Lawrence Cannon

[Foreign Affairs, May 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, it does not make any difference what the leader of the NDP says in this House and whether he casts aspersions on myself and the government.

What I am saying to him, quite clearly, is that individual is still on the 1267 list that has been put together and that reunites people who are identified with al-Qaeda and who are identified with the Taliban. It is in front of the courts and that is where this litigation will be handled.

[Foreign Affairs, May 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat, this is an extremely complex case that emerged under the Liberal government.

This case is currently the subject of testimony and representations before the courts, and I will refrain from commenting further on the matter.

[Foreign Affairs, May 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that somebody at the United Nations commented on the matter, but that person was not associated with the 1267 committee, which considers the individual in question to have been charged. His name is on the list because he is considered an associate of al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

That being said, I want to make sure that everyone understands that this matter is currently before the courts. I will not comment further on this issue. It is up to the courts to decide.

[Foreign Affairs, May 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this does not change anything. The Government of Canada takes its international obligations very seriously.

In that regard, I reiterate, he is still on the 1267 list. As I mentioned before, this case is before the courts and I will not make any more comments on this issue.

[Foreign Affairs, May 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in the case of Mr. Abdelrazik, he does remain on the 1267 United Nations list of al-Qaeda and Taliban suspected terrorists.

This individual is on that list and the issue is now before the courts. I will refrain from making any additional comments on that issue.

[Points of Order, May 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct the record on a response I gave yesterday to a question from the hon. member for Pickering—Scarborough East.

Yesterday, I stated that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs had met and spoken with Mr. Kulisek in Mexico. In fact, the parliamentary secretary has not met with Mr. Kulisek, but he has met with Mr. Kulisek's wife in regard to this case.

I would also like to mention that our ambassador to Mexico has visited Mr. Kulisek twice, most recently this past April.

[Afghanistan, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as a matter of fact, this government has been extremely active in terms of getting a larger number of people ready for the vote. Through our different programs, we have been able to increase the number of citizens who will exercise their vote, and, of course, that includes women.

I would like to indicate for my hon. colleague that through our six point program we are not only increasing the number of people who are working in Afghanistan on these projects, but we are also ensuring that women are getting back--

[Foreign Affairs, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we are actually standing up for this Canadian. As I mentioned before, consular officials have been there, and the ambassador has gone there. My parliamentary secretary has actually been there and visited with this individual and has spoken with him. We are on this file and we are following it actively.

[Foreign Affairs, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the members of the House that we are actively monitoring this case. We are liaising with the Mexican authorities to express Canada's interest in this case, and in his case, obviously, to seek at the same time the assurances that Mr. Kulisek's right to due process is respected.

As we know, consular officials regularly visit him. As a matter of fact, our ambassador to Mexico has done so on at least two occasions over the course of the last month.

[Foreign Affairs, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, there is a procedure allowing Mr. Abdelrazik and his lawyer to ask that his name be removed from that list. We encourage this individual to avail himself of that option.