Peter Kent

[Foreign Affairs, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in the war on terror, Canada most often follows the United States in designation of terrorist entities, such as al-Qaeda or successor groupings. The latest incarnation, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham, is not on the U.S. list because it absorbed a U.S. sponsored guerrilla body in Syria's multi-dimensional civil war. However, Canada by also not listing this clearly terrorist composite group is creating challenges for prosecution of terrorist funding or recruitment of Canadians by this group. Why will the government not act and designate?

[Public Service Labour Relations Act, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I will give my colleague a chance to address the matter of the secret ballot with my question.

There seems to be a fairly significant contradiction between the Liberal government's defence of the secret ballot in corrupt United Nations commissions and agencies, for example, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights or the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which see secret ballots covering the way Canada voted for the election of non-democratic countries to significant positions on these bodies. Saudi Arabia is certainly notable in both of those cases.

How does the hon. member rationalize the objection to the secret ballot amendment before us today at the same time that she talks about respect for members of the RCMP?

[Foreign Affairs, May 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the foreign affairs committee study of Canada's sanctions regimes revealed shocking dysfunction and incapacity among government departments and agencies tasked with detecting and prosecuting international financial fraud. The data provided by Mr. Browder to the Mounties reveals undetected money laundering in Canada of a sort more often associated with shady tax havens in Europe and the Caribbean.

The unanimous committee recommendations to stiffen Canada's sanctions laws are direct and uncomplicated. When will the government act to crack down on international fraudsters using Canada as a safe haven?

[Foreign Affairs, May 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have dragged their feet since the election on expanding Canada's sanctions laws. This week, there is powerful new evidence that Canada's laws governing criminal financial activity are dysfunctional. Revelations of elaborate Russian money-laundering schemes involving millions of dollars through Canadian shell companies only came to light because of details hand-delivered to the RCMP and journalists by anti-Putin crusader Bill Browder.

Just how long will the Liberals procrastinate on the foreign affairs committee's unanimous Magnitsky recommendations to get tough on corruption?

[Ethics, May 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I was going to ask about powerful new evidence that Canada's sanctions monitoring, compliance, and enforcement of criminal financial activity is dysfunctional, and the Liberals foot-dragging in accepting the foreign affairs committee's unanimous Magnitsky recommendations to get tough on corruption, but I think more relevant is the Prime Minister's dysfunctional performance in question period.

Just how many times has he met the Ethics Commissioner?

[Foreign Affairs, May 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals promised that cozying up to Iran would get results, even though the Iranian regime boasts about funding terrorist proxies, has a rogue ballistic missile system, and makes proclamations aimed at the destruction of Israel. That is even while Canadian resident Saeed Malekpour languishes in an Iranian prison. Now we learn the Liberals have sent diplomats to Iran perhaps to fulfill another misguided campaign promise to open an embassy our Conservative government closed because of the security risks to diplomats. Why?

[Human Rights, May 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, many hundreds of Falun Dafa supporters assembled in front of Parliament today for the millions in China who have suffered since Jiang Zemin launched a campaign of brutal, deadly persecution of Falun Gong practitioners 18 years ago.

In February, Sun Qian, a Canadian citizen, was arrested and abused for her beliefs. She is only one of the latest victims.

The Liberal government must balance its narrowly focused pursuit of trade and speak up publicly to condemn China's chronic denial of fundamental human rights. Canadians should work toward a day when human rights advocates are no longer considered enemies of the Chinese state, when Chinese television no longer broadcasts confessions obtained through blackmail and torture, when political prisoners are no longer subject to organ harvesting, a day when the tenets of Falun Dafa and Falun Gong can be spoken out loud in Tiananmen Square.

Zhen, Shan, Ren: truthfulness, compassion, tolerance.

[Foreign Affairs, May 4th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, a Canadian citizen, Sun Qian, has been imprisoned in Beijing for her belief in truth, compassion, and tolerance.

Canada's new ambassador to China refused to publicly protest this latest case of Chinese extrajudicial detention, but by muting content on the plight of dual citizens unjustly held in China, Iran, Turkey, or any other undemocratic country, Canada is treating these citizens as second-class citizens.

Why are the Liberals prioritizing trade and muting Canada's principled voice on the rule of law?

[Government Appointments, May 3rd, 2017]

As I was about to say yesterday, Mr. Speaker, the EU's rejection of Stéphane Dion as ambassador gives rise to questions about his downsized special adviser role. What are Mr. Dion's reporting lines? Will he be backseat driving our sitting Canadian ambassador to the EU and those to individual countries?

Mr. Dion said yesterday his bungled appointment was the Prime Minister's decision and the Prime Minister's alone. Does the Prime Minister recognize that his clumsy handling of compensating a removed minister has bruised Canada's reputation?

[Government Appointments, May 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we have asked many times for an explanation of the bizarre double ambassadorial appointments of Stéphane Dion after he was shuffled out of cabinet, appointments publicly ridiculed by former Canadian diplomats, as well as more quietly among current foreign affairs professionals, and which did offend the EU.

Today Mr. Dion finally came clean before the foreign affairs committee. His bizarre twofer appointment, he said, was the Prime Minister's decision and the PM's alone.

Will the Prime Minister finally take responsibility for his spectacularly bad decision?