.

I am happy to say they ranked Newfoundland and Labrador's Avalon Peninsula as number one. The Avalon was extolled for its “stunning natural and cultural integrity”, “home to one of the oldest English cities in North America--the provincial capital of St. John's--and a winding coastline dotted with picturesque and accessible fishing villages that look out on the Atlantic Ocean” with “unspoiled scenery ranging from stark moonscapes to crystal-clear lakes to open land where caribou roam”.

This is in competition with the world, with Wales, New Zealand, Chile, and Hawaii, which were also in the top 10.

B.C.'s Gulf Islands and Nova Scotia's South Shore were rated in seventh and eighth place respectively, and Prince Edward Island ranked seventeenth.

We are proud of the recognition given to the Avalon Peninsula as number one and encourage all Canadians to come and visit the Avalon and all Newfoundland and Labrador. We hope they will see for themselves what the excitement is all about.

[Preventing Human Smugglers From Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act, October 28th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I just wonder if the member would comment on what appears to be a deferential sort of treatment.

I remember that before the fall of the Berlin wall, there were thousands of individuals who would just simply get off a plane in Gander, Newfoundland, on a trip from eastern Europe to Cuba, and would be automatically granted refugee status and looked after. There was no talk of refugee detention centres.

One of the most horrific images in our world today is refugee camps where thousands of people sometimes spend many years in the same place without any recourse. With these detention centres, are we potentially looking at being in the same kind of boat? What does the member think the government thinks about that?

[National Defence, October 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives issued a sole-source contract for Chinooks in 2006, only to change the specifications three years later.

This flip-flop increased the cost of the project by 70%. They dodged the required management structures that should have challenged decision making. They did not start planning for additional personnel until 2009. They have yet to come up with an estimated life-cycle cost of the helicopters.

How can the Conservatives expect Canadians to trust them with $16 billion for the F-35s when they have made such a mess with the helicopter purchase?

[National Defence, October 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are five years late and massively over budget with the delivery of new helicopters.

The Conservatives said in 2006 that we urgently needed Chinooks for Afghanistan and sole-sourced the contract. Now we will not get the helicopters until 2013. The Auditor General said the sole-sourcing was unjustified and that National Defence did not follow its own rules.

If the Conservatives are breaking the rules on sole-sourcing, how can we trust them with the F-35s? If they did not know the full cost of the helicopters, how can they know the full cost of the new fighter jets?

[Strengthening Aviation Security Act, October 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I have a practical question which I presume all Canadians would want to have answered.

What exactly is the effect of this list of information? Does this mean that the Americans can prevent a person from boarding a plane that will overfly the United States? Who is it going to apply to?

We have practical questions, complaints, and concerns from citizens. For example, if a couple shows up on a flight to Florida with their three children, and the husband has a criminal record that might be 40 years old, and the American authorities have information about the criminal record but no record of a subsequent pardon, is this man at risk of being deplaned while the children and spouse carry on? Information might be considered inconsequential in Canada but not in the U.S.

Can the member give us any assurance that this is innocuous? The member forBonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor said it would make no difference. My concern is that it makes practical differences, but we do not yet know what they are.

[Strengthening Aviation Security Act, October 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I listened very carefully to my colleague from Burnaby—Douglas on this issue, and it amazes me to discover, from his speech and from what else we have learned about the bill, that the government intends to enter into an agreement on the use and transfer of data without Canadians having any idea where this information is going to go.

If we happen to go on a holiday to Mexico and are flying over the United States, with no intention of even being in the United States, information about us is going to be made available to the American authorities and there apparently are no guarantees from anyone as to where this information will ultimately go, how long it will be kept or to whom it will be given.

This runs counter to the principles contained in not only our own privacy legislation but, as other countries have determined, the same thing goes for the United Kingdom. The House of Lords' European Union Select Committee had a similar problem with the issues in the agreement between the U.S. and the EU in terms of informing passengers about what happens to their data and specifics about what can be collected, what happens to it and who the data should be going to.

This seems to be required by elementary requirements of privacy. Whether the entire PIPEDA applies is another question, but to just exclude it and say that there is nothing in its place seems to me to be ignoring the privacy rights of Canadians in a very reckless way.

I wonder whether the member has gotten any assurances from the government that that is not going to be the case.

[National Defence, October 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we have $16 billion on untendered contracts for fighter jets without 16 seconds of debate in the House. Yesterday, former assistant deputy minister Alan Williams contradicted the Prime Minister, whose panicked statement that lives are at risk is totally without merit.

The joint strike fighter program does not require us to buy this jet to get Canadian work. The program does not prevent competition. People are being misled by the government. It will not even release a statement of requirements, so that we know what we need. We have no real idea of the total cost.

Why will Conservatives not come clean and tell us what is really behind this deal?

[Tackling Auto Theft and Property Crime Act, October 6th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, we are dealing with auto thefts here and perhaps the member could explain why this particular legislation is needed. I know that with auto theft generally and the trafficking in stolen vehicles, there are plenty of elements of the Criminal Code that already deal with these matters, such as the conspiracy to steal, organized crime and all of the other provisions that are available.

Would the member comment on why this particular bill is needed and how it will better address the problem, particularly as we see that the number of auto thefts have been going down considerably in the last 15 years?