House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 47% of the vote.
Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL February 22nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member definitely has a grasp on what is going on over there.
He is right in the fact that most people do not want to leave their homeland. If the option were there for them to stay at home and have reasonable security, that is where they would want to be, though there are always exceptions to the rule.
Again, the CF-18s being there and helping to stabilize the whole area is certainly the right way to go. I thank the member again for that question. It is just common sense.
Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL February 22nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I am quite aware that the number of soldiers has increased. If they want to put the whole thing in perspective, they are pulling out the CF-18s, which are there to protect our people on the ground. There are people on the ground there today before this mission changes. They are increasing the number of people put at risk by pulling the CF-18s out.
To try to say that everything is okay is wrong; it is not. It is one thing to increase the numbers, but they cannot take away everything that is required to help protect them there. That is what we have done. I know the member does not like the term “cut and run”, but that is exactly what it is. As proud Canadians, all of us in here, that is not what we do.
Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL February 22nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, what we are debating today is the mission as a whole and our responsibility there. We all know that the mission contained many aspects of humanitarian aid, and it should, but at the same time along with the CF-18 fighters that had a key role.
Once they take away a main component of it, which the fighter pilots are—our planes are a key part—they cannot expect the mission to go as planned. If the member across thinks about it and admits it to himself, he would agree that we are putting some soldiers in danger, and it is certainly not necessary to do that.
Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL February 22nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be in the House today. I am pleased to rise to speak to the mission against ISIS and the contribution that Canada is making to the important international coalition fighting ISIS.
However, before discussing the details of this new mission, I would like to take a moment to ask us all to recognize the brave men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces, who unselfishly and willingly have fought to protect Canadian values around the world. There is certainly no greater service to our country, and I thank each and every individual who has fought overseas to protect us here at home.
Today I would like to talk about Canadian values. The Prime Minister and his colleagues seem content to use this term to justify this mission. However, their actions on the ISIL mission certainly do not back up those hollow words.
To me, the way to tell what someone's values are is not by what they say, but what they actually do. There is an age-old adage that “actions speak louder than words”. When it comes to the mission against ISIS, our international partners are hearing very loud and clear that Canada is content on leaving the heavy lifting to everyone else. That is not what Canadians do.
Let us look at what our international partners are gearing up for while our jets are coming home.
France has expanded its air strikes. The United States has expanded its air strikes. The British Parliament just recently approved a motion to expand air strikes. While our partners get ready to take the fight to ISIS, Canadian fighters are packing up to come home.
I think I speak for many Canadians in saying that Canadian values have never been to turn our backs when the going gets tough. Canadian values have never been to leave our friends in the dust, and they most certainly have never been to run from a fight to protect those who need our help.
Let us look at some past conflicts and what the precedent has been for Canadian responses when called upon to act.
World War I was a true testament to Canadian character and forged our identity in the global community. Nobody can dispute that. As a relatively new nation, and a nation that was largely viewed to be under British rule, many players on the world stage did not know what to expect from Canada. Canadian soldiers showed true strength during this conflict and were a crucial part of numerous missions.
I can think of no greater testament to Canadian strength than the Battle of Vimy Ridge. In this battle, Canadians were handed the task of attacking German forces and capturing the ridge that they occupied. In the end, Canadians soldiers did what over 200,000 British and French soldiers could not do; they captured Vimy Ridge. The victory at Vimy Ridge in 1917 was the single largest advance against German forces since the beginning of the war and paved the way for the end of the conflict. This victory did not come without a cost, though, as more than 10,000 Canadians were killed and wounded during the mission. When called upon to act, Canada did not cut and run.
During the Second World War, Canadians fought bravely at a lot of places, among them Juno Beach, and again showed true strength and determination in service to their country. At Juno Beach, Canadians stormed the beach during Operation Overlord, and ultimately seized control. Approximately 574 Canadians were wounded, and about 340 made the ultimate sacrifice during this operation.
However, the successful Canadian mission at Juno Beach would provide a crucial access point in bridgehead, which ultimately led to the liberation of Europe. Once again, Canada did not cut and run.
Most of us have a story that goes back to the Second World War or other conflicts. I have a great uncle buried in Holland, in Groesbeek cemetery. That was the sacrifice that he ultimately gave to help free Holland. There are a lot of brave moments like that, which show the example of what many soldiers did. They did not cut and run.
Then, there was the Korean War. Between 1950 and 1953, about 26,000 Canadian soldiers came to the aid of South Korea during the Korean War. There were 516 Canadians who made the ultimate sacrifice in this effort.
Looking at the contrast today between North Korea and South Korea, it is clear that this was a battle worth fighting. Once again, Canada did not cut and run.
The reason that I presented each of these historic conflicts was to demonstrate that Canadians have never valued running from a fight that was worth fighting. When democracy, freedom, tolerance, and the rule of law are under threat, it has been the Canadian response to respond in a meaningful way.
This is no different today. An Angus Reid poll from February 6 found that 63% of Canadians said they would like to see Canada continue bombing ISIS at its current rate or to go even further. Furthermore, only 18% of Canadians polled thought that pulling our jets from the fight would have a positive effect on our international reputation. If 18% want to cut and run, that means that 82% do not.
Prime Minister David Cameron said it best recently when he stated, “We shouldn't be content [to outsource] our security to our allies. If we believe action can help protect us, then—with our allies— we should be part of that action...not standing aside from it”. The same logic should stand for Canada. If we truly believe that action is required to defeat ISIS, then let us take action. Let us not base decisions on campaign rhetoric; let us base them on the true needs of our international partners.
With that, I am going to close shortly. However, I want to thank many members in this House for standing up and trying to make the point on what Canada should be doing as our responsibility and obligation around the world. The member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, the member for Parry Sound—Muskoka, and many others on this side of the House have argued very clearly as to why Canada should not cut and run. It is not what we do, and it is not what we should do. With that, I am happy to take questions.
National Defence December 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the House of Commons has been back only a week and already Santa's elves are seeing who is being naughty and nice. With broken promises on deficits, refugees, transparency, and Senate reform, our Liberal colleagues must be getting worried about the carbon emissions from the coal they will get in their stockings.
On a more serious note, Canadians are disappointed that the Liberals are sticking with their plan to step back rather than step up in the fight against the brutal terrorists of ISIS. They should listen to people such as the Liberal members for Fleetwood—Port Kells and Kelowna—Lake Country, who both wisely indicated during the campaign that continuing air strikes was a key component of a balanced approach. Rather than listening to their own members, why has the government forced them to vote against their beliefs on a matter of such importance to millions of victims of the brutal ISIS regime?
Canadians do not cut and run; only in Canada do the Liberals run from ISIS.
Committees of the House June 17th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, entitled “Updating Infrastructure in Canada: An examination of needs and investments”.
Pursuant to Standing Order 109 of the House of Commons, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
Members of Parliament and Pages June 17th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today as the current session of Parliament winds down to recognize and thank many of the people with whom I have had the pleasure of working over the course of this session.
I would like to begin by commending the excellent work that is carried out on a daily basis by the House of Commons pages. Pages are truly the unsung heroes of this place and their work often goes unnoticed or unrecognized. From delivering messages from our respective lobbies, serving water and the handling of important documents, pages have a great deal of responsibility in this place, and I thank each and every page for their hard work. It has indeed been a pleasure to get to know some of them on a first name basis.
Finally, I want to thank all my colleagues, on both sides of the House, who will not be returning after the election in the fall. It has truly been a pleasure to work alongside all of them, and I wish them all of the best in their future endeavours.
Some of them have become very good friends, and while I will most sincerely miss them, I wish them nothing but the best, and they should not be strangers.
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns June 11th, 2015
With regard to government funding in the riding of London North Centre, 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, broken down by (i) name of the recipient, (ii) municipality of the recipient, (iii) date on which the funding was received, (iv) amount received, (v) department or agency providing the funding, (vi) program under which the grant, contribution, or loan was made, (vii) 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 of the press release?
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns June 11th, 2015
With regard to government funding in the riding of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, 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, broken down by (i) name of the recipient, (ii) municipality of the recipient, (iii) date on which the funding was received, (iv) amount received, (v) department or agency providing the funding, (vi) program under which the grant, contribution, or loan was made, (vii) 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 of the press release?
Digital Privacy Act May 28th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, could the minister please tell us what the government is doing to give the Privacy Commissioner increased power to ensure that companies play by the rules when dealing with the private information of Canadians?