Marc Garneau

[Foreign Affairs, May 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, 118 countries have signed the UN arms trade treaty, which is there to control the international trade of illegal arms to terrorists and criminals. Canada remains a laggard. Its continuing excuse is that it needs to consult its lobbyists before signing the treaty.

Could the government tell us when it will finish its consultation and leave the dwindling ranks of the non-signatory countries like Russia, Syria, North Korea—

[Committees of the House, May 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, when I had the honour of taking my first space flight, I had the chance to travel over the Americas. I remember the first time I looked out the window. We were over Brazil. At the time, Brazil was in the process of eliminating part of the Amazon rainforest, and for valid reasons: it wanted to provide more land for farmers.

They had set the forest on fire. There was so much smoke that we could not even see the ground. They were burning a lot of virgin forest. We were concerned about the fact that one of our planet's great lungs was disappearing. Today, the situation has improved.

Our relationship with fast-growing countries like Brazil is especially important. Since we have already signed free trade agreements with other countries, I would like to ask my colleague whether he is personally in favour of more free trade agreements, particularly with the Americas.

For example, what we call the trans-Pacific partnership includes countries in the Americas.

I would be interested in knowing how he feels about developing stronger links economically with some of the countries in the Americas and whether he thinks that would be a good thing for Canada.

[Committees of the House, May 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed hearing my hon. colleague's remarks. They were edifying and educational.

We are talking about the Organization of American States. This is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, multilateral bodies in existence.

We know, of course, that the government has had some difficulties in the past with multilateral bodies. I can point out the kind of approach the Conservatives take to the United Nations. I think they call it our moral relativism with respect to these bodies. Of course, they are not morally relativistic or relatively moral or whatever the equivalent words are. That is how they have always approached things. They are right and full of bluster and they go around telling everybody exactly what has to be done.

This other multilateral body includes all of the Americas. Given that the government approaches multilateral bodies in a certain way and given that my hon. colleague has vast experience in that area from his previous portfolios, as evidenced during his very interesting dissertation, I wonder if he has any comments to offer with respect to how the government, which has said that it would place an emphasis on the Americas, has approached the Organization of American States. Are there examples of how it has really jumped on board and tried to be a force for constructive unity and commonality of purpose within that organization? I would be interested in hearing his comments.

[Citizenship and Immigration, May 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-24 opens a Pandora's box. It will give foreign courts the right to put the citizenship of Canadians in jeopardy, with no legislative guarantee that the process is fair. For example, how can the minister justify to members of Canada's Tamil community that their citizenship would be in jeopardy if they were found guilty in a Sri Lankan court?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 26th, 2014]

With regard to contracts under $10,000 granted by Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada since January 1, 2013: what are the (a) vendors' names; (b) contracts' reference numbers; (c) dates of the contracts; (d) descriptions of the services provided; (e) delivery dates; (f) original contracts' values; and (g) final contracts' values if different from the original contracts' values?

[Eugenie Bouchard, May 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate one of the most talented people in my riding on her exceptional achievement.

Eugenie Bouchard, from Westmount, defeated Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic to win the Nuremberg Cup. Eugenie is the first Canadian to win a World Tennis Association tournament since Aleksandra Wozniak, another Quebecker, in Stanford in 2008.

This triumph comes on the heels of a thrilling run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open when Eugénie earned many thousands of new “Genie's Army” fans through the quality of her play, her steely determination and her warm and approachable demeanour off the court.

Now ranked 19th in the world, Eugénie's next challenge is the French Open. We wish her the very best. She is an example for Canadians, especially for young girls dreaming of their own careers in tennis.

Eugenie, we are proud of you. You have a promising future that all Canadians will be following with great interest.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 14th, 2014]

With regard to the ceremony and subsequent announcement on March 18, 2014 regarding the welcoming home of members of the Canadian Forces returning from the mission in Afghanistan: (a) what were the costs to the government for holding this ceremony, broken down by (i) department, (ii) program activity, (iii) sub-program activity; and (b) if not captured in (a), what was the cost associated with the CF-18s that participated in this event?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 14th, 2014]

With regard to the government’s Road to 2017 commemoration project and military commemoration program: (a) how much has been spent on these programs and projects since 2013, broken down by (i) department, (ii) amount, (iii) specific pillar or event, (iv) year; (b) how much does the government estimate will be spent on these programs and projects in total between 2013 and 2021, broken down by (i) department, (ii) amount, (iii) specific pillar or event, (iv) year; and (c) with regard to (a) and (b), what program activity and sub-program activity will this funding be allocated from, broken down by (i) department, (ii) amount, (iii) specific pillar or event, (iv) year?

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 14th, 2014]

With regard to the International Arms Trade Treaty, what are the details, including date and location, of any meetings held between any official of a provincial or territorial government, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, any of the Minister’s staff members, or any officials of the department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development or its predecessor departments and agencies, since March 1, 2010?

[Privacy, May 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, no, but I did have a clarification question for the finance minister, if I could ask it.