Lawrence Cannon

[Thailand, December 2nd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, while my hon. colleague was building a coalition with the separatists, we were working.

I want to reassure the House that the first planeload of 34 Canadians landed this morning in Hong Kong. The embassy continues to work around the clock to address this. Flights are leaving; people are departing Thailand. The embassy has secured blocks of seats, an additional 70 today and 100 tomorrow, on Bangkok Airways flights to Hong Kong and has contacted all tour groups to make sure that there is available space.

[Foreign Affairs, December 1st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the embassy is working 24 hours a day to help Canadians stranded in Bangkok. We are considering all of our options, which include chartering planes to help Canadians get from Thailand to Hong Kong. This afternoon, I talked to the president of Air Canada and asked him for his support in helping consular staff get Canadians home.

[Terrorism, November 28th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure Canadians and families affected that the Government of Canada continues to deploy every effort to assist Canadians in Mumbai, including assistance in travel documents, replacing documents that might have been taken away, facilitating the departure of those wishing to leave through commercial means and, of course, providing financial assistance to those in need.

We must remain vigilant and that is exactly what we are doing.

[Afghanistan, November 27th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague has said, we are in Afghanistan at the invitation of the United Nations. We are part of a group that is working to rebuild that country. We are working to rebuild its governance strategies. We are working to rebuild its infrastructures. In short, the Canadian men and women over there can take pride in what they are doing. As for us, we shall pursue the same six objectives we set for ourselves a long time ago.

[Arts and Culture, November 27th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am always surprised by how petty the Bloc Québécois can be when it comes to discussing cultural issues. They know very well that we have increased our spending on culture. For example, they know that we invested in TV5. They know that every time the government has had to make a decision about helping francophones and Quebec culture, the government has been present, but they have not.

[Points of Order, November 26th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have no intention whatsoever of withdrawing my words, but I shall do so reluctantly if you oblige me to.

[Points of Order, November 26th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right, it was an extremely serious matter. However, it was people in the opposition who said “not Coderre” to which I replied that no, it was not “Coderre” but “Khadr”. Yes, this is a serious matter. Obviously, I regret that my friend and colleague was put in this situation, but I repeat that it was members of the opposition who said this.

[Justice, November 24th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind you, as well as my hon. colleagues, that my colleague was in government when Mr. Khadr was sent to Guantanamo. He must fully understand that there is a judicial system and a process in place which the government intends to respect to its fullest extent.

[Justice, November 24th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the individual is charged with very serious accusations.

The hon. colleague refers to other countries. We need to indicate in this case that the individual has been charged, he is in a process and there is a judicial system that is ongoing. The Government of Canada does not want to interfere in the judicial sovereignty of another nation.

[Justice, November 24th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, as I said—and I will say it again—Mr. Khadr faces very serious charges. It should be noted that I did not say “Coderre”, I said “Khadr”. There should be no misunderstanding there.

Any questions regarding whether Canada plans to ask for the release of Mr. Khadr from Guantanamo are premature and speculative in nature as the legal process and appeals are ongoing.