House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2011, with 32% of the vote.
Afghanistan November 17th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the government wants to extend our military mission in Afghanistan: 950 soldiers will remain in the country and the military component will gobble up five times as many resources as development assistance. We need a real debate to ensure that the Afghan mission is truly a civilian mission. Talks between the Conservatives and Liberals behind closed doors are not enough.
Why is the government refusing to have a real debate and a vote in the House on this issue?
Afghanistan November 17th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, without a debate and without a vote in Parliament, the government wants to extend our military mission in Afghanistan at a cost of $500 million a year. It is also planning to cut our development assistance to the country in half. For every dollar in assistance, $5 will go to the military. That makes no sense.
Does the government realize that such an imbalance in the allocation of funding to the military and to development assistance just proves that the mission in Afghanistan truly is a combat mission?
Aung San Suu Kyi November 15th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, Aung San Suu Kyi, the iconic figure of opposition and democracy in Burma, was released on Saturday.
Leader of the National League for Democracy party and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, the “Lady of Rangoon” has spent 15 of the last 21 years behind bars or under house arrest.
This political leader has already announced that she will help investigate charges of fraud in the November 7 legislative election. Her party had boycotted the election, which led to its dissolution by the authorities. Western nations and independent observers have called the election a sham designed to prop up the military junta and stated they were “neither free nor fair”.
The Bloc Québécois is asking the Canadian government to continue to exert pressure on the Burmese authorities to implement a political system that is completely democratic and transparent.
Jean-Charles Bonenfant Foundation November 3rd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I wish to acknowledge the presence on Parliament Hill of the 2010-11 recipients of the Fondation Jean-Charles-Bonenfant scholarships, who have come to find out how the Canadian Parliament works.
Each year, the foundation gives five young Quebec university graduates the opportunity to participate in a 10-month internship at the Quebec National Assembly. This placement gives them behind-the-scenes experience with the parliamentary system and a chance to learn about the members' duties.
This initiative also honours the memory of Jean-Charles Bonenfant and his outstanding contribution to public knowledge of our democratic institutions.
Their presence here demonstrates their interest in our political institutions and, who knows, perhaps they will replace some of us here one day.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to welcome the young Quebec university graduates, Évelyne, Alex, Dominic, Loïc and Guillaume. We hope that your time here will be most enriching.
International Co-operation November 1st, 2010
Mr. Speaker, KAIROS is another victim of the Conservatives' shortsighted ideology, which leads them to make decisions meant to silence anyone who does not share their ideology. For instance, KAIROS objected to the Conservative government's official policy and called for stricter controls over Canadian mining companies operating in Mexico and Guatemala.
Will the minister admit that KAIROS' funding was cut off for purely partisan and ideological reasons?
International Co-operation November 1st, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Cooperation still maintains that CIDA halted its grants to KAIROS because that organization is inefficient. Yet her own officials recommended that the funding requested by KAIROS be renewed. They indicated that CIDA should not put an end to the 35-year relationship it had had with KAIROS.
Can the minister tell us why she overturned a decision made by her own officials?
KAIROS October 28th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, according to an internal memo, the Conservative government ignored advice from CIDA officials who recommended that funding for KAIROS be maintained. The decision to cut funding for this organization, which promotes human rights, was therefore a political one made for purely ideological and partisan reasons.
How can the minister explain that the organization was good enough for CIDA for 35 years, yet all of a sudden, under a Conservative government, the organization apparently no longer did meaningful work?
Omar Khadr October 25th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, to date, Canada has failed to fulfill its obligations under the child soldier treaty by refusing to demand that Omar Khadr be repatriated.
Now that young Mr. Khadr has pled guilty before a military tribunal, will the Canadian government at least demand that he be repatriated?
Omar Khadr October 25th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, after eight long years in Guantanamo, Omar Khadr finally had to plead guilty. Had the government done its job, this young Canadian would never have been tried by an American military tribunal.
Will the government finally acknowledge that Canada has signed the child soldier treaty, and that the treaty should have applied to Khadr, who was young at the time of the incident?
The Environment October 20th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the government is not the only one making all the wrong moves when it comes to the environment. Canadian mining companies have also been singled out by MiningWatch Canada. According to this organization, one-third of the mining companies involved in problems related to environmental degradation and human rights violations in the mining industry are Canadian.
The government has an obligation to regulate the operations of these companies. Will it do so, or will it continue to let them destroy the environment and violate fundamental human rights?