Ujjal Dosanjh

[Afghanistan, October 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, what is important is that the government tells what it knew and when it knew it about the detainee abuse.

It is clear that General Rick Hillier knew about the reports. It is clear that he told CIDA, Foreign Affairs and the rest of the government about those reports. The fact is that on important matters the chief of the defence staff attends cabinet meetings in person.

How can the government continue to maintain its fiction that no one in government knew about Colvin's reports?

[Afghanistan, October 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the government has been throwing obstacles in the way of the Military Police Complaints Commission and it is not answering questions in the House.

Colvin claims his reports were sent up the chain of command in the military, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the minister was the minister of foreign affairs in the beginning, and the Department of National Defence.

How is it possible that no one in cabinet, including the Prime Minister, was aware of Colvin's reports, or is this a case of continuing wilful blindness on the part of these Conservatives?

[Afghanistan, October 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the former and current ministers of defence all claim that they were not aware of Richard Colvin's reports on the treatment of Afghan detainees at the time. As far back as the fall of 2006 questions on that matter were being raised in this House.

When did the Minister of National Defence become aware of the reports? Has he now investigated who in the military and the Department of National Defence was made aware of the reports and when?

[Health, September 18th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the minister and the government are on target and late. The study also concluded that this pandemic was most likely to be similar to the Asian influenza pandemic of 1957 and that children would experience the highest illness attack rates.

Vaccinations should have started already. The government cannot even guarantee that a single Canadian will be vaccinated within two months. How can Canadians ever have confidence in the government to protect our children, to protect the most vulnerable Canadians?

[Health, September 18th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, researchers at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute in the U.S. have said that vaccination needed to start this week to be effective in slowing the spread of H1N1. The Conservative government is too late.

The Ahousaht First Nation on Vancouver Island is suffering from Canada's first H1N1 outbreak. The government does not have a plan that gets vaccine into our communities today.

How can Canadians have any confidence in the government's ability to protect us in this situation?

[Fisheries and Oceans, September 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, there are 10 million sockeye salmon missing from the Fraser River this year. Returns were much smaller than the Department of Fisheries and Oceans had predicted.

There were a record number of smolts in 2007, which should have resulted in a huge return this year. However, only a very small portion of the smolts have returned this year to the Fraser River system. This is a crisis.

There was evidence in 2007 that something had happened to those smolts before they reached the ocean. Surveys of sockeye salmon heading to the ocean done in the Strait of Georgia in the summer of 2007 came up with very small numbers.

Why did DFO not raise the alarm at that time? What research has been done to determine the fate of all those salmon in 2007? Why did DFO continue to predict massive returns this year when it was clear that many smolts had perished before even making it to the ocean?

The loss of these fish is having a huge impact on aboriginal communities, the commercial fishery, and most importantly, the ecosystem.

Why is the minister not saying anything on this? Why is she mute on this issue?

[Foreign Affairs, September 14th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the government's record belies the contention just made.

I am a proud Canadian, and I have children and grandchildren who are proud Canadians. Given that he has failed in his duty to protect some Canadians abroad, can my children or their grandchildren trust the Prime Minister to stand up for them if they ever need help abroad?

In the eyes of this government, are some Canadians not really Canadians? For the Liberal Party of Canada, a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. Why does he not get it?

[Foreign Affairs, September 14th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, time and again, this government fails to stand up for Canadians with names like Abdelrazik, Suaad Mohamud, and Abdihakim Mohammed.

Canadian citizenship means that the Prime Minister must stand up for Canadians, whoever they are, wherever they may be. A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian, but with his record, how can Canadians trust the Prime Minister to provide them equal protection abroad when they are in trouble?

[Forestry Industry, June 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the government has not taken enough action on the forestry crisis. Over the last two years, 55,000 jobs have been lost in this industry.

The government has known about the $8 billion that the U.S. government is giving to its pulp mills. The government knows that our mills on their own cannot compete against the treasury of the United States of America. The government has not responded adequately or aggressively to the need for more help and more support.

When will the government actually come up with a real plan to protect a major Canadian industry?

[Trade, June 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the west coast U.S. ports have accused the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert of receiving illegal subsidies under the WTO just because our governments in Canada have attempted to provide better roads and rail links to our ports.

Our government's right to invest in better rail and roads is fundamental to our ports and our economic progress. It is a question of our sovereignty.

What is the government doing to protect our sovereign right to make these nationally important investments in our ports?