Marc Garneau

[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?

[Taxation, February 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the first thing this government did was increase personal income tax.

Their taxes wiped out $25 billion of people's savings. The Conservatives raised taxes on consumer goods, credit unions and small businesses. They are imposing $5.2 billion in Conservative payroll taxes. Conservative policies have produced no discernible benefit for 70% of Canadian families.

Why has the government blacklisted the middle class?

[Ukraine, February 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, following the removal of Yanukovych, the creation of an interim government, and planned elections in May, the Liberal Party adopted an emergency resolution on Ukraine yesterday at its convention.

The party calls upon the Government of Canada to immediately and unequivocally express its support for the transitional process to a secure democracy. We also call for an observer mission of at least 500 Canadian observers, led by a pre-eminent Canadian, to help oversee the upcoming election. We call upon the government to encourage the international community to ensure that all human rights violations in Ukraine are investigated and prosecuted. The government must also call upon the IMF to meet with the new Ukrainian leadership, to provide economic support and develop a new restructuring plan.

Finally, we call upon the Prime Minister to make it clear to any foreign power not to interfere with the will of the Ukrainian people, as expressed by their elected representatives in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's Parliament.

[The Budget, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, one of the qualities of a great government is its ability, for example, to anticipate a recession, which the Conservative government clearly did not anticipate. The Conservatives did not know quite what to do, until opposition parties told them to stimulate the economy.

I would like to talk about one other area of anticipation that is important. Surely, everybody recognized last September that an enormous wheat crop had been produced by our western farmers. A competent government would have anticipated that, and it would have ramped up the necessary infrastructure so that a fortune of crop from our western farmers would get to market.

Why did the government get caught sleeping? Why did it not anticipate that much wheat and start to work on getting the infrastructure in place?

[The Budget, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I could not help but notice the hockey analogy that my colleague from the Conservative side made about the finance minister, about his being really good at stick handling this most recent budget.

I wonder if the member recalls when, in 2011, the Prime Minister talked about how he was going to put in place a firm policy on income splitting after the deficit was eliminated, probably around now. We saw it on television last night.

I also notice that the finance minister seems to now have some serious reservations about income splitting, although he was very silent on it for four years. Continuing with the hockey analogy, do you not think that perhaps the finance minister has just scored in his own goal?

[The Budget, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague on the government side referred to the finance minister as the greatest finance minister in the world. I want to ask a question related to that, because he just delivered the budget.

I want to cast my mind back to when the Prime Minister, in 2011, talked about a promise he was going to deliver if the budget was balanced by about this time. It dealt with income splitting. At the time, I thought he was getting a little ahead of himself, but he made that solemn engagement. We did not hear anything about it until very recently. Now the world's greatest finance minister seems to be casting some doubt on whether that is a good policy, yet based on yesterday's question period, I got the distinct impression that the Prime Minister felt that, yes, this was something, because he had given his solemn promise back in 2011.

I would like to hear from my hon. colleague whether it is the intention of his party and government to hold to that promise made the Prime Minister in 2011.

[Situation in the Central African Republic, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, it is clear from listening to the government members that they have done their homework because they are telling us all about the horrible situation in the CAR. Everyone knows that it is an appalling situation, and that it may even be a case of ethnic cleansing.

The real aim of this take-note debate is to talk about what Canada can do to help these people. Take-note debates are rare. When they do happen, it is not so we can get an overview of the situation. It is to determine what we can do. Clearly, the government believes that the $5-million contribution it announced yesterday is more than enough.

I would like to ask my colleague if he really thinks that the $17 million that Canada has provided over the course of this horrible conflict is enough.

[Situation in the Central African Republic, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, given that my colleague has a strong personal attachment to Africa and given that this is a country that is literally tearing itself apart at this time, when unspeakable atrocities are being committed and when we bear in mind that last year over $300 million of the government's money for international aid and development lapsed because it was not spent, can she truly argue that, to use her words, Canada has responded robustly to the problem that exists in the Central African Republic? Can she really say this has been a robust response, given all the things she said in her speech?

[Situation in the Central African Republic, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, I thank the parliamentary secretary for his comments.

I will talk about something the Minister of International Development said in his speech and ask for his thoughts on this. It is the fact that the minister spoke about the importance of having safety corridors so that humanitarian aid could get through to those most in need of it. Somebody else spoke more recently about the fact that those who are delivering humanitarian aid are also in need of protection, because they are in a very dangerous place.

We know that the situation is deteriorating rapidly when we start hearing things like “ethnic cleansing” and when we start hearing about the atrocities committed on children. We know this is a very dangerous place.

There are 5,500 African troops. There are 1,600 French troops, and the European Union has recently announced 500 new troops. Is the government considering the possibility of Canada also making a contribution in terms of troops to help ensure the safety of those corridors so that the humanitarian aid Canada and other countries is delivering has a greater chance of reaching its destination?

[Situation in the Central African Republic, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, I thank the minister for his comments. He painted an alarming picture of the situation.

It is very important for us to be able to accurately assess to what point this is alarming. To quote Amnesty International, they have actually begun to use the words “ethnic cleansing”.

If we quote from Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, he says that “We must act concertedly and now to avoid continued atrocities on a massive scale”.

At this point in time there is the possibility that this will escalate considerably. We welcome the $5 million that has been added to our contribution. UNICEF, however, is saying that they need far more funding.

I would ask the minister whether he would consider a greater contribution from Canada. I would also like to raise the point that the European Union has committed to sending 500 troops. This is over and above the 1,600 French troops and the 5,500 African troops. This is something that we have done in the past and we have done it well. Would Canada consider the possibility of sending troops to help stabilize the situation?