Peter Fragiskatos

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, February 22nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, my community of London, Ontario, is home to one of the largest Yazidi populations in Canada.

Every member of the House agrees that helping the world's most vulnerable is a proud Canadian tradition.

Yazidi women, children, and other survivors of Daesh will be arriving in Canada, and the almost 400 who have already arrived have been through severe physical and emotional trauma. Would the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship please give this House an update on efforts to help this vulnerable group adjust to life in Canada?

[Canadian Armed Forces Reserves, February 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to pay tribute to the reservists of the Canadian Armed Forces. These groups of dedicated individuals play an integral role in support of the regular force, both in international and domestic operations.

I would like to especially highlight the 1st Hussars, a regiment of the Canadian Army and a part of the 31 Canadian Brigade Group. Based in London and Sarnia, this historic group is composed of dedicated and skilled soldiers and officers. It also has a thriving association of retired members, friends, and families.

Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bernie Scheid, and supported by Honorary Lieutenant Colonel Barry Hogan and Honorary Lieutenant Colonel Larry Myny, the 1st Hussars are tied to D-Day landings, various peacekeeping operations, and supporting the mission in Afghanistan. I would be remiss if I did not mention Joe Murray, who is a passionate defender of London's military history. Their motto is “Today not tomorrow”.

I ask everyone in this House to show appreciation today for the work our reservists do in supporting our regular force to ensure we enjoy a peaceful, prosperous, and free tomorrow.

[U.S. Decision Regarding Travel Ban, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, there are over 60 million displaced people in the world today. The NDP has called for more refugees to be admitted into Canada. What is the number the NDP wants to bring into Canada?

[U.S. Decision Regarding Travel Ban, January 31st, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I wonder, with this new-found interest that the Conservative Party has in accepting refugees and immigrants, if the hon. member agrees with his colleague from Simcoe—Grey that immigrants ought to undertake a values-based test to enter the country.

[U.S. Decision Regarding Travel Ban, January 31st, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I listened with interest to the hon. member. Apparently the Conservative Party has a new-found faith and interest in accepting refugees and immigrants from across the world. With that in mind, I wonder if the hon. member would agree—

[U.S. Decision Regarding Travel Ban, January 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, my question is regarding the safe third country agreement. How exactly would the NDP go about suspending it?

[Petitions, December 6th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of putting forward petition E-288 today, a petition calling for the Government of Canada to put forward a standard type 1 diabetes care policy in all schools across the country based on the recommendations of a number of diabetes research advocacy organizations, including JDRF, Ophea, and the Canadian Diabetes Association.

[Business of Supply, December 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is a spirited orator. There is no question about that. However, he would do well to pay more attention to historical fact.

There was a prime minister named John Diefenbaker. I take it my colleagues have heard of him. He was a Conservative. He refused U.S. demands to break relations with Cuba after the Castro regime came to power in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Batista regime.

He also refused to put Canadian troops on combat-ready alert, despite the fact that the Kennedy administration asked for this during the Cuban missile crisis.

More recently, Brian Mulroney engaged in warm and friendly relations with Cuba, as did Stephen Harper toward the end of his tenure.

I wonder if my hon. colleague would comment on this record of Conservative leadership?

[Business of Supply, December 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot about history, and I will touch on that in a moment. It is well-known that in his recent visit the Prime Minister raised human rights concerns. The member opposite has a great deal of concern about human rights problems that exist in Cuba. We are quite fortunate that on this side of the House we take human rights seriously, and that when we engage with countries, human rights issues can be put on the table.

I also would point out, and this is where history comes in and is very important, that it was the Mulroney government in 1985 that took the unprecedented step of enacting the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act. This law made it illegal for firms operating in Canada to comply with any U.S. attempts to destabilize the Castro regime. This was an indication on the part of the Mulroney government, and the then minister of foreign affairs, Mr. Joe Clark, to engage in warm, friendly relations with Cuba. They were Conservatives, but they were Progressive Conservatives, so I guess there is a bit of a difference there.

I would love to hear the member's comment on that.

[Business of Supply, December 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke about the importance of not politicizing foreign policy. I wonder if he could continue that thought. I think it is tremendously important. Canadians expect us as a government, and any government, not to politicize foreign policy. I wonder if the member could continue those comments.