Ruby Dhalla

[World AIDS Day, December 1st, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, today, worldwide celebrations are being held to commemorate World AIDS Day.

This morning I had the pleasure to join the co-chairs of the HIV-AIDS and TB caucus to host the first annual parliamentary World AIDS Day breakfast. It was an inspiring morning, with parliamentarians, organizations, advocates and survivors who had gathered to hear many heartfelt speeches.

This year's theme for World AIDS Day is universal access and human rights, a theme that all Canadians can support to ensure that human rights are protected and global targets are met for the prevention, the treatment and the care of HIV and AIDS.

I join all of the HAT caucus members to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives, to the 33 million men, women and children who are currently living with HIV and AIDS and also pay great admiration and respect for the thousands of volunteers, organizations and advocates who are giving people hope for a better future and a brighter tomorrow.

[Census, November 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it is not about threatening Canadians, it is about helping minority communities in Canada. I would encourage the member to look at a letter that I have written to the Minister of Industry on behalf of the cities like Brampton and the region of Peel. We have 297 government bodies, 232 businesses, 66 non-profit organizations and 54 health and social service agencies all across the country that need the data and use the data.

Why is the government ignoring the facts, because the fact is that the census is helping minority communities? Why are the Conservatives silencing the voices of Canada's minorities?

[Census, November 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, from an order paper question, we learned that over 700 different clients and over 50 federal government agencies have all bought reports to develop policies and deliver programs to help aboriginals, visible minorities, the disabled, seniors, women and unemployed workers. There has been an outcry from across the country, including cities like Brampton and regions like Peel, to save the census. Why are they being ignored? Why are ethnic communities and minorities being abandoned in Canada? Why are they being left to fend for themselves?

[Government Advertising, November 18th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, waste and more waste of Canadian taxpayer dollars. Now we learn that the Conservative government has spent money on Google keywords and websites that show women in compromising positions. One of the sites, hollywoodtuna.com, focuses on derogatory remarks and paparazzi images about our future Queen, Kate Middleton.

How can the Government of Canada justify wasting taxpayer money on a website that says, about our future Queen, “That's it Princess, clean yourself up for daddy”?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 17th, 2010]

With respect to official requests for attendance at events received by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages from organizations since January 2008: (a) what were the names of the organizations, the names of the events, the organizers, the dates, times, and locations; and (b) did the Minister attend the event and, if not, what is the name of the government representative who attended the event in lieu of the Minister?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 17th, 2010]

With regard to government action to address the issue of suicide: (a) what programs or organizations have been funded by the federal government to raise awareness about or prevent suicides; (b) how much funding was provided for each program or organization in (a); (c) what partnerships have been made with the provinces or aboriginal communities to address this issue; and (d) what statistics are available regarding suicide and attempted suicides in Canada since 1980?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 17th, 2010]

With regard to government action on HIV/AIDS since January 2006: (a) what national and international programs are run by the government to combat the disease; (b) how much has the government spent on those programs in each year since January 2006; (c) what is the infection rate of HIV/AIDS in Canada for each month since January 2006; (d) what is the mortality rate for HIV/AIDS in Canada for each year since January 2006; and (e) what research to combat the disease is being funded by the government?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 17th, 2010]

With regard to questions on “ethnic origin and visible minorities” and “immigration and citizenship” contained in the long form census: (a) what individuals, businesses, organizations, governments, crown corporations and government departments purchased data or reports based on these questions in the 2006 census; (b) which government programs used data or analysis from these questions for planning purposes or to determine funds, grants or loans and, in detail, how was the data used; (c) what impact does the government project the change to a voluntary household survey will have on these programs and benefits; (d) what steps will be taken to minimize the non-response bias and ensure good response rates with the voluntary household survey; and (e) what is the estimated cost of these steps?

[Child and Spousal Support, October 21st, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the government admitting that when people become delinquent in paying court-ordered spousal payments they become deadbeats.

Health Canada and Veterans Affairs have admitted that almost 40% of their payments are delayed. This outlines a serious problem. National Defence has 3,600 cases delayed. This shows it is not an isolated problem.

The reality is that single moms, single fathers, and their children are suffering, their mortgage rates are going up, and their credit card bills are stacking up.

How can Canadians trust the government if, at the end of the day, it has not delivered and has become delinquent? It is betraying single parents.

[Child and Spousal Support, October 21st, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, according to the last census, over 80% of single-parent families in Canada are headed by females. We have all heard from our constituents. Thousands of single moms in Canada are facing delays in getting their court-ordered child and spousal support payments from the government. In the last four years, the Conservative government has been delinquent in paying over $2.4 million, in over 6,400 cases. Single moms of Canada really do deserve better.

The government knew about this mess six months ago. Why has nothing been done to clean it up?