Olivia Chow

[Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act, October 27th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I have a few questions.

How would refugees from Sri Lanka, let us say Tamils, come to Canada? What queue would they be lining up in? Would they be lining up in Sri Lanka? No. Thailand? What is the proper way for Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka to come to Canada?

The minister said that there are criminals there, that they have already pocketed money, and that people are ready to go on the ships. If he has all this information, and he said that he was working with the police in different parts of southeast Asia, why are the RCMP and CSIS not working to have these smugglers arrested overseas?

I have seen reports stating that nine out of ten of these refugees are in desperate shape when they leave. They have no idea of the refugee policy in the country they are going to.

Whatever policy we establish, it will not make a lot of difference. If refugees are desperate, they are going to try to get out somehow.

[Petitions, October 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from a large number of cyclists who have noticed that every time a large truck makes a right turn it has the potential of pulling in pedestrians and cyclists if it does not have underrun guards. It has occurred many times where people have been pulled under the wheels of these vehicles. As a result, the coroner's report into the death of a Toronto cyclist found that large vehicles are involved in 37% of these accidents resulting in the death of cyclists.

Therefore, the petitioners are recommending that Transport Canada amend the Motor Vehicle Safety Act to require side underrun guards for large trucks and trailers to prevent cyclists and pedestrians from being pulled under the wheels of these vehicles.

[Petitions, October 27th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to present two petitions. The first is a petition from a large number of my constituents in Trinity—Spadina.

The G20 summit was held this past summer in the downtown core of Toronto, which encompasses a great deal of large and small businesses and quite a few residential condominiums, during the peak of the tourism period. During that time, significant damage occurred to businesses and many retail stores and on the lives of restaurant owners.

The petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to ensure there is fair compensation for these small business owners, whether they lost business or had property damaged because of the G20 summit.

[Citizenship and Immigration, October 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we saw another Auditor General's report declaring that service delivery at Immigration Canada is a complete mess. The minister is neglecting his job.

Citizenship paperwork takes 18 months to get approved. Some Canadians wait six years to be united with their parents. There are no standards, no efficiency and no accountability.

Instead of simply changing the laws to give himself more power, when will the minister do his job and fix the lousy second rate service delivered by his department?

[Ending Early Release for Criminals and Increasing Offender Accountability Act, October 19th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, getting smart on crime means that there need to be a lot more programs in prisons so that, when the offenders come out, they will reintegrate well.

One of the programs that is desperately needed, in terms of its expansion, is a public health program to deal with drug treatment, whether it is behaviour modification or getting the drugs for treatment, and then upon their release, a community-based reintegration program. This is often not available in prison. With this approach, we end up having people in prison longer, and yet when they come out, they reoffend. It is wasting money and it is not going in the right direction.

Could my colleague comment on the drug treatment programs that are needed and the smart on crime approach he is talking about?

[Petitions, October 19th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition asking the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism to grant a temporary resident permit on humanitarian and compassionate grounds so that Gary Freeman can be united with his four Canadian children and his wife in Canada.

Mr. Freeman arrived in Canada in 1974. He is a well loved and respected member of the community. He used to work in the library system in Toronto and he has four grown children. In the sixties, he committed a crime and served his time of 30 days in jail. He has made a major contribution to the Chicago Police charity. Since he has done his time, we should allow him to come back to Canada on humanitarian grounds so he can be with his entire family in Canada.

[Petitions, October 19th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions. The first one asks the Government of Canada to introduce a regulation under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act requiring side underrun guards for large trucks and trailers to prevent cyclists and pedestrians from being pulled under the wheels of these vehicles, and that we should harmonize Canadian vehicle safety standards with the ECE regulation 73 which requires sideguards on all trucks and trailers in Europe.

Several coroner reports have stated that without these sideguards cyclists and pedestrians are pulled under these large vehicles. They also noted that 37% of these collisions resulted in cyclist fatalities compared with only 8% of accidents resulting in cyclist injuries.

We have petitions from across Canada saying that sideguards are legal requirements in the U.K. and there is no reason for them not to be installed on trucks and trailers here in Canada.

[Census, October 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, this week a Vanier Institute report has shown that life is getting harder and tougher for Canadian families. Students are graduating with crushing debt. Families are struggling to care for the elderly. Parents have no affordable child care.

Not only are the Conservatives ignoring Canadian families, they are trying to make their struggles disappear by scrapping the long form census. When will the government do the right thing and reinstate the long form census?

[Citizenship and Immigration, October 5th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we have all heard of newcomers with Ph.D.s driving taxis. This is fast becoming the norm. The government's indifference is costing Canada $5 billion in lost productivity each year, but there are solutions: more pre-departure recognition, loan programs for newcomers to obtain recognition services and expanding mentorship, bridging and internship programs.

New Democrats have provided a road map for action. The all party immigration committee even agrees. Why will the minister not act?

[Canada-Panama Free Trade Act, September 30th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, as we speak today, there is a forum in Singapore with 200 delegates to fight tax fraud and bank secrecy. It met yesterday and is meeting today to look at the progress. It delisted countries such as the Philippines. It said the Philippines are doing good work and are no longer listed as a tax haven.

However, it went after Panama and said the reason was that it refused to give information to foreign tax authorities, there is a lack of transparency in the operation of the legislative, legal and administrative provisions, there is no requirement for a substantial local presence, and it promotes itself as an offshore financial centre. This is the country that we are talking about and about to do business with. Tax cheaters can sleep well tonight because there is no persecution or penalty.

My question is this: Why are the Conservatives and Liberals soft on crime when it comes to cross-border cheaters and tax fraudsters?