Ruby Dhalla

[HIV-AIDS and TB Caucus, June 14th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, two world-renowned Canadian activists, Stephen Lewis, who is a former UN special envoy for HIV-AIDS in Africa, and Dr. James Orbinski, who is the founder of Dignitas International and the former president of Doctors Without Borders, will join parliamentarians, community organizations, and stakeholders today to officially inaugurate and launch the HIV-AIDS and TB all-party caucus.

With the support of members from all parties in the House, the HIV-AIDS and TB caucus will help to raise awareness about those living with HIV-AIDS and TB and will provide a forum for discussion and the exchange of ideas.

The founding of HAT is actually a tribute to the work of survivors, volunteers, and advocates such as Mr. Lewis and Dr. Orbinski, who have worked tirelessly to develop solutions to these growing global challenges.

As parliamentarians, we all have an opportunity to play a key role in the development of these solutions. Thanks to the work of many champions, thousands of lives have been saved. I join all parliamentarians in thanking Mr. Lewis and Dr. Orbinski for their vision and their--

[Komagata Maru, May 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, this month marks the anniversary of a very unfortunate chapter in Canadian history: the 1914 Komagata Maru injustice.

There were 376 passengers that arrived aboard the Komagata Maru at the port of Vancouver. Due to immigration laws at that time, which were exclusionary and discriminatory, these individuals were kept on the ship for two months without any food and water. Two months later the ship was returned back to India where many of these individuals were shot or killed.

In 2008 we had a private member's motion that I put forward, Motion No. 469, that asked the government to apologize for this injustice. However, the apology, even though the motion was passed, was done at a cultural event.

On behalf of many Canadians and the Indo-Canadian community, I would once again request that all members of this House put partisanship politics aside to once again support another motion that I have put forward, requesting that the government apologize in a respectful and dignified manner for the Komagata Maru injustice and declare May 23 as a day of commemoration.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 23rd, 2010]

With regard to addressing child poverty in Canada: (a) what programs has the government created since being elected in January 2006 to specifically address child poverty; (b) how much money has been spent on addressing child poverty and from which government departments did this money come; and (c) how much money has been given to each federal riding to address child poverty?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 23rd, 2010]

With regard to addressing youth violence: (a) what programs has the government created since being elected in January 2006 to specifically address youth violence; (b) how much money has been spent on addressing youth violence and from which government departments did this money come; and (c) how much money has been given to each federal riding to address youth violence?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 23rd, 2010]

With regard to lifting seniors out of poverty, what has the government done since being elected in January 2006, specifically: (a) what national and local programs have been created to specifically address poverty among seniors; (b) how much money has been spent on addressing poverty among seniors and from which government departments did this money come; (c) how much money has been given to each federal riding to address poverty among seniors; and (d) what initiatives have been undertaken to identify which ethnic groups have the greatest numbers of seniors living in poverty, and, if identified, what steps have been taken to address the needs of these ethnic groups?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 22nd, 2010]

With regard to the last ten appointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB): (a) how many individuals were considered for these positions; (b) how many were interviewed; (c) what is the process for vetting potential candidates for IRB appointments; and (d) what criteria are used to determine the appropriate candidate for these positions?

[Committees of the House, April 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, the member for Elmwood—Transcona spoke about us supporting this motion at committee.

As a member of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, along with my colleague, the member for Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, who is the official critic for the official opposition on the Canadian Heritage file, we were most interested in having the motion brought forward to the Chamber where we could have an opportunity to debate, discuss and, hopefully, highlight for the government the need for copyright legislation to ensure that we modernize it and that it is reflective of the needs of the organizations, the stakeholders, the advocates and, most important, the artists.

We are in no way, shape or form advocating our responsibility away from the artists. We support the artists and they must get the resources, the skills and tools they need to succeed. Unfortunately, the debate both by the parliamentarians bringing forward the motion and some of the other members does nothing to reward the artists for their creativity, their innovation, their hard work and their efforts.

We on this side of the House are committed to working with the artists. As a long-standing member of the Canadian heritage committee, I and my colleague, the official critic, have worked diligently and earnestly with all the stakeholders, organizations, advocates and artists to ensure we have legislation that is modernized and reflects the needs of artists and also provides protection for the consumers.

[Committees of the House, April 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, it is incredibly important to reward artists for their hard work, for their dedication, their time and their efforts. Many members on this side of the House, in particular my caucus colleagues, have been advocating for that. Unfortunately, the motion would not do anything really to assist artists in that respect.

We must look at copyright legislation as a whole and bring in changes that would benefit the artists who are working so diligently and effectively. We must ensure those changes benefit them and allow for creativity and innovation, and at the same time consider the consumer. It is unfortunate that this motion does not really address these particular issues.

[Committees of the House, April 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to speak to my colleague's motion. As we all know, the world around us is evolving at a fast pace and we must ensure that the legislative frameworks that we create are well-suited for this change, especially in the area of technology.

In this digital economy era, a sector that has to work even harder is the cultural sector to keep up with the change. We must ensure that the change that it is encountering is looked at as opportunities versus constraints. It is for this reason that it is incredibly important to make an informed decision.

In accordance with our historical reputation of being a strong partner in the cultural industry, I know that many of my caucus colleagues in the Liberal Party wish to ensure that our cultural heritage policy and our cultural heritage in Canada is protected, while at the same time promoting creativity and innovation and also ensuring that the rights of all artists are protected in our country.

For instance, members may recall that we supported the industry when the Conservatives decided to make a $45 million ideological cut, both to the loss of Trade Routes and the PromArt programs. The industry was yearning for help. I know that many individuals in this House and, in particular, caucus colleagues, ensured that they were with them to support them during that difficult time.

We must ensure that we have a strong and dynamic cultural industry. This is why we believe that artists must be supported and also remunerated for their work. They are talented, hard-working and dedicated and we must ensure they have the opportunity, the resources and the tools they need to succeed.

The motion presented by my colleague deals with the issue of the latest technologies not being included in a law that already applies to compact discs, or CDs. We talk about BlackBerrys and iPods. Clearly, the law must be modernized to take into account the new digital environment in which we live and the technologies that are being used by many Canadians across this country, in particular, our young people.

Also, to call such a measure and use the word “tax” is simply wrong. It is a levy, which means that the money raised will go directly to the rights of owners and that the government would not make any particular money out of all of the levies that are collected. I would hope that this difference and this particular concept between a tax and a levy would be knowledgeable to all members to ensure that all individuals could make an informed decision.

However, it is still inconceivable to think that artists should not be able to get their fair share for what they produce through their talent, their hard work and their efforts. One way or another, we must ensure that artists are supported. They are our industry's bread and butter, which is why some of the initiatives put forward by the government previously have been flawed.

In this spirit, I believe that the rationale behind my colleague's motion is actually sound, as my previous colleague just stated in his speech.

We must ensure that our artists receive their fair share not only for what they produce but also because they deserve it and because such a measure would help to ensure that the cultural industry keeps the creativity and the innovation and also gets rewarded for it. However, most important, it would help to ensure that artists and the cultural industry are viable and sustainable for many years to come. We must realize that the cultural sector alone represents over $40 billion and over 600,000 jobs in Canada. We must ensure that we protect and promote our cultural industries in Canada.

There are many flaws with the motion that we have identified in talking to many individuals, to stakeholders and to organizations. For example, the motion does not talk about devices that would be levied. What about the BlackBerrys and iPods that are being used? It is our belief that we must study this further to ensure it makes sense. We must ensure that the categories for this particular motion would be identified.

It is also important to have further studies on this before making a decision. We all must be informed and educated before making a decision that could impact the cultural industry and many Canadians and, most important, many consumers of these products.

However, in talking to some of the advocates, the stakeholders and organizations, they identified another criticism. They also highlighted the need for Canada as a country and for all of us as parliamentarians to revisit the copyright law and legislation.

In order for us to reframe this legislation, we must look at it in its entirety, not just a fraction of it. The committee report only deals with a portion of the copyright legislation, not its entirety.

The government must take immediate action to bring forward changes that are desired by the industry. However, these changes must be brought forward in consultation, collaboration and co-operation with all of the stakeholders at the table. It must not be done in isolation. In addition, the timing that has been identified perhaps is not the best.

On the international scene, many debates and discussions have been held throughout the world in regard to the issue of copyright. Any changes that we make here in Canada must be uniform. We must ensure that we have a copyright law that protects consumers, that protects the artists, that protects the stakeholders and the organizations.

Many organizations and stakeholders have been advocating for a change to the copyright legislation to ensure that it is fair, to ensure that all of the necessary players and stakeholders have an opportunity not only to benefit, but to be protected. At the same time there needs to be an opportunity to promote our cultural industries. We must ensure that we bring forward this change to the legislation as soon as possible, with proper consultation and collaboration.

We must also ensure that the decisions that come forward are done in consultation with all members of the House. In talking to many of the stakeholders, I have heard first-hand that they felt shut out of the previous copyright legislation.

This particular motion does not reflect all the changes that need to be made. It does not exactly identify the type of products and technologies that would be used. In particular, it does not exactly identify the impact it would have on young people in this country who I would think would be the prime consumers of such products.

As a member of the House of Commons heritage committee, I know there are many dedicated and hard-working individuals who want to ensure that we bring forward legislation which is reflective of the needs and the priorities of the organizations and the individuals and most important, Canadians, whom we are trying to help.

We must modernize our copyright legislation to ensure that it is coherent with the needs of the creator and also the consumer. We must work together to ensure that this legislative framework is beneficial for everybody. By putting partisanship and politics aside, all of us as parliamentarians will be able to work together in a co-operative and collaborative fashion to ensure that consumers are protected, to ensure that those individuals, such as artists with their talent, with their creativity, with their dedication, are also rewarded. We must ensure that legislation that is brought forward provides an opportunity for everyone to succeed. We must continue to invest in our cultural industries.

[Jobs and Economic Growth Act, April 13th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, being a very community-oriented and grassroots constituency MP, I am going to ensure that I get back to the member with my exact whereabouts of where I was before I say something that is incorrect.

I want to take this moment as well to wish the entire Sikh community a very happy Vaisakhi. It is our new year today. I wish everyone who is watching CPAC the very best wishes for the new year, great health, happiness and prosperity moving forward into the new year.