Peter MacKay

[Afghanistan, June 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, that is false. That is not right.

I said the International Committee of the Red Cross has a right to visit the detainees, which is under existing international law. It is mentioned in the new enhanced arrangement, as it was in the previous arrangement. That is what I was referring to, and in fact, this supplementary arrangement in no way puts obligations on the part of ICRC.

It does, in fact, raise the expectations and put the onus on the government of Afghanistan to work not only with the Government of Canada but with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission as well as the Red Cross.

[Afghanistan, June 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, clearly there have been incidents that have been tragic, and the circumstances in Afghanistan remain volatile, but let us talk about the truth in Afghanistan.

There are millions of Afghan refugees returning to Afghanistan. There are millions of children now in school, including girls, who were never there before. There are millions of vaccinations taking place for children. Schools are being built. Medical clinics, roads, water: there are a lot of good things happening in Afghanistan that the member and members of his party like to overlook.

[Afghanistan, June 11th, 2007]

Well of course, Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we are doing in working closely with Afghan officials. We have our ambassador to Afghanistan, Arif Lalani, working explicitly on issues such as this with the Afghanistan government.

We have taken steps to deal with these allegations. We are continuing to work closely with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission as well as the Red Cross. Unlike the members opposite, we are not just talking about these things, we are actually doing something to improve the lives of Afghans.

[Afghanistan, June 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I will speak slowly so the member opposite will understand. There were four, plus two, which equals six.

I would like to point out that since the signing of the new enhanced agreement just a month ago, in addition to the visits, Canada has worked with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. We have worked with the government of Afghanistan, including conducting workshops on human rights as well as working with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission to set up a human rights mandate for Afghanistan organizations.

We are making great progress in that regard. The member opposite is trying to cast aspersions and trying to bring some kind of misunderstanding. He is not helping our efforts in Afghanistan.

[Afghanistan, June 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the plan obviously consists of improving upon the shortcomings that were left by the government opposite.

We signed a new enhanced agreement. There have been since that time four allegations which we have passed on to Afghan authorities. We have involved the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission as well as the Red Cross. Prior to that we had received two.

We are following this improved process that provides for greater transparency and openness. This is exactly what we have attempted to do from the very beginning, unlike the member opposite who is continuing to spin out misinformation that is not in keeping with the truth. That is what the hon. member opposite is doing. We are dealing with it in a truthful fashion.

[Afghanistan, June 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I was crystal clear then, as I will be now, in stating that there were four complaints that were received by Canadian officials after the enhanced agreement of May 3. There were two prior to that. There is no misunderstanding whatsoever. The only confusion that exists on this file is in the mind of the member opposite.

[Special Tribunal for Lebanon, June 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations and I believe that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent of the House for the adoption of the following motion:

That, in support of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1757, this House send a message to the Parliament of Lebanon to urge it to reconvene in order to establish the Special Tribunal to try those accused of the assassination of Rafiq Hariri.

[Geneva Conventions Act, June 8th, 2007]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-61, An Act to amend the Geneva Conventions Act, An Act to incorporate the Canadian Red Cross Society and the Trade-marks Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Foreign Affairs, June 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question. As the hon. member has pointed out, this was a very, very unfortunate incident.

Our society is built on a foundation of respect for cultural diversity, religious and ethnic differences and certainly tolerance. Followers of all religion should be accorded dignity and respect, and in matters of border security, we expect Canadian citizens to be treated with respect and in a manner that does not target them on the basis of any faith or cultural background.

We will take this matter up with the U.S. authorities. I have done so in the initial stages. With respect to the timing of this, I would appreciate any information the hon. member has and I would like to hear directly from Dr. El-Kassem so that we can sort out this very, very unfortunate incident.

[Africa, June 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, with the greatest respect, I am sure that the hon. member had breakfast this morning. I am sure that the hon. member herself has been to a few of those cocktail parties that she tries to show such disdain for.

In fact, with respect to Africa, this government has made significant commitments that increased the funding, with $450 million to support efforts to strengthen health care systems and $250 million to the global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, $150 million of which will be specifically focused on Africa.

The Prime Minister also announced support for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. There was World AIDS Day money announced by the Minister of International Cooperation, with $120 million for 20 projects in Africa. These initiatives--