Yasmin Ratansi

[Community MicroSkills Development Centre, April 7th, 2008]

Since 1984 the Community MicroSkills Development Centre has provided settlement, training, employment and self-employment services to newcomers with a focus on visible minorities, low income women and youth.

This non-profit charitable organization helps newcomers negotiate the labyrinth of regulations so that they can get their skills recognized. They also encourage people to participate in the community to advance the goals of social and economic equality.

May 22 will mark the 11th anniversary of the MicroSkills Annual Awards Gala which will celebrate women entrepreneurs, corporate partnership and leadership among women and youth.

I encourage all members of the House to join me in recognizing the vital role the MicroSkills organization plays in encouraging newcomers to become active participants and productive contributors to Canadian society.

[Citizenship and Immigration, April 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, it is the minister who does not understand immigration policy. The government sees immigrants as a liability and refugees as a security threat.

In their 2004 platform, the Conservatives put refugee issues under the heading, “Demand better security”. Why is the minister perpetuating this anti-immigrant stereotype with her latest power grab?

[Citizenship and Immigration, April 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, when the current chair of the justice committee was the Reform Party's immigration critic, he said “there is a cost to be incurred by admitting tens of thousands of illiterate immigrants”. He then called them “a drain upon our social services who will lower the average skill of our workforce”.

Why is the government trying to sneak its empty immigration hidden agenda in through a budget bill? Is it trying to do today what it could not do as the Reform Party?

[Afghanistan, March 13th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague opposite.

I have a huge community centre in my riding. I have the Afghan Women's Association. I have met with the Afghan parliamentarians and I have been interacting a lot with the Afghan population here in Canada. The overwhelming majority want Canada's help and have said that we should not be withdrawing. The conflict has been going on for 20 to 30 years. They have only had six and a half years to find some peace and they need help. These are the women who come to us.

They have been talking about how important a role Canada plays. It is lopsided at the moment in terms of the military dollars we are giving but they want the development dollars to stay because if there is no economic enhancement, there will be no improvement and the Taliban will take over. It is not the Afghan Taliban alone. It is also the foreign Taliban. It is important for Canada to help ensure diplomacy and that the northern alliance, which is underground at the moment, does not attack anybody.

People understand that there are the caucuses, the Uzbekistans, the Tajikistan, the Kyrgyzstans, et cetera, where there is a lot of potential for diplomacy. How can we run away from this mission when the women and children are truly appealing to us to stay? I would appreciate the member's input on that.

[Committees of the House, March 12th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women in relation to women's ski jumping at the 2010 Olympic Games.

Women's ski jumping is an important sports event and worthy of Olympic status. Therefore, the committee urges the government to encourage the International Olympic Committee to recognize and include ski jumping as an event at the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympic Games.

[Federal-Provincial Relations, March 12th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, my constituents are wondering what the Conservative government has against the people of Ontario.

The Prime Minister first thumbs his nose at the province by denying Ontario the legal number of seats in the House of Commons, which it is entitled to under the Constitution of Canada. When the premier pointed out that it was unfair to deny Ontario its democratic rights, the Conservatives called him “the small man of Confederation”.

Now the Conservative finance minister is continuing the relentless attacks on Ontario. Is this what the Prime Minister defines as a new era of harmony with the premiers?

By calling Ontario the “last place” to do business in Canada, the finance minister is being totally irresponsible and scaring off foreign investment and sacrificing jobs in Ontario.

If this is how the Conservatives do business with the provinces, our country is in serious trouble.

[Federal-Provincial Relations, March 10th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the minister continues with his falsehoods. He attacked Ontario for four weeks, arguing that he will not support the ailing manufacturing and auto sectors.

Now the Prime Minister gets into the fray with incorrect information. He was wrong about P.E.I. He praised Manitoba for cutting capital taxes but said nothing about Ontario having done the same thing.

Why does he continue to run down Ontario?

[Federal-Provincial Relations, March 10th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister continues to attack Ontarians with falsehoods.

For manufacturers, only four provinces have lower corporate tax rates and Ontario's combined tax rate is lower than all 50 U.S. states. The minister's false claims are a desperate attempt to hide his own incompetence.

The minister was the architect of a $5.6 billion deficit in Ontario, Walkerton, Ipperwash and the jailing of the homeless.

When will the minister realize that his approach is a road to disaster?

[Manufacturing Industry, March 6th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister continues to attack the Premier of Ontario with the viciousness of a soon to be provincial opposition leader, but in the meantime, manufacturing jobs just keep flowing out of Ontario.

This is the same man who left us a $5.6 billion deficit when he was a provincial minister. He was the architect of Walkerton, Ipperwash and the jailing of the homeless. In December, he achieved zero growth for the Canadian economy. Will he please stop helping Ontario?

[The Budget, March 4th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I think the NDP has no credibility. It goes for opportunism. If those members were so concerned about poverty and the vulnerable, why did they not support the Liberal government when it was dealing with the Kelowna accord and the Kyoto accord? The NDP members have absolutely zero credibility in economics and in anything they say.