Kevin Sorenson

[National Security, June 14th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, CSIS failed to locate and identify Ahmed Ressam. Now we learn that it erased more than 200 tapes of intercepted conversations of Air India bombing suspect Talwinder Singh Parmar.

For the solicitor general, how can Canadians feel safe given the numerous breaches in security and the repeated errors by CSIS?

[Agriculture, June 14th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, as the proceedings in the House wind down for the summer, many MPs will return home for a well deserved break from the daily grind in Ottawa. Although I am looking forward to the next few months in my riding, I dread witnessing the despair and loss of hope given the serious drought in my constituency.

Provost, Consort, Wainwright, Camrose, Stettler, Hanna, Drumheller and Oyen, as well as other parts of central Alberta have had no rain prompting many constituents like Kurt and Lynn Cole to write. They said:

--depression is written on people's faces as they are forced to sell their cattle and as they consider what they are going to do about their land that is drying and blowing away... intelligent hard working people simply cannot compete...there just is no release. As we sit and listen to you guys in parliament...our dear neighbour has taken his cattle that's been in his family for two generations to market.

For the sake of my constituents and all Canadian farmers, I beg the government to do something to restore hope and to address this serious and devastating situation.

The government should do more than flip a coin with the hopes of farmers: heads, government wins; tails, farmers lose.

[Citizenship and Immigration, June 13th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we are left wondering if the government is taking the integrity and security of its own resources and information as seriously as it should. If the government cannot keep one of its own offices secure from either ordinary burglars or perhaps potential terrorists, how can it assure Canadians and the international community as a whole that it can keep our country safe?

[Citizenship and Immigration, June 13th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, why is it that here in Canada the security of a federal building can be so easily breached in this post-September 11 era?

The recent break-in and theft at Citizenship and Immigration is a sorry commentary on just how the government has taken the threats of the security of our country.

I ask the minister of public works: How can a federal building, particularly one housing such sensitive and confidential information, be so easily broken into?

[Government Contracts, June 11th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the public works minister is doing more damage control and not giving Canadians the transparency that he promised he would.

Could the minister explain why telling us the number of referrals that he has made to the RCMP could possibly compromise or jeopardize any ongoing or potential investigation?

[Government Contracts, June 11th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of public works needs to come clean with Canadians. Yesterday he stonewalled in the House, then paraded outside giving a completely different answer than what he did in the House.

Would he clearly, and without his rehearsed lawyerly responses, tell the House how many matters he has referred to the RCMP?

[Petitions, June 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have the privilege to present to this House a petition signed by constituents of Crowfoot, and more specifically the communities of Three Hills and Trochu. The petition calls upon parliament to protect children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that materials which promote or glorify pedophilia or sado-masochistic activities involving children are absolutely outlawed.

I fully support this petition which reflects the opinion of a majority of Canadians in condemning the creation and the use of child pornography.

[Government Contracts, June 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the government is moving slowly and unsurely. However we are not after details here that may affect any police investigation.

Would someone over there please tell the taxpayers of Canada how many matters relating to the government's advertising, sponsorship and communications contracting are currently under investigation by the RCMP?

[Government Contracts, June 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have a straightforward question for the government. Could the public works minister tell us how many different matters he has referred to the RCMP since he took over the portfolio 15 days ago?

[Government Contracts, June 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot about internal inquiries. Maybe it is time for a full public inquiry.

Any legitimate business would cut off the supplier when it failed to deliver a service. The auditor general said that the delivery of service was appalling, but the government tried with all its might to justify Groupaction. On Tuesday, the minister said:

The government does not accept or condone work that is clearly substandard or deficient in the variety of ways that have been identified.

Is it not true that the only reason the government refused to cut off Groupaction was that it was a significant contributor to the--