House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2008, with 58% of the vote.
Air Transportation May 26th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, my assistants had a positive meeting with representatives of the Mont Tremblant airport. Furthermore, they are trying to identify different options. We understand that about 200 airports like this one, all across Canada, have signed agreements and continue to honour their contracts.
Disaster Assistance May 7th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we have a program to help the provinces when a disaster occurs. During discussions with my provincial colleagues, they told me they were satisfied with the program.
When disasters and other such problems arise, we are here to help. If there are some improvements that could be made to the program, we can explore them. However, one thing is important. We are here now for the disaster victims, since it is a very difficult time for the provinces when a disaster occurs.
Canada Border Services Agency May 7th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we do share the concerns about that number of people deemed inadmissible and whose whereabouts may be in question. That amount is an amount we largely inherited from the previous regime, but we do not take that as an excuse. We want to see improvements.
The Auditor General made a number of comments about improvements that the CBSA has made already in terms of removals. She also remarked, and I will quote her specifically, “The agency has increased the number of inadmissible individuals it removes from Canada, from about 8,700 in 2002-03, to about 12,600 in 2006-07”. That is a 50% improvement. We want to do better.
Temporary Workers May 6th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the recommendations that have been brought forward are very important ones. They are being looked at in a very serious way. As a matter of fact, some are already in the stages of being implemented. We appreciate this input.
Questions on the Order Paper May 2nd, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is committed to pursuing a more direct role for Parliament in the review of national security issues as part of a plan to build a more robust, accountable, independent national security review framework for Canada.
There have been a number of calls for enhanced review, including Justice O’Connor’s reports, the Report of the Task Force on Governance and Cultural Change in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Senate Special Committee on the Anti-Terrorism Act, ATA, and the House of Commons Subcommittee on the Review of the ATA, all of which made specific recommendations to the government.
The government is working diligently to determine the most effective and efficient review model for Canada’s national security activities.
Public Safety May 1st, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we share my colleague's concerns. I agree with him that there were things involved. The Liberals were in control at the time. We want answers to some very disturbing questions, and we want to know whether people exerted political pressure. As I said, this happened under the Liberals, but now it is our responsibility, and we will find the answers.
Public Safety May 1st, 2008
Mr. Speaker, this happened under the former Liberal government. When I received the news of some very disturbing events, I immediately called for an inquiry. I received the results of the inquiry two days ago, and we are going to look at them. Some of the things that happened were not good, and we want to have a system where we can correct problems such as the ones that occurred under the Liberals.
Criminal Code April 14th, 2008
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-53, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (auto theft and trafficking in property obtained by crime).
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Committees of the House April 7th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 109 of the House of Commons, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to the second report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts restoring the honour of the RCMP.
The Government of Canada has already implemented many of the recommendations and the efforts are under way to address the remaining recommendations in that particular report.
Treaty on Transfer of Offenders April 7th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, under Standing Order 32(2) I have the pleasure to table, in both official languages, a treaty entitled “Treaty Between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Argentine Republic on the Transfer of Offenders”.