Marc Garneau

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 24th, 2014]

With regard to government funding, providing the dollar amount and the specific purpose, broken down by year from 2000 to the present: (a) how much government funding has been directed to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency; and (b) how much government funding has been directed to the Palestinian Authority?

[Infrastructure, March 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there is just one week left before the beginning of the new fiscal year, and the Conservatives are celebrating by cutting the building Canada fund by nearly 90%.

The Conservatives are misleading Canadians by failing to tell them that they are reserving most of the infrastructure money for well after the next election. Yes, I congratulate the new Minister of Finance on his appointment, and I invite him to tell us whether he intends to fix the huge infrastructure gap that the government has created.

[International Arms Trade Treaty, March 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in April 2013, Canada and 153 other countries voted in favour of the principle of a UN resolution regarding an international arms trade treaty.

Since then, 116 countries have signed the treaty, including our allies Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland and even the United States. What is Canada doing? It continues to analyze the issue, one year after the vote. We are now part of a group that involves Russia, North Korea and Syria, countries that have yet to sign.

We are supposedly studying the repercussions for our domestic market. That sort of excuse did not hinder our allies, a number of whom are at the ratification stage. Our government is still pandering to its base. This is no time to procrastinate. It is time for Canada to sign the treaty.

[Petitions, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a second petition signed by many Quebeckers who are calling on the Government of Canada to act swiftly and effectively in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and to increase the number of government sponsored refugees, as well as providing the necessary resources to support these actions.

[Petitions, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present two petitions.

The first is signed by 1,133 residents of the Montreal area who are calling on the federal government and Aéroports de Montréal to take measures to reduce the noise from planes taking off from and landing at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

An MP does more than just present petitions. My colleague from Saint-Laurent—Cartierville took steps to strengthen dialogue between Aéroports de Montréal and the citizens' group Les pollués de Montréal-Trudeau. He found both parties showed goodwill toward serving the common interest.

[Infrastructure, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we are three weeks from the new fiscal year and the report on plans and priorities tabled by the infrastructure minister just yesterday does not even include money for the new building Canada fund. We are told that negotiations are under way with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities about getting the program up and running by April 1.

The fund was announced 12 months ago, so why are municipalities not able to apply for funding right now?

[Infrastructure, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's labour market suffered another net loss in February. There are still 250,000 more Canadians without a job than before the recession. If the government increased its investments in infrastructure, that would create jobs in the construction, transportation and manufacturing sectors. Why is the government cutting the building Canada fund and making practically no effort to implement it in time for the spring construction season?

[Foreign Affairs, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in February, the government announced that it was implementing personal sanctions against former President Yanukovych and his close associates. I am not referring to travel bans, but to the freezing of personal assets. These assets could be in the tens of billions of dollars.

We heard subsequently that this had not actually happened and was awaiting Ukrainian government concurrence. Can the government inform the House as to whether these sanctions are now actually in place?

[Foreign Affairs, February 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the immigration minister spoke to media about Canadian sanctions against Russia if it interferes in Ukraine, and then appeared to back down.

Would the Prime Minister tell us whether he has taken any further direct steps to make it clear to Russia that it should not interfere in Ukraine's democratic transition process?

Speaking of sanctions, would he explain why he has removed the economic sanctions against Yanukovych and his gang that he announced barely a week ago?

[Foreign Affairs, February 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday Canadians learned that my colleague, the member for Mount Royal, was barred from a reception in Israel during the Prime Minister's trip. We can thank the member for York Centre for the shabby treatment of a man who deserves greater respect.

Today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is heading for Ukraine. However, the Canadian delegation does not include MPs from other parties, even though all parties share the same concerns about Ukraine.

What message are we sending Ukrainians about multi-party democracy when our government excludes members from other parties?