Vic Toews

[Federal Accountability Act, March 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to tell the House that on September 1, the Access to Information Act will apply to all crown corporations, including Canada Post and the CBC.

When it comes down to this, it is Canadians' money they are spending and it is only right that Canadians know how it is being used.

I would also like to note that we are bringing into force the Public Service Disclosure Protection Act on April 15. People who see problems in government need to know that they can speak up. Today's announcement means that whistleblowers can honestly and openly report government wrongdoing without fear of reprisal.

[Main Estimates, 2007-08, March 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, on behalf of my colleagues, part 3 of the estimates, consisting of 91 departmental reports on plans and priorities.

These documents will be distributed to members of the standing committees to assist in their consideration of the spending authorities already sought in part 2 of the estimates.

[Government Accountability, March 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this government is very proud of the Federal Accountability Act. We brought in the most sweeping laws in respect of accountability, in respect of lobbying. In fact, it is the opposite side that simply tried to block those rules.

This government is committed to getting the job done. The Liberals could not get the job done.

[Interim Supply, March 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Chair, my speech is exactly the same one. The form of the bill is essentially the same as was passed in the previous supply period and I think everything is in order.

[Interim Supply, March 22nd, 2007]

moved:

That this House do concur in Interim Supply as follows:

That a sum not exceeding $21,748,026,017.43 being composed of:

(1) three twelfths ($14,174,724,076.50) of the total of the amounts of the items set forth in the Proposed Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of the Main Estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008 which were laid upon the Table Tuesday, February 27, 2007, except for those items below:

(2) eleven twelfths of the total of the amount of Canadian Grain Commission Vote 40, Canadian International Development Agency Vote L40, Library of Parliament Vote 10 and Treasury Board Vote 5 (Schedule 1.1), of the said Estimates, $762,664,833.34;

(3) eight twelfths of the total of the amount of Canada Council for the Arts Vote 10 (Schedule 1.2) of the said Estimates, $120,880,833.33;

(4) seven twelfths of the total of the amount of National Battlefields Commission Vote 55, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Vote 25 and Indian Affairs and Northern Development Vote 25 (Schedule 1.3) of the said Estimates, $22,380,750.00;

(5) six twelfths of the total of the amount of Human Resources and Skills Development Vote 5 (Schedule 1.4) of the said Estimates, $577,896,000.00;

(6) five twelfths of the total of the amount of National Arts Centre Corporation Vote 50, Citizenship and Immigration Vote 5, Environment Vote 10, Indian Affairs and Northern Development Vote 10, Canadian Space Agency Vote 35, Justice Vote 1, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Vote 35, Marine Atlantic Inc. Vote 35, Office of Infrastructure of Canada Vote 55 and Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada Vote 70 (Schedule 1.5), of the said Estimates, $3,586,251,031.26;

(7) four twelfths of the total of the amount of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Vote 15, Public Service Commission Vote 80, Public Service Labour Relations Board Vote 85, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Vote 15, Finance Vote 1, Health Vote 5, Public Health Agency of Canada Vote 40, Indian Affairs and Northern Development Vote 1, Statistics Canada Vote 95, National Defence Vote 5, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Vote 55, Canadian Transportation Agency Vote 25, Office of Infrastructure of Canada Vote 50, VIA Rail Canada Inc. Vote 75 and Veterans Affairs Vote 5 (Schedule 1.6), of the said Estimates, $2,503,228,493.00;

be granted to Her Majesty on account of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008.

[Supplementary Estimates (B) 2006-07, March 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Chair, the requests in the bill are intended to provide for all necessary requirements of the Public Service of Canada up to the second supply period 2007-08. In no instance is the total amount of an item being released by the bill.

The form of the bill is essentially the same as that passed in the previous supply period. However, the supporting schedules have been modified to remove reference to Governor General special warrants since none have been issued.

The passing of the bill will not prejudice the rights and privileges of members to criticize any item in the estimates when it comes up for consideration in committee and the usual undertaking is hereby given that such rights and privileges will be respected and will not be curtailed or restricted in any way as a result of the passing of this measure.

[Supplementary Estimates (B) 2006-07, March 22nd, 2007]

moved:

That Supplementary Estimates (B) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007 be concurred in.

[Government Appointments, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, our government is very proud of the Federal Accountability Act. We are moving very quickly to in fact fulfill all of our promises and all of the commitments placed in the legislation.

I can only hope that the members opposite will be a little more cooperative than before when they tried to sink the last candidate that we put forward for that position.

[Main Estimates, 2007-08, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have copies of the estimates for the Table.

[Business of Supply, February 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as a matter of clarification in respect of some of the comments that we have been hearing back and forth, I recognize that the minister has said that she has identified 450 cases, and that I think is accurate. The comments I made did not speak to those who were identified, but potentially.

For example, from southern Manitoba, and it was not from my riding, the article got it a little wrong, approximately 7,000 Mennonites went to Mexico in the 1920s. The marriages of many of those individuals of course were not recognized by the state, only recognized by the church. The consequence of that is that the citizenship may not have flowed to the children because the children were then deemed illegitimate.

Many of the descendants of those Mennonites have come back to Canada. In one case that I had been working on, a set of twins claimed citizenship. The woman was recognized as a Canadian citizenship, but her twin brother was denied Canadian citizenship when he tried to come back to Canada. Yet, his sister had received a passport. That was under the prior Liberal government, so the mess has been around a long time.

I want to commend the minister for the very prompt action that she has been taking on this file. My constituents appreciate not only her work but the prior minister's for actually dealing with an issue that was evident for so many years. After so many years of asking a minister to act, this minister and her immediate predecessor, my Conservative colleague, also acted on this file.