House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 64% of the vote.
Afghanistan December 9th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the facts of this case have been clear for a long time. In 2006, the Canadian Forces suspected the abuse of a Taliban detainee. They took steps to correct the situation in 2006. This is another indication that the Canadian Forces always do the right thing in such cases.
Afghanistan December 9th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, it is clear: it is the opposition that is accusing our soldiers of committing war crimes. The government is not doing that. This government has always defended the actions of Canadian soldiers. General Natynczyk's comments indicated again today that the forces are acting appropriately in every situation.
Afghanistan December 9th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the leader of the Bloc is saying, it is clear that the Canadian Forces acted appropriately in this situation. When there was evidence, or if substantial allegations were made, the forces took action to correct the situation. They did the same thing in every case and the Chief of the Defence Staff's comments today confirm those facts.
Afghanistan December 9th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, as has been pointed out on numerous occasions, over the period from 2006 to 2007, as we experienced some difficulties, the government, the forces, the Canadian diplomatic community took numerous actions to improve the situation, including rewriting all of the Liberal transfer arrangements with the Afghan government in early 2007.
The only nothing here is that the opposition has had nothing new to ask about in three years.
Afghanistan December 9th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the facts of the case in question of course confirm what we have been saying all along, which is that when the Canadian Forces saw substantive evidence of any case of abuse, they have taken corrective action.
That is what they did in this case, and frankly, General Natynczyk today, correcting the record on a particular point, indicates once again that the Canadian Forces, from the highest level down to the man in the trenches, act with the highest integrity at all times.
Afghanistan December 9th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, General Natynczyk said what the government has been saying all along. When there is evidence of abuse, the Canadian Forces and our diplomats act with the utmost integrity. They did the right thing in this case.
Climate Change November 25th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I have always been clear. If there is a meeting of all major leaders involving climate change, I will of course attend.
I would just note that President Obama has not confirmed his attendance at the leaders' meeting in Copenhagen. In fact, I have discussed the matter with him directly.
Afghanistan November 25th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, when there is credible evidence of cases of abuse, Government of Canada officials have always acted responsibly. If the opposition truly wants to hear the testimony of the senior officials, there are people who want to speak, and I encourage the opposition to listen to them.
Afghanistan November 25th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the evidence is absolutely clear. Members of the Government of Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Canadian Forces have always taken such matters seriously. When they have had credible evidence, they have acted up to and including comprehensively revising all transfer arrangements two and a half years ago and putting in place a whole series of mechanisms to improve both monitoring and performance in the Afghan prison system.
If the opposition is serious about being non-partisan in its inquiry, it will hear all witnesses who want to testify and not try to censor their testimony.
Status of Women November 25th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, obviously violence against any Canadian citizen, violence against women, is unacceptable in our society. We all continue to be concerned about the level of violence we see against defenceless persons, including women in our society.
That is why this government has made a reform of the criminal justice system a major priority to protect innocent, law-abiding Canadian citizens.