House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 64% of the vote.
Assisted Suicide February 24th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the government said quite clearly that we respect decisions of the courts. We are taking a look at this decision. It is on a matter that is obviously very delicate and very divisive among Canadians. I do not consider this a partisan matter at all. We will listen to Canadians from all backgrounds and do that before deciding how to respond to the decision.
Public Safety February 24th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP just compared human rights in Canada with human rights in Egypt, so that tells us a bit where he is coming from on this.
Let me read what SIRC itself actually said: “Our model of ongoing and methodical review...has the distinct advantage of allowing for a full and impartial assessment of CSIS’s performance, arguably better positioning it to detect potential problems earlier”. That is what SIRC itself said.
In addition, if the New Democrats bothered to read the bill, they would know that it requires judicial authorization to exercise certain powers before the fact.
Public Safety February 24th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, this bill is strongly supported by Canadians. The idea of comparing the situation with this bill and the situation in Egypt is ridiculous. The bill is now before the committee and I encourage the committee to study it as quickly as possible in order to adopt these measures to help Canadian security during the life of this Parliament.
Foreign Affairs February 24th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, once again, we have raised this at all levels, and we will continue to do so in ways we believe are effective. We remain optimistic that this case will be resolved, but we are disappointed it has not been to this point. We will continue to press for Mr. Fahmy's full release.
Foreign Affairs February 24th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, once again, the government has decried the process on many occasions and called for Mr. Fahmy's release. This has been raised at all levels by the Government of Canada, including at my level, with the Egyptian government. We will continue to press the case until we see a satisfactory resolution.
Justice February 18th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, this is obviously a sensitive topic for many Canadians, and there are strong opinions on both sides. We will examine this decision and hold broad consultations on all aspects of this difficult issue.
Health February 18th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, there is a bit of a shuffle over there, because yesterday, the leader of the Liberal Party accused the government of having cut vaccination campaigns and vaccination funding. I checked on those numbers overnight and saw that there has been no reduction whatsoever. In fact, this government has not only continued doing what we have always done domestically, we are also involved in unprecedented programs internationally promoting vaccination.
The Minister of Health has made this very clear, and I would encourage all members of the House to indicate to Canadians that medical science is absolutely clear that vaccinations are good and children should be protected.
Foreign Affairs February 18th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, although Mr. Fahmy has been released on bail, the government remains very concerned about this case and about the process in question. We have expressed those concerns to the government of Egypt at all levels and we will continue to do so until we get a resolution of this that is satisfactory.
Public Safety February 18th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the bill is very specific. The Leader of the Opposition says that the bill changes nothing, but it is excellent. It only makes sense to ensure that all of our police forces and security agencies have the power to deal with security threats and terrorism and share information. That is common sense, and that is why the vast majority of Canadians support this bill.
Public Safety February 18th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the bill, as I just outlined, does absolutely no such thing, not even remotely. This is, in fact, the attempt of the NDP to always say that anything that is in defence of our security somehow undermines our freedoms. That is simply not true.
All we are seeing here is that as the NDP's positions on this issue become more and more irrelevant, more and more unconnected to Canadians' real concerns, their statements on the issue become more and more extreme.