Josée Verner

[Official Languages, May 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it was with great interest that I welcomed the Commissioner of Official Languages' latest annual report. We will study all of the recommendations therein very carefully.

That said, linguistic duality is a core value in Canadian society, and the government is committed to ensuring that both the letter and the spirit of the Official Languages Act are respected.

I have started a cross-Canada tour that will take me to all four corners of the country to develop closer ties with official language communities.

[Francophonie, May 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, as I said a few minutes ago, I had the opportunity to speak with His Excellency Mr. Diouf. Our relations with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie are excellent. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Diouf when I was in Paris at the end of March, and we agreed to work at the ministerial conference of the Francophonie to be held on the weekend in Saint-Boniface.

[Francophonie, May 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had the opportunity to talk with His Excellency, Mr. Diouf. He was delighted to have arrived in Winnipeg. We agreed to meet tomorrow during the ministerial conference of the Francophonie. We both agree that the conference will be productive.

[Official Languages, May 10th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his excellent question.

The Official Languages Act, which was recently amended, has our government's total support, which shows our commitment to full recognition of linguistic duality and this will influence the next steps we take.

During the first 100 days of our term in office, we have concluded multi-year agreements in education worth over $1 billion with the provincial and territorial governments and we have concluded upgraded agreements regarding the delivery of services with 12—

[Humanitarian Aid to Palestine, May 10th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that the hon. member prepare her questions better too.

I just told her that the immediate problem of transferring funds has already been resolved.

[Humanitarian Aid to Palestine, May 10th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to point out in this House to the hon. member that at this time, CIDA is not funding any Palestinian YWCA projects or any Medical Aid for Palestine projects in the West Bank or Gaza.

This case is about a private donation from a Canadian wanting to help Palestinian children. That said, the immediate problem of transferring funds has already been resolved by Medical Aid for Palestine. Furthermore, we are in contact with this agency to determine whether the Canadian government can help them and how it can do so.

[Humanitarian Aid to Palestine, May 9th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has suspended four projects involving direct aid to the Palestinian Authority and is in the process of restructuring eight projects to ensure that they will not benefit the Palestinian Authority.

[Humanitarian Aid to Palestine, May 9th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, Canada continues to respond to the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians through multilateral organizations and other partners that are not associated with Hamas.

Future funding will depend on the commitment demonstrated by the Government of Palestine to non-violence, the recognition of Israel and the peace accords that have already been signed.

[Humanitarian Aid to Palestine, May 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to repeat to my colleague that future funding depends on the Palestinian government's commitment to non-violence, the recognition of Israel and the peace accords that have been signed.

That said, Canada is continuing to respond to the Palestinians' humanitarian needs through multilateral organizations and other partners not associated with Hamas.

[Humanitarian Aid to Palestine, May 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, CIDA is continuing to fund aid for the Palestinian population, but it is reviewing the situation and has suspended funding that was intended for the Palestinian authority, for Hamas.