House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2011, with 35% of the vote.
Afghanistan May 14th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the government continues its campaign of obfuscation on the end of the mission in Kandahar in 2009.
In the House the Prime Minister has committed to end the mission in February 2009. However, on Friday in Petawawa he said that we could not set an arbitrary deadline when our work had not ended.
Why will the Prime Minister not commit to end the combat mission in 2009, start working with NATO to ensure an orderly rotation from Kandahar when our mission ends?
Afghanistan May 14th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, no party in the House has a monopoly on patriotism. No party has a monopoly on support for our troops or for the mission. No government has the right to hide behind our troops when the government is subjected to scrutiny in the House. That is what happened at Petawawa on Friday.
Why does the Prime Minister persist in believing that when the opposition does its job, which democracy requires, we are “tarnishing the reputation of our troops”?
Afghanistan May 10th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the growing number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan has shaken the faith of the Afghan people in the mission and in the Karzai government. The Afghan senate is now urging that diplomatic ways to end the conflict be considered.
What discussions are currently underway between the Canadian government, our NATO allies and the Karzai government regarding an expanded diplomatic strategy?
Afghanistan May 10th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, we cannot get development, diplomacy and defence to work together in Kandahar if we have muddle, misinformation and mismanagement in Ottawa.
We cannot win the hearts and minds of people in Afghanistan if all they see are troops, tanks and guns. Afghans need to see new wells, new roads and new schools.
Our military is looking for help from our development people but our development people are missing in action.
When will the Prime Minister get control of this mess, fire his Minister of National Defence and get some real coordination between diplomacy, defence and development?
Afghanistan May 9th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, this government does not understand that without leadership in Ottawa, we will fail in Kandahar. The NATO secretary general said earlier this week: “The final answer in Afghanistan will not be a military one and cannot be a military one”.
When will this government finally balance our defence, development and diplomacy efforts?
Afghanistan May 9th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the detainee debacle has exposed the government's broader mismanagement of the Afghanistan mission.
On the ground, insurgents are crossing freely from the border with Pakistan. We have no strategy on the poppy trade. We have no diplomatic strategy and no development strategy. Here in Ottawa, departments are feuding with each other, we have evasions in the House and the Minister of National Defence cannot even get up on his feet and defend the policy.
Will the Prime Minister do his job, give our soldiers the civilian leadership they deserve and fire that Minister of National Defence?
Finance May 8th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, what I do not understand is the minister has already admitted publicly he is going to have to change what is in the budget. Why does he not come out and say so?
This government is doing nothing to prevent foreign takeovers of Canadian companies. The CEO of Manulife Financial has said that if takeovers continue at this rate, we will wake up one morning and realize that our country has lost control of its business activity.
Will the minister take action and do something to counter this threat?
Finance May 8th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, in budget 2007 the minister announced measures that almost everybody believes might cripple Canada's capacity to compete and grow overseas.
Faced with an uproar, he has now backed down and claims he was only trying to address questionable tax havens. This is just unbelievable incompetence.
When will the minister admit that he has made a $1 billion mistake and start helping Canadian businesses actually succeed in the global marketplace?
Afghanistan May 7th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the new agreement delegates investigations into allegations of abuse by the Afghan authorities to the Afghan authorities themselves. This is not acceptable.
Why is the Prime Minister shirking his responsibilities? Why does he refuse to devote the necessary resources to ensure that Afghan prisons respect the provisions of the Geneva convention?
Afghanistan May 7th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the issue is this. Do we have one process to transfer detainees, or two? Do we have coverage for all detainees or not? These are the questions. Are all Afghans handed over to the Afghans covered by the new agreement? Do they all receive full Geneva convention protection?