Paul Dewar

[Afghanistan, April 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, after promising not to, the Prime Minister has now opened the door to keeping soldiers in Afghanistan after 2014. Conservatives are proposing the fifth extension to Canada's role in this war. Is the government going to bring this latest extension before Parliament for a debate and a vote, or is it going to avoid Parliament, as it did last time?

[Community Access Program, April 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, here in Ottawa at the Debra Dynes Family House, over 800 people rely on the community access program to connect with the world. Children complete their school work and people get information about their communities and search for jobs.

Thanks to access to technology, young people from Debra Dynes Family House are now graduating as nurses, doctors, engineers and police officers. Crime is down, adults learn computer skills and parents have support for their families.

This year's Conservative budget kills the community access program. The government is pulling the plug on opportunity.

Nearly 54% of low-income Canadians do not have access to the Internet.

I call on the government to reverse this decision, invest in families and give opportunities to our young people.

[Petitions, April 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to submit. The petitioners call upon the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism to review the case of Fatemeh Kamkar.

Fatemeh Kamkar's application for permanent residency status in Canada was denied on the basis of an unforseeable negative change in her health, which was further impacted by lengthy processing delays, over which she had no control, at the Department of Citizenship and Immigration. As a result of the decision, she will have to return to Iran, where she has absolutely no family support to assist her in her recovery from breast cancer. It should be noted that following her diagnosis, Ms. Kamkar did not obtain any financial aid for health care from either private or government sources in Canada. Ms. Kamkar has continued to finance her own medical costs.

Ms. Kamkar is currently working on her Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Ottawa and is one year away from graduation. The decision of Citizenship and Immigration Canada will deny her the ability to further contribute her knowledge and skills to the medical research community in Canada.

The petitioners ask the minister to reassess Ms. Kamkar's application for permanent residency under humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

[Foreign Affairs, April 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have always had a hard time when it comes to balancing the relationship with China. We remember that in 2009, the government made international headlines when it gave the duck to the Dalai Lama.

We understand that we must have a professional relationship with the Chinese, but that does not mean ducking a meeting with the Dalai Lama.

The question is this: will the Prime Minister accept the invitation to the Dalai Lama, sit down and meet with him this weekend?

[Petitions, April 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by literally thousands of Canadians, mostly of Vietnamese origin, to raise attention to human rights violations in Vietnam.

The petitioners call on the government to urge Vietnamese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. The petitioners also request that the Government of Canada integrate universal human rights into trade and aid relations.

Finally, the petitioners request that the Government of Canada urge the Vietnamese government to repeal or modify the vaguely defined articles in the penal code and various decrees that are used to criminalize citizens who peacefully advocate for their rights.

I join the petitioners in their call for action. We need to all work together and support those who are promoting freedom and democracy in their homelands.

[The Budget, April 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives had to make up for their reckless corporate tax cuts by cutting public services. Let us have some straight talk on what is happening here. Killing over 1,000 jobs in the Department of National Defence hurts our military communities. Killing over 800 jobs in Health Canada hurts our health care system. Killing 20,000 jobs in the public sector kills 40,000 jobs in the private sector.

Will Conservatives give some straight answers on how these cuts will hurt Canadians?

[The Budget, April 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives can say whatever they want, but Canadians are going to lose the services they need. We already know that the Conservatives' cuts would affect aviation safety and now food safety. These cuts would put the health and safety of Canadians at risk.

We know the consequences of the Conservative cuts at Service Canada. What other services will Canadians find are gone tomorrow? Canadians have a right to know and they need to know. What is it?

[Petitions, April 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, you will recall the great fire that happened in this place many years ago. We had to move location, to what is now the Canadian Museum of Nature. Sadly, the Canadian Museum of Nature is now refusing to reclaim the park that was there before the renovation. The petitioners in my constituency of Ottawa Centre want the NCC to make sure that the Museum of Nature removes the parking lot and restores the park to its natural presence. The petitioners are asking that the government request the NCC to bring the park back to the Canadian Museum of Nature.

[The Budget, March 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think the Conservatives understand the magnitude of the job losses. I am not sure if you received this tweet, Mr. Speaker, but this morning at 8 a.m. I received a tweet from the Government of Canada saying, “Start a career in the public service”. What career? They are killing 20,000 jobs.

The budget really is a cruel joke on Canadians, particularly Canadians who work for the public service. All we have here are job losses and service cuts. Where is the hope for good public services? Where is the opportunity for jobs?

[The Budget, March 28th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is a closed shop in this case. It is wrong to cherry-pick stakeholders and those guys know that. Why are the Conservatives cutting out access to six unions that will be locked out of the budget lock-up? That was the question. They are shutting the door on accountability and on participation.

Public servants are worried about their future. They are worried about the services they deliver to everyday Canadians. Why are the Conservatives keeping them in the dark?