Paul Dewar

[Foreign Affairs, September 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I guess the Prime Minister expects our new roommate, the British prime minister, to do the speech on his behalf. It is kind of like the policy announcements being leaked by the U.K. on its behalf.

Parliament must review this deal, not just for the details but for the message we are sending the rest of the world when we have the Union Jack and the Maple Leaf flying side by side. When will the Conservatives bring this deal before Parliament?

[Foreign Affairs, September 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, let us get this straight. The Prime Minister will be in New York on a taxpayer funded trip to get some personal goody, yet he will not even travel across town to speak to the United Nations. World leaders are gathering this week to discuss the world's most pressing issues, but our Prime Minister will not be there.

Does the minister understand that foreign affairs is about doing the hard work of engaging the world? It is not about making the Prime Minister feel special.

[Foreign Affairs, September 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative plan to share embassies was leaked to the media on the weekend and made Canada the butt of jokes on two continents. However, it is no laughing matter when our closest ally is privately questioning whether Canada can be trusted to keep secrets. Senior U.S. officials are calling the leaked documents around Omar Khadr a serious breach of trust.

Will the minister take responsibility and investigate the leak and will he reassure our allies that Canada is a reliable partner?

[Foreign Affairs, September 21st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is not about how many air miles one racks up. It is about getting results. There is a clear pattern here where Conservative mismanagement on the international stage is hurting our national interests. It is hurting our economy.

In 2010, the Conservatives lost our seat on the Security Council. Now they have lost our place at the East Asia summit, highlighting the government's mishandling of diplomacy and foreign relations yet again.

Why, after six years, are the Conservatives so incapable of delivering on Canada's foreign affairs priorities?

[Foreign Affairs, September 21st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, there is more bad news for Canada internationally. While the Prime Minister claims that Asia is a priority, we have been denied a seat at the key political forum in the Pacific, the East Asia summit. Canada will be shut out of important political and economic decisions for years to come. The reason is that we are not actively engaged in the region and doing the hard, diplomatic work.

Why is the government retreating from diplomacy and hurting Canada's national interests?

[Public Service of Canada, September 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives are looking for inefficiencies and public expenditure, they need to look no further than their own record: a bloated cabinet; more and more reliance on special advisers and ministerial officers; and over $1 billion spent in the past five years on temporary help services for jobs that should have been done by the full-time employees of the public service.

The government cannot fire 184 professionals from Health Canada and expect no impact on public health. It cannot cut air safety programs and expect no impact on security. When 900 workers are fired from Service Canada, that is 900 people who will not be there to service our seniors with their pensions.

Canadians deserve better. Good governance begins with the relationship of trust and respect between public service employees and political leadership. Canadians deserve quality public services and the professionals who provide them deserve our thanks and support.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, September 17th, 2012]

With regard to Canada's Action Plan for the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (NAP): (a) what progress has been made on each indicator, from 1-1 to 21-2, of the NAP, broken down by department; (b) how many meetings of the interdepartmental working group on the NAP have been convened between October 5, 2010, and April 30, 2012, broken down by date; (c) for each of the fiscal years 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, how much funding has been allocated to the implementation of the NAP, broken down by department; (d) what unit within each department is responsible for the implementation of the NAP; (e) for each of the fiscal years 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, how many full-time employees' job descriptions include the implementation of the NAP, broken down by department; (f) for each of the fiscal years 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, how many full-time employees worked part-time on the implementation of the NAP, broken down by department; (g) what information is publicly available with regard to progress of implementation of the NAP, and where can this information be found; (h) with regard to the interim review of the NAP, including consultations, and broken down by department, (i) when will the review take place, (ii) what is the timeline, (iii) what is the process; (i) will the results of the review be made public; (j) when is the annual reporting period; (k) has an annual report been produced and, if so, where will it be made publicly available; and (l) will the annual report be tabled in Parliament?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, September 17th, 2012]

With regard to the procurement of temporary personnel services by the government over the last five years: (a) what are the total government expenditures for such services, for the five year period and also broken down by year; (b) what amount is spent by each department, broken down by year; (c) how much was spent annually, broken down by department or agency, in the National Capital Region alone; (d) what is the breakdown by province for such services; (e) which companies received contracts to provide temporary personnel services; (f) what is the annual combined total of all contracts awarded to each company; (g) how many people were hired by temporary employment agencies to work for the government, nationally as well as in the National Capital Region, for the five year period and also broken down by year; and (h) how many employees were hired on a temorary basis, nationally as well as in the National Capital Region, broken down by year and by department or agency?

[Women, Peace and Security, June 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I believe you would find unanimous consent for the following motion in response to an international campaign to stop rape and gender violence in conflict.

I move:

That this House condemns sexual violence and conflict and calls on the government to:

(a) reaffirm Canada's commitment to implement United Nations Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security and Canada's national action plan on women, peace and security;

(b) play a leadership role in international efforts to end sexual violence and bring about accountability and support survivors of sexual violence in conflict through Canadian diplomacy and development assistance;

and (c) support the efforts of organizations to draw attention to and denounce sexual violence.

[Committees of the House, June 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise under Standing Order 35(2) to present the New Democratic Party's supplementary report appended to the foreign affairs committee report on Ukraine.

New Democrats agree with the general direction of the report. We believe that the recommendations in the report that were amended should be included. They are the following: first, that further negotiations in a trade deal between the Government of Canada and the Government of Ukraine be suspended until the completion of legitimate and fair parliamentary elections; second, that the Government of Canada coordinate its actions with the European Union to uphold the rule of law in Ukraine; and finally, that the Government of Canada provide information and advisories on potential risk to investments in Ukraine, particularly for small and medium-sized investors.

I wish to recognize my hon. colleagues from Edmonton—Strathcona and Louis-Saint-Laurent for their hard work.