Mario Silva

[Arts and Culture, March 10th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, Charles McVety brags of successfully lobbying Conservative ministers. Many report his lobbying efforts include discussions with the public safety minister and the justice minister and numerous meetings with officials in the Prime Minister's Office.

Charles McVety is not registered as a lobbyist. Nor does his name appear with any registered lobbyist. Why is the government ignoring federal lobbying rules?

Why does the Conservative government have one set of rules for its friends and another for everyone else?

[Foreign Affairs, March 6th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, tragically, we as human beings are reminded all too often of the sad reality that there are people who, for whatever reason or cause, are prepared to inflect upon their fellow human beings unimaginable acts of cruelty and hatred.

If we are to work toward a more just, stable and peaceful world, we need to ensure that violations of human rights are confronted forcefully. It was the Dalai Lama who stated, “Peace can only last where human rights are respected”.

History is unfortunately full of examples where peace is undermined simply because of indifference, fear to confront, or a belief that nothing could be done to change what is occurring in a given state or region.

The two nations noted in this motion, Sudan and Iran, are indeed countries in which human rights are clearly and consistently being violated. Through a systematic and institutionalized means, these two states act in a manner that cries out for action on the part of the world community.

The amount of human suffering in Darfur is simply unimaginable. It is also absolutely and completely unacceptable. The United Nations report in 2005 confirms that within Darfur, murder, torture, mass rape, summary executions and arbitrary detention have taken place.

The United Nations has passed no less than 15 resolutions with respect to human rights abuses in Sudan. U.N. resolution 1590, passed in 2005, mandates the implementation of the Darfur peace agreement which Sudan continues to defy in practical terms. Resolution 1706, passed recently, extends the mandate to October 15, 2008.

This situation is intolerable and the ongoing violence against the people of Darfur is a blight upon the world community.

Similarly, the situation with regard to Iran is totally unacceptable within the context of international human rights law and in respect of the most fundamental standards of state-sponsored conduct.

One has only to look at the volumes of evidence confirming human rights violations in Iran. These violations extend to labour leaders, religious groups, dissidents, gays, lesbians, women and journalists to name but a few.

We in Canada are familiar with the terrible actions by Iranian officials that resulted in the death of journalist, Zahra Kazemi. In particular, the Iranian prosecutor, General Saeed Mortazavi, must be brought to justice for his actions.

I have presented a motion before this House calling for the initiation of an international criminal investigation of General Mortazavi and will continue to demand action in respect to his conduct.

As recently as February 22 of this year, Human Rights Watch has called upon Iran to end the practice of executing juveniles. As with most of these cases, the very validity of the alleged crimes is called into question.

This morning, Ms. Shirin Ebadi appeared before the Subcommittee on International Human Rights where she spoke about the violation of human rights in Iran. Ms. Ebadi is, of course, the recipient of the 2003 Nobel peace prize for her work on human rights and the promotion of democracy.

We know that Iran, either directly or indirectly through agencies and groups, supports and encourages these violations. What is referenced here are the most brutal measures that are absolutely incompatible with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action which confirms that human rights are universal, to name just two international conventions governing state conduct.

The situation in these two nations is bleak to say the least. The level of human suffering in Sudan and Iran is something we cannot ignore and we must take action as parliamentarians.

[Foreign Affairs, March 6th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent of the House to split my time with the member for London North Centre.

[Old Age Security Program, March 4th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am truly delighted to speak in support of the motion by the member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques asking Parliament to review the old age security program with a view to putting a system in place that would not require seniors to repay their benefits, and paying the savings the program achieves to guaranteed income supplement recipients, giving priority to single, divorced and widowed seniors.

Many of those seniors are women.

According to a Statistics Canada profile of seniors, in 2005 women accounted for 52% of persons aged 65 to 69 and almost 76% of persons aged 90 or older. Men are catching up to women in their longevity. Between 1981 to 2005, numbers of men between 80 and 84 years increased to 39% of seniors. They had previously been at 37%. By 2021, they could account for 43%.

The motion calls on the government not only to improve the guaranteed income supplement, but also to give special attention to seniors who did not have an opportunity to prepare for retirement.

We are talking about people who have always lived below the poverty line—single seniors who never married, or divorced or widowed seniors, some of whom worked in the home or worked for minimum wage.

So if the government truly intends to help seniors, this motion with give it the direction it needs.

The direction laid out in the motion means allowing seniors who want to continue working, who need to continue working and who are able to work to do so without suffering a financial penalty.

Let us use the scarce resources we have at present, because to all appearances the Conservative government has spent the surplus accumulated by the Liberals when we were in government.

Some seniors would like to be able to continue working part-time without jeopardizing their pensions or their guaranteed income supplement, particularly seniors who live in housing where the cost keeps going up exponentially.

There is a shortage of affordable housing for seniors.

In 2004 the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation told us that even though 2001 census results confirmed that the majority of Canadian households lived in housing that was affordable, uncrowded and in a good state of repair, even though fewer households were in core housing need in 2001 than in 1996, and even though the percentage of Canadian households in core housing need fell from 17.9% to 15.8%, the incidence of core housing need remains high among four segments of the population: seniors aged 65 or over living alone, lone parents with children under 18 living at home, aboriginal households, and recent immigrants.

If the government is really as concerned about seniors as it professes to be and if the government is really concerned about accountability, as it has repeated endlessly, it must be accountable to the seniors of the country, to the seniors of my riding of Davenport, and to seniors of cities throughout the country. It must use those remaining resources to target the seniors who cannot afford not to work without penalizing them financially.

This motion is very similar to that proposed by the Liberal women's caucus and is part of our party's policy.

The Liberal Women’s Caucus Pink Book recommended that seniors be allowed to earn income, including RRSP withdrawals, equal to 10 times the benefits they receive from the old age pension, the OAP, and the guaranteed income supplement, the GIS, before having their GIS reduced. Ten per cent of those two benefits would amount to about $1,400.

The Pink Book also recommended that the guaranteed income supplement application form be eliminated. All the information is available on the income tax return.

It also recommended dividing the GIS cheque in proportion to a couple’s income. For example, if one individual earns 80% of the income, he or she would get 20% of the GIS and the spouse would get 80%.

The Pink Book also recommended working with the provinces to eliminate the 11-month limit on retroactive payment that now applies to Canada pension plan benefits. That change means that a person who applies late for CPP would not be penalized.

In conclusion, while I agree with the sentiments in this motion, I would like to ask for the Speaker's indulgence to allow a friendly amendment to the main motion in order to clarify it. The mover of this motion, I understand, is also in agreement with this proposal.

At this moment, I also would like to thank my colleague, the member for Laval—Les Îles, who has worked so hard on behalf of seniors across this country and who also has put forward this amendment.

Therefore, at this stage of the debate, I move the following motion:

That the motion be amended by deleting sections a) and b) from the text.

The new version would read as follows:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should review the Old Age Security program with a view to:

a) improve the Guaranteed Income Savings benefits for elderly single, divorced and widowed individuals; and

b) increase the other income threshold so that Guaranteed Income Savings recipients may receive the equivalent of 15 hours per week of work at minimum wage in their province of residence without penalty.

That is the amendment, which is seconded by my colleague from London North Centre.

[The Budget, March 4th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I compliment my colleague for his remarks, but at the same time I am confused about the fact that there was very little in his remarks about the fact that the Canadian Federation of Municipalities had stated that there was about $123 billion of infrastructure needs across this country.

I am a former Toronto city councillor. The city of Toronto is clearly experiencing pressures associated with the realities in regard to roads, buildings, bridges, schools, recreational facilities, sewage systems, inter-city transit, and the list goes on.

The mayor of the city of Toronto, David Miller, wrote to this particular Minister of Finance on February 13, 2008 about the need for a partnership with our cities. He talked about Toronto's pre-budget submission which included a call for a national transit strategy and an action plan on homelessness. What we have seen from this government, it has not delivered in this budget.

Maybe my colleague could comment, not just about Toronto's needs but really the infrastructure needs of cities because that is missing in this budget.

[Petitions, March 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I present a petition calling upon the government to demonstrate its commitment to international law and the treaties to which it is signatory by making provisions for U.S. war objectors to have sanctuary in this country. When over 50,000 draft age Americans made their way to Canada, refusing to participate in the moral war in Vietnam, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau said:

Those who make the conscientious judgment that they must not participate in this war... have my complete sympathy.... Canada should be a refuge from militarism.

Thirty years later, Canada is faced with the same moral choice as brave soldiers opposing the illegal war in Iraq are seeking refuge in our borders.

I encourage the government to abide by the Canadian tradition of giving sanctuary to soldiers opposing illegal and immoral wars.

[Petitions, February 29th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition that brings to light an issue of great concern to the health of Canada's economy.

Canada is currently facing a crisis in the manufacturing sector. Every year thousands of Canadians who work in manufacturing are losing their jobs and every week, more and more manufacturing companies are shutting their doors. The manufacturing sector is vital to the engine of the Canadian economy and the loss of these jobs and the closing of these companies will have a negative impact on Canada's future economic prosperity.

I urge Parliament to join with me and these petitioners and develop and implement a plan of action to protect Canada's manufacturing jobs and to protect our economic future.

[Food and Drugs Act, February 29th, 2008]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-516, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (food obtained from cloned animals).

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present to the House my private member's bill, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (food obtained from cloned animals).

The purpose of the bill is to ban the sale and importation of food obtained from cloned animals. The sale and consumption of cloned meat raises a number of ethical, safety and animal cruelty issues. Parliament has an obligation to weigh these issues carefully, and this bill intends to force this discussion before the sale of cloned meat and milk becomes an irreversible fact in Canada.

According to a 2006 survey, 64% of consumers are uncomfortable with the idea of food from cloned animals. Furthermore, at a time when consumers are rightly demanding the labelling of genetically modified foods, the least we can do is to ensure that we do not slide further down this slippery slope.

I ask all members to support this bill. I look forward to a fulsome debate on this topic.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Iran, February 29th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, across the world human rights groups and labour leaders continue to express their concerns about the ongoing situation in Iran. Recently, two labour leaders, Mansour Osanloo and Mahmoud Salehi, were arrested and imprisoned as a result of their efforts to create fair and safe working conditions for Iranian workers.

What has the Minister of Foreign Affairs done to help secure the release of these two labour leaders and to impress upon the Iranian government Canada's concern about human rights violations in Iran?

[Andrew Bertie, February 27th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, on February 7, 2008, in the eternal city of Rome, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, His Most Eminent Highness, Andrew Bertie, passed away.

The Order of Malta was formed over 900 years ago and is known the world over for its work of charity, as well as the commitment of its members to the promotion of spirituality and the cause of humanity.

His Eminence joined the Order of Malta in 1956 and was elected to the post of Grand Master in 1988. He was the first person from England to be elected to this post.

At his funeral on February 16, His Eminence, Pio Cardinal Laghi, spoke of the Grand Master's tireless humanitarian efforts, as well as his deep commitment to spiritual principles.

I am sure all members of Parliament join in expressing our condolences to the members of the Order of Malta on this sad occasion.