House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 62% of the vote.
Foreign Affairs May 12th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is completely right to say that what happened to Mr. Magnitsky is simply horrible.
I note that we are able to stop the perpetrators of this crime with the current Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, because it is checking eligibility at the border. We have this capacity.
The committee will have to review, very carefully, the Special Economic Measures Act to address this kind of problem.
Foreign Affairs May 12th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, they should believe the Government of Canada and the Prime Minister. This is not a party that switches views after the election, after committing to everything before the election.
The Prime Minister asked me to make sure that the power that the Minister of Foreign Affairs has to block the export permits, if equipment is built in Canada but is wrongly used regarding human rights or national interests of Canada and its allies, is used with a lot of rigour and transparency, which is what I will do.
Foreign Affairs May 12th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the party that is being consistent on this issue is the Liberal Party.
The NDP promised to uphold the contract to win seats, but now that it has those seats, it wants to tell the families that depend on the contract they will lose their jobs because it will not sign the export permit for these Canadian vehicles. The issue here is the export permit for a made-in-Canada vehicle, and we have no evidence that it has been wrongly used even though Canada has been selling it since 1993.
Human Rights May 10th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, Canada strongly supports Israel and strongly fights against anti-Semitism on every front. Canada will never do anything other than that. It is something that we are very committed to doing, in every circumstance.
Ethics May 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to tell him and the House that, thanks to the excellent work of the Minister of Natural Resources, we have an agreement with the United States on renewable energy and natural resources.
The two governments and all the representatives celebrated that agreement at the state dinner in Washington. We can congratulate the Minister of Natural Resources for his excellent work.
Iran May 5th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I like the people of Iran.
Yesterday, the UN rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran said that we should engage with Iran, that it was the best way to see improvements to the appalling situation of human rights in Iran.
Iran May 4th, 2016
Our approach in getting sanctions, Mr. Speaker, is to be effective. In order to be effective, one works with one's allies. If Canada is alone in getting sanctions against Iran, it will be barely noticed in Iran and will negatively affect Canada, Canadians, companies, families, Iranian Canadians, and so on.
We need to be effective. Effective sanctions must go through in order to make progress. Ineffective sanctions have no raison d'être.
Iran May 4th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, absolutely not, on the contrary. We are taking a very different approach.
We will be frank with the governments with whom we disagree. We are also not going to practice empty-chair politics. We must get involved in the world if we hope to make progress. The world we are living in is not very nice and Canada has to help make it a better place.
Iran May 4th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, we will certainly not infringe on the judicial process, but I want to repeat what I said already about that.
Canada is better off when we engage with the world. It was a mistake for the former government to withdraw from countries because we dislike the regimes. It was a mistake to withdraw from the United Nations. Canada is back in the world with open eyes in order to make progress on our national interests and the universal values in which we believe, like human rights, and it is important for Canada to be in Iran for that.
Foreign Affairs May 3rd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is asking if we are using every means available and doing everything we possibly can to help Mr. Badawi and have him released, since he has done nothing wrong.
Yes, that is what we are doing. To increase our chances of success, my colleague will understand if I refrain from commenting any further.