Peter MacKay

[Foreign Affairs, May 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly will provide those assurances. We will continue to have consular access.

As the member knows, the legal representation is not provided by the Government of Canada. However, we will continue to work with our officials at the Saudi Arabia embassy and with the two young Canadians.

As well, we are having political consultations with the Saudi Arabian government. We have in the past, as the member would know, expressed concerns about allegations of torture. I can assure the member that we do take these allegations very seriously and have expressed that specifically to the Government of Saudi Arabia.

[Foreign Affairs, May 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his genuine concern. We have had four visits now with the boys in Saudi Arabia. We are very concerned about allegations of mistreatment there.

They will have continued consular access as well. They have legal representation there. We have made representations to the Saudi government about our concern for their well-being and we will continue to do so.

The member does know that this is a case that is before the court and, for privacy reasons, I will not get into the details of the case itself.

[Access to Information, May 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her question. It is very clear that bureaucrats were responsible for deciding what was redacted.

As I have said many times, these decisions around what is redacted are made internally on reports circulated internally. They are done in the same way that they have been done for years with respect to this report and other reports.

These are decisions made internally, not at the political level. The member opposite should know that. I am stating it unequivocally today that these are not political decisions.

[Foreign Affairs, May 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, what political posturing, what bombastic baloney from the member opposite.

This is the government that stood up for Israel during a time of need. This is the government that has repeatedly and consistently stood strong for human rights around the world.

We will take no lessons from the members opposite, from that past government that shrank in the face of adversity when the human rights of Canadians abroad were at risk.

[Foreign Affairs, May 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, that question by the member opposite is very reminiscent of his admonition of his leader during leadership debates. They did deserve better.

With respect to this committee report, clearly the sentiments expressed by the member opposite are shared on this side of the House. We completely condemn the comments of President Ahmadinejad. These are distasteful, disgusting comments that incite hatred.

This government has done something about that. We have raised this issue at the United Nations. We are prepared to work with members opposite if they will stop with their petty political nitpicking.

[Afghanistan, May 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the process, we have obviously enhanced the original arrangement where there were shortcomings. We have made these reports available.

I can also tell the member that I wish him very well in his lawsuit with Mr. Doan.

[Afghanistan, May 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I invite the member to ask Marc Lalonde about the individual he just mentioned, and I know I can read because I read the book which he has referenced at least 10 times in reference to the sponsorship scandal. I will say it again that the process with respect to redaction and with respect to internal reports has not changed.

[Afghanistan, May 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite would know a lot about cover-ups, of course, with his involvement previously in keeping information private around the sponsorship scandal. However, the process to which he is referring has not changed one iota.

I know he likes to take up a rarefied air in this auspicious chamber but he knows, having been a government member, that nothing has changed. The process for these reports, which are circulated internally within interdepartmental circulation, has not changed nor has the redaction. The member knows full well that this process took place under his government.

[Afghanistan, May 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. I dare say that we have the most transparent, open and forthright government that this country has seen in an awfully long time.

As evidence of that, one only need look at the efforts that have been made by this government to be more transparent. One only need look back to 2002.

By the way, these reports are for internal circulation and are redacted internally. This is not something that happens at the political level. I can understand the member opposite from the NDP not knowing that but certainly members on the other side of the House did the same thing since 2002 when the mission began.

[Foreign Affairs, May 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as I said the other day in the House, certainly members here support the sentiments behind this motion. The reality is this government has taken action. We moved a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly calling for Iran to improve its human rights practices.

When the deputy leader of the Liberal Party was accusing the Israelis of war crimes, when the member for Etobicoke Centre was accusing Israel of state terrorism, when the member for Bourassa was marching in parades under the Hezbollah flag and when the wife of the member opposite was quitting the Liberal Party, this government was standing up for Israel and condemning Iran for its financial support of terrorism.