Laurie Hawn

[Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, March 25th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, no one respects and values the members of the Canadian Forces or the RCMP more than this government and I can appreciate that from both sides of that argument.

The member knows full well this requires a royal recommendation. He knows it is not votable. This is unfortunately largely for show. I do understand and appreciate the emotion behind it. It is very real. I will not bring up his voting record on veterans because that is shameful in itself.

Members contribute between one-quarter and one-third to their pensions and this proposes to increase benefits beyond what members have actually paid for. The hon. member has alluded to costs, but he does not give a specific number. Does he have a specific number for the one-time cost and the annual increase, and who does he expect will pay for that? Taxpayers, members, or whom?

[Military Spouses, March 24th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the military spouse.

While the military member is thousands of miles from home, it is the military spouse who manages the home front.

Whether it is taking the kids to lessons, getting maintenance done on house or car, dealing with bills, attending parent-teacher interviews, taking a sick kid to emergency, tucking in the kids and telling them that daddy or mommy will be home soon, whether it is waiting for the phone call or email from halfway around the world or controlling the gnawing fear when it does not come as expected, whether it is being there for a friend who has lost his or her mate through service to Canada, or living in fear of the black staff car in the driveway, or putting on a brave face when his or her spouse returns early to Trenton, it is the military spouse who bears the burden of service every bit as much as the military member.

It is the military spouse who deserves a medal, because he or she is every bit as heroic as those who wear the maple leaf.

As poet John Milton wrote in the 17th century:

They also serve who only stand and waite.

Truer words were never spoken, and we should all remember the military spouse in our thoughts and prayers.

[Business of Supply, March 24th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, what is in play is a lot of politics with a capital “P”. When the Prime Minister in November 2007 rightly raised an alarm, he was pooh-poohed by the opposition. When he tries to be optimistic and lead Canadians in a bit of hope, he is pooh-poohed by the opposition. This is nothing but politics with a capital “P“.

How does the hon. member intend to vote this afternoon when this comes up for a vote?

[Search and Rescue, March 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian Forces search and rescue assets are carefully managed and strategically located across the country.

The location of CF assets is based on experience. Studies have determined where search and rescue incidents happen, and assets are concentrated where the need is greatest.

Gander is centrally located in Newfoundland and Labrador, and as such, allows the CF an even search and rescue coverage throughout the region.

The Canadian Forces does work closely with its search and rescue partners and does take appropriate action to ensure that Canadians get the most efficient search and rescue service available anywhere in the world.

[National Defence, March 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I want to first express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of Master Corporal Vernelli, Corporal Crooks, Trooper Bouthillier and Trooper Hayes who were returned to Canada today after making the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.

The comments expressed by so-called comedians on Fox News are disgraceful, ignorant and insulting to the Canadian Forces members, our diplomats and the development workers who have died in Afghanistan and others who have been injured. Canadians and others who know of Canada's efforts are not laughing.

Canadian troops have been consistently praised by allied commanders and political leaders for their courage, dedication and professionalism on the battlefield. I would hope these people recognize their remarks were wrong and would move to apologize to families and friends.

[Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, March 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have listened in the lobby and in the House to a lot of points that have been brought up for the bill.

It is an interesting bill. Yes, it has been around for a number of years, but really, I think there is a limited amount of good that the bill will actually do for refugees.

Canada has an extremely fair system already. Right now it potentially takes years and years for somebody to go through that process.

As has been pointed out, a very high percentage of refugee claimants in Canada are not legitimate. They arrive in Canada under false pretences and get off the airplane, having flushed their documents down the toilet in the airplane. It is obviously a shame when that happens, because those people do not deserve to come to Canada. As well, they get in the way of those who are using the system legitimately and honestly and who are coming to Canada for all the things Canada has to offer.

Clearly, a country like Canada will be a target for people who want to come here for legitimate reasons. The legal system we have, as it is designed, is probably one of the best immigration systems in the world in terms of the fairness of the process. For those using it, it takes a long time to get through that process. One of the biggest reasons is that people illegitimately abuse Canada's good nature, abuse the good nature of Canadians and abuse the open and very liberal system we have in this country.

The government strongly supports an effective refugee status determination system. There are a number of aspects to that. The immigration appeal board is one of them. The member who proposed the bill has concerns about the people on that board, about how they function and about their qualifications.

Clearly, we want to have people who are qualified on that board, but that does not mean that they necessarily have to have specific experience in the immigration system. It could be helpful, but on that board we really need people who have some common sense, people who have some life experience, people who know how to deal with people, people who have a sense of fairness and fair play, people who care about what is happening to Canada over their lifetime and the lifetime of their children.

They want the people who are ultimately here to become Canadian, to share in the Canadian dream and all that Canada has to offer, and to be the right kind of people. They do not want them to be people who cheat the system, people who jump the queue for whatever reason and by whatever method, but people who will be good Canadians, people who will obey our laws and take part in society and the economy.

We do want an effective refugee status determination system, but we do oppose this legislation because it is not necessary and would add considerable cost and delays. Some of those points have already been addressed by speakers before me, on this side of the House at least.

The cost of implementing a refugee appeals division would be in the tens of millions of dollars in ongoing costs to the federal and provincial governments.

Right now we have people who are abusing the system to the point that they are staying in Canada for years and years, sometimes for three, five, ten years or longer. Once we get them here, we have a hard time getting rid of them, and that again goes against the sense of fairness we should have in Canada for dealing with people who legitimately want to come to this country for all the right reasons, because it holds those people back unfairly.

The whole appeal process would add at least five months to the determination process. From what we know about the way the system works, it would probably add a lot more than that.

I, like other members of Parliament, deal with a lot of constituents who come with problems. About 90% of the situations I deal with are immigration-related.

Am I out of time, Mr. Speaker?

[Criminal Code, March 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague. I always find him thoughtful, sincere and well-spoken and I do have the utmost personal respect for him.

I gather he can the Prime Minister's mind. That is quite a feat.

I will not bother going into some of the crises that prevented us from getting to some of those things he would like us to get to, which we are getting to now. I will point out that perception for some people equals their personal fact. Other perceptions for other people may be a diametrically opposed fact, but that is okay.

I am pleased to hear the members of the NDP will support it, that they will work with the government to perhaps make the bill better, hopefully, at committee and wherever else they can. That is welcomed.

However, I will ask him to comment on one thing. When he said we did nothing to increase the number of police officers, that is patently untrue. There is some difficulty in doing that. We cannot just go to Wal-Mart, to the police section, and pick police officers off the shelf. We have to recruit them, train them and retain them. The robust economy that we had up until recently has added an extra challenge.

Would he agree that we have made efforts in that area? We are not there yet, we have a ways to go, but perhaps an outcome of the current economy is that it may be easier now to recruit members to the RCMP, members to the municipal police forces, and we will perhaps make more progress toward our goals.

[Search and Rescue, March 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this was a tragic accident and our thoughts go out to those in peril on the sea and to their families.

There is an ongoing search and rescue operation involving four Cormorant helicopters, two Hercules and one Aurora aircraft from the Canadian Forces, and a Coast Guard vessel. There are also civilian aircraft on site as well.

There are high winds and the seas are rough. At this point, one person has been picked up, and the search continues for others. Canada has brought a very significant search and rescue capability to bear on to the scene today, and every effort is being made to search for survivors.

[Canadian Forces, March 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.

Canada's armed forces are constantly looking at ways to enhance their ability to deliver the goods to Canada through bases, such as Bagotville, and through the use of the reserves in all parts of the country. We are continuing to evaluate that.

Any commitment made will be followed through on, and any announcement that is made will be in the best interests of the Canadian Forces and, ultimately, of the Canadian people who are the customers of the Canadian Forces.

[Business of Supply, March 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek the consent of the House, you would find unanimous consent to see the clock at 5:30 p.m.