John McCallum

[Citizenship and Immigration, November 17th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, a direct quote from today's media report on Syrian refugees is as follows: “Only 219 had actually been resettled from overseas, of which 93 had arrived in 2014 and would count toward the commitment to take in 1,300.” The big 1,700 number he uses includes Syrians already travelling in Canada and other permanent residents.

Would he stop playing with numbers, which is what he always does, get serious with Canada's long-standing generosity, and admit at least 10,000 Syrian refugees as government-assisted refugees?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 7th, 2014]

With regard to government funding, for each fiscal year since 2007-2008 inclusive: (a) what are the details of all grants, contributions, and loans to any organization, body, or group in the electoral district of Markham—Unionville, providing for each (i) the name of the recipient, (ii) the location of the recipient, indicating the municipality, (iii) the date, (iv) the amount, (v) the department or agency providing it, (vi) the program under which the grant, contribution, or loan was made, (vii) the nature or purpose; and (b) for each grant, contribution and loan identified in (a), was a press release issued to announce it and, if so, what is the (i) date, (ii) headline, (iii) file number of the press release?

[Citizenship and Immigration, November 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the courts ordered the government to restore health services for all asylum seekers.

The minister just said he is limiting full coverage to children and pregnant women. What about women who are not pregnant or seniors? Will the government comply with the court's full ruling or will cabinet continue to be in contempt of court?

[Komagata Maru, November 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in May, 1914, the Komagata Maru, a former coal ship, anchored outside Vancouver with British subjects of Indian heritage on board, including 12 Hindus, 24 Muslims and 340 Sikhs, all of whom had come to start a new life in Canada. Due to the exclusion laws of the time, these men, women and children were forced to wait 60 days in horrendous conditions before returning to India.

One hundred years later, this incident is a stark reminder of the heavy costs of intolerance.

In 2008, the Liberal Party called on the government to apologize for this dark incident in our history, a motion that the House passed unanimously. Six years have since passed without the Prime Minister making a formal apology in the House. His token apology in 2008 was unacceptable to those who were victimized by this tragedy.

We again call on the Prime Minister to apologize in the House for this dark point in Canadian history.

[Citizenship and Immigration, November 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, when I heard that courts had rejected the government's request to delay restoration of a fair refugee health policy, my reaction was to thank goodness for the judges and the Charter of Rights; they are one of the few constraints on the mean-spirited actions of the current majority government.

Will the minister respect the law and reinstate a decent refugee health plan tomorrow, which is what the court has demanded? Or, will he stand in contempt of the court?

[Taxation, October 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, even if they include these other measures, the Conservative plan gives middle-class Canadians a small fraction of what it gives to the member for Durham.

What do 85% of families get from income splitting? Nothing. Single parents? Nothing. Two teachers in the same tax bracket? Nothing. Seniors with older children? Nothing. Young people? Nothing. The member for Durham? It is $2,000. Is that fair?

[Taxation, October 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there was no answer, so I will try again.

Last night the member for Durham bragged in a fundraising email about how great this tax cut would be for him. He neglected to mention that as an MP and parliamentary secretary, he makes $180,000 a year, which is more than twice the median family income.

Why do the Conservatives insist on helping well-off Canadians instead of addressing the real needs of the middle class?

[Taxation, October 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in a fundraising email, the member for Durham bragged about how great this tax cut would be for him. He forgot to mention that as a parliamentary secretary, he earns $180,000. That is twice as high as the median family income.

Why is the government proposing to help the wealthy instead of addressing the real problems facing the middle class?

[Citizenship and Immigration, October 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, this government's continued attacks on asylum seekers are disturbing.

Yesterday we learned that the government consulted only one province, Ontario, and Ontario does not even want that power. In fact, not one province has asked the government to make these changes.

Will the government stop inventing solutions to problems that do not exist, and will it eliminate this unfair provision?

[Citizenship and Immigration, October 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have not heard of a single province, no matter how Conservative, ever trying to get out of its responsibility to make social assistance payments to refugee claimants. Will the minister stop hiding behind provincial jurisdiction and admit the reality that his law intends to persuade provinces to deny social assistance to refugee claimants, even though these are among the most vulnerable people in the world, and even though they often cannot work and have no other means to put food on the table?