House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 39% of the vote.
Foreign Affairs May 30th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's most recent trip abroad puts former Prime Minister Joe Clark's lost luggage in perspective when we consider that, instead of building bridges overseas, the government is undermining our credibility on climate change and Afghanistan.
I would ask the Conservative government if it could confirm that the Prime Minister has landed, is back on Canadian soil and that the international embarrassment tour is finally over.
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, I did not want a specific date from the minister. I want to know whether we can expect a response from the government before the House rises for the summer.
Second, were there any discussions between Barrick Gold and the government around the corporate social responsibility report?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, I would like to now turn to corporate social responsibility. It has already been mentioned that the government was looking at it. I want to point out that it has been over 425 days since the release of the report. In fact, when asked at committee and in the House last year, the government said that it would have a response very soon.
It has now been 425 days since the consensus report was actually tabled. This is a report that was civil society and business established. All the government needs to do is report. First, I want to know if we can expect a response before Parliament rises.
Second, were there any discussions with members of Barrick Gold on this report? In other words, were there any meetings at all with the government and Barrick Gold regarding corporate social responsibility?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, I believe I asked a very specific question about the Canadian government's policy in its embassies overseas, which had been the case before. I know that because through ATI we were able to get human rights reports up to 2006 but it has stopped.
Is the government still providing, through its embassies, human rights reporting on the regions and the countries under the purview of the embassies, yes or no?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, I would like to turn to human rights reporting. Could the minister confirm whether Canadian missions abroad are continuing to produce up to date reports on human rights conditions of the country or the region under its purview? I would like to know if it is still the policy of the government to provide up to date human rights reviews of any particular region or country under its purview.
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, I am asking how much it is costing presently, not future costs. Therefore, I will leave that as a question for him. We are talking about the estimates. I hoped we would get a response from him about how much it cost the department.
Unrelated to that, it has been a couple of months since the House passed the extension of the mission in Afghanistan. I just came back from Afghanistan and I apologize for the jet lag.
We know the three things that were committed and concrete. We know about the thousand troops from NATO. We know about the helicopters and drones. What is missing is the government's response on the other facets to the motion.
The PCO travelled to that region for more than a week a couple of weeks. In the field, when we talked to people, they were waiting for the special cabinet committee to respond to give them direction.
Therefore, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who also happens to be the chair of the cabinet committee, and I hope to get a detailed answer on this.
When can Parliament and when can, more important, the people in the field in Afghanistan expect a very detailed response to not only the motion but to provide direction to the people in the field?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
I simply asked, Mr. Chair, how much it would cost and I will leave that with the government to calculate. It is simply about airlift, providing air passage for a Canadian citizen to come back. We have established that this has been done in the past. Perhaps we could do it in a more cost effective manner.
I want to ask a couple of questions about Canada's participation in the mission in Afghanistan. Could the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell us how much the mission in Afghanistan is costing the Department of Foreign Affairs presently, not the whole government?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, a Canadian citizen is presently in Sudan. In fact, he is taking refuge in the Canadian embassy in Sudan. His name is Abousfian Abdelrazik, as people will know. We have asked questions in the House about him.
Could the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell us how much it would cost to repatriate Mr. Abousfian Abdelrazik to Canada?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, regarding the repatriation of foreign citizens, could the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell us, where in the main estimates would the costs for repatriation come? In other words, could he tell us what vote line on the actual estimates that cost would come from?
Business of Supply May 29th, 2008
Mr. Chair, we now established that the government is not aware of who has been hired at the American embassy.
Maybe we will turn to getting another answer and ask a question. Has the foreign affairs department calculated the cost of repatriating Brenda Martin? Could it give us the dollar amount for that.