Peter MacKay

[Afghanistan, May 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, let us be very frank about what is happening here. The only confusion, the only misstatement of fact, the only deliberate attempt to distort what is going on here is coming from the opposition benches.

Let me read clearly from an affidavit filed by the vice-chief of the defence staff. He said, “Nothing in the circumstances described can lead to a conclusion that the individual was tortured and that CF members were aware of such torture”.

If members in the field were not aware of any allegations of torture or actual torture, how would any member of the government be aware?

[Equalization, May 4th, 2007]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, the facts never get in the way of that member when he wants to put his story out there, when he wants to confuse things, stir the pot, and misinform constituents and people around the province.

What we have seen time and time again from the members opposite is that they come up short when it comes to the truth. What we are seeing here is obviously an attempt to distract from the shortcomings of their time in office.

What we are seeing from this government is decisive action that treats the provinces with respect and that comes across and delivers millions more to the citizens of Nova Scotia and all provinces of this country.

[Equalization, May 4th, 2007]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, as we have seen from that member time and time again, he mixes fact and fiction. He gets up and he tries to confuse people.

What we are demonstrating clearly is what we have demonstrated all along, flexible federalism, the ability to work with the provinces, as we saw this week when the Minister of Finance travelled to Nova Scotia to meet directly with his counterpart. He spoke with him about the need to find a resolution.

We are going to continue to work with our counterparts in all the provinces to see that the fiscal imbalance is actually fixed once and for all, which is where the previous Liberal government across the way failed so miserably for 13 years.

[Afghanistan, May 4th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, like the soldiers in Afghanistan, our Minister of National Defence wore the uniform of the Canadian Forces for over 30 years. He is a man of great honour and great respect.

With respect to the new arrangement, as it is now described, when Canada is informed of the mistreatment of detainees and the transfer of detainees to an Afghan prison, Canadians will then notify Afghan authorities, seek their intervention to stop the mistreatment and take corrective measures.

That is what the arrangement is set up to do and we will ensure that works for all detainees.

[Afghanistan, May 4th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, let me repeat what has been stated a number of times now.

The actions taken by the Canadian Forces were totally appropriate. They were taken in response to a situation that they saw developing. They acted decisively and stopped the mistreatment of the detainee.

Consistently we have heard stories of the bravery and the actions of our Canadian soldiers in the field working to defend Canadian interests and Canadian values. That is what should give us all a great source of pride, not casting aspersions, as the member opposite is trying to do.

[Afghanistan, May 4th, 2007]

Imagine, Mr. Speaker, the hypocrisy involved in a member of the former Liberal government standing up, a member who was in government when the sponsorship scandal took place, talking about hiding facts.

What we have done is acted decisively. There was a shortcoming as a result of the agreement signed by the previous government with respect to detainees. We fixed it. We moved ahead. We took decisive action to see that the new agreement now in place meets the bill.

That was appropriate. That was decisive. That is the action that is taken on this side of the House, not by members opposite.

[Afghanistan, May 4th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, in spite of the feigned indignation of the member opposite, who constantly mixes facts and fiction, we should be applauding the actions of Canadian soldiers in the field. What they did was totally appropriate. They saw something happening, they acted decisively and they ensured that the abuse ended right there.

In each and every instance that we are aware of, Canadian soldiers have acted appropriately in conjunction with Canadian values and international law in the treatment of detainees.

[Foreign Affairs, May 3rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I apologize for interrupting the debate. I was enthralled with the comments of my colleague from Nepean—Carleton and compliment him on his remarks.

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I am tabling consent to table copies of a document entitled “Arrangement for the Transfer of Detainees Between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan”. I am tabling this in both official languages.

[Passports, May 3rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the 500 new employees at Passport Canada, we have taken significant steps to deal with this surge.

I fully sympathize with the frustration felt by Canadians. We have a situation where we are getting as many as 18,000 applications a day. We have taken steps, including nighttime shifts, overtime, hiring new employees and having national blitzes on the weekends.

The officials at Passport Canada are working extremely hard to deal with this. We are taking more passports in at Service Canada locations around the country. We are continuing to work extremely hard to find new, efficient ways to deal with the situation at Passport Canada.

[Passports, May 3rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member has been. Clearly, there is a surge in passports because of the western hemisphere travel initiative. We are working with officials in Canada to deal with this surge. In fact, we have hired 500 new officials who are coming on stream.

The member opposite would be the first, I would suggest, to agree with me that we do not want to cut any corners. We do not want to take any shortcuts when it comes to ensuring the integrity of the passports. That is what is happening. These individuals are being trained. They will be on stream. We are getting the situation in hand.