Martha Hall Findlay

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 21st, 2011]

With respect to the discussions with the Republic of Panama concerning a double taxation agreement and a sharing of financial information, as well as discussions concerning an agreement to share financial information, what are (i) the details of the meetings, (ii) the dates, (iii) the details of the correspondence between the government of Canada and the government of Panama?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 21st, 2011]

With respect to the meetings between the Government of Canada, U.S. governors and members of the U.S. House of Representatives on U.S. protectionist legislation in a bid to defend Canadian companies: (a) how many meetings were held; (b) with whom, for each meeting; (c) what were the dates of these meetings; and (d) what is the content of the meeting minutes and correspondence?

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 21st, 2011]

With respect to the ongoing process to acquire 65 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF): (a) which engine will the government be selecting; (b) what analysis has been conducted in terms of engine selection; (c) when was the analysis done; (d) what analysis has been done in regard to the maintenance of the stealth frame and what are the expected maintenance costs; (e) what is the expected cost difference per plane between acquiring the first quantity of JSFs under a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phase and the JSFs bought in the last year of acquisition; (f) will the initial JSFs purchased by Canada have the same operational capability as the later purchases or will they require upgrades; (g) what would be the cost to upgrade the first JSF acquired by Canada to the same level of capabilities as the 65th JSF acquired by Canada; and (h) will Lockheed Martin or the United States pay for any upgrades necessary to ensure that Canada’s first JSF has the same operational capabilities as the last one delivered to it?

[Nowruz, March 21st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to wish all Canadians who are celebrating Nowruz all the best in the year ahead.

The passing of the vernal equinox is a sign of rebirth and awakening of nature, a moment of renewal that celebrates life. As we celebrate this time, we are given the opportunity to reflect and give thanks for past blessings and look forward to the hard work that we as members of Parliament will continue to do to help build a society that is inclusive of all its members.

At this time of renewal, I wish everyone a year filled with happiness and success. As members of Parliament, we should do everything we can to ensure that this new year provides opportunities for everyone.

I ask my colleagues in the House to join me in wishing everyone health, happiness and success for the new year.

[Member spoke in Farsi]

[English]

[Political Financing, March 10th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, they broke the law. They falsified invoices. They committed fraud. Four senior Conservatives are now facing the possibility of jail. This was not a few renegade criminals. This fraud was created, it was conducted, it was controlled by the Conservative Party. This was a planned Conservative Party fraud and it was a fraud against Canadian taxpayers.

When will they pay the--

[Political Financing, March 10th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, nine Conservative members shared close to $200,000 stolen from taxpayers.

This was a fraud that was created, planned, monitored and then hidden by top Conservative Party officials.

They often talk about the rights of the victims of Earl Jones.

When will these nine members give back the money stolen by the Conservative Party from their victims, the taxpayers?

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, it is his position as minister. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration decides on quotas for new Canadians. He decides on who gets to come to Canada. He gets to decide on who stays here. He gets to decide on which families get to be reunified.

However, it is also the minister who is using his office, his position, his connections and his detailed government information to work for votes from ethnic and very ethnic communities.

How can the Prime Minister condone this abuse of power and influence and this conflict of interest?

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Minister of Citizenship does not understand the seriousness of the matter or, worse, he does understand, but he just does not care about his responsibilities as minister. He is using his office and his position as minister to get votes from people in ethnic or very ethnic communities.

Is the minister not ashamed to use and manipulate new Canadians in that way?

[Government Communications, March 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Treasury Board guidelines were actually changed since then.

I would ask, what rule is the Prime Minister not willing to break? Replacing “Government of Canada” with the Prime Minister's own name, suggesting it is his own personal fiefdom, violates Treasury Board communications policy, federal identity program policy, the Conflict of Interest Act and the conflict of interest code for members of Parliament.

We have heard more examples of rules being broken today alone. This is more rule-breaking—

[Government Communications, March 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has now ordered that all federal departments, boards, agencies and commissions no longer use the phrase “Government of Canada”.

We are not just talking about press releases, but all sorts of documentation. Apparently the word “Canada” is too offensive to the Conservatives and they now think that the government does not belong to Canada but is somehow the Prime Minister's alone.

With the “H” word now to be used at all times instead of “Canada”, what is next? The Prime Minister's face on the $5 bill? It is blue after all.