Marie-Claude Bibeau

[Ministerial Expenses, June 17th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, we are talking about lunch in New York at a juice bar called Jamba Juice.

Since my colleague clearly has nothing important to ask during this very important question period, I have to assume that we are doing an excellent job.

[International Development, June 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Scarborough Centre for her constant support of the Pakistani people.

The persistence of polio in Pakistan is the biggest obstacle to its eradication worldwide. However, recent evidence proved that the vaccination campaign is paying off. I recently pledged $60 million for the eradication of polio in Pakistan. We are committed to ending it for good.

[International Development, May 31st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne for her question.

Indeed, humanitarian needs have skyrocketed in recent years, and it was against this backdrop that I took part in the World Humanitarian Summit last week in Turkey. It was the perfect opportunity to announce a total of $331 million in funding for 171 humanitarian aid projects in 32 countries, as well as our contribution of $274 million to the Central Emergency Response Fund.

We are currently engaged in nationwide consultations. However, humanitarian aid cannot wait.

[International Development, May 30th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to have participated in three international summits recently. One was on the status of women, another was on humanitarian aid, and the third was on health.

My opposition colleague will not be surprised to learn that, as in past years, we pledged contributions to the Central Emergency Response Fund to ensure that Canada will always be among the first to respond to disasters. We also pledged to respond to major humanitarian organizations' annual appeals.

[Sri Lanka, May 30th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Scarborough—Rouge Park for the question.

I would like to begin by offering our deepest condolences to the people of Sri Lanka and expressing Canada's solidarity with them.

Our government acted swiftly by making a $310,000 contribution, which helped Oxfam Canada and the Red Cross provide water, sanitation and hygiene services, household items, living allowances, and protection to some 50,000 affected families. We continue to monitor the situation.

[International Development, May 10th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Thérèse-De Blainville for his question.

Just yesterday, the Prime Minister announced that we will be hosting the Global Fund replenishment conference in September. The Global Fund is an important organization that seeks to eradicate HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.

We also announced that we will commit $785 million over three years. That represents a 20% increase over the previous commitment, which will save eight million lives.

[Canadian Heritage, May 6th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we remain acutely aware of how important it is to distinguish between matters under federal jurisdiction and those under provincial jurisdiction. The Minister of Canadian Heritage is fulfilling her mandate with the utmost respect for her responsibilities.

[Official Languages, May 6th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House that our government and our Minister of Canadian Heritage are deeply committed to official languages. This issue is very important to us, and we will ensure that all of our departments and programs uphold that priority to the best of their ability.

[International Development, May 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague. The attack was utterly unacceptable, as is any such act targeting doctors, humanitarian workers, and the women and children who are there because they need care.

Our government strongly condemns such violations of international humanitarian law. That is why, yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and I announced that Canada was co-sponsoring the United Nations Security Council resolution on protection of medical personnel and hospitals. The resolution was unanimously approved by the United Nations Security Council this morning.

[Ecuador, April 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we have already allocated $1 million to help with the situation in Ecuador and help meet immediate humanitarian needs. Our consular team is assisting the grieving families at this time. We sent a team of three Global Affairs Canada staff and three Department of National Defence personnel to assess the needs.

We will take the appropriate action as soon as we receive their recommendations.