Yasmin Ratansi

[Petitions, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to present a petition on behalf of my constituent, Ms. Kelly Fairchild, who calls upon the Government of Canada to increase stronger measures against those convicted of child sexual abuse and to recognize the survivors of sexual abuse.

[Committees of the House, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, l have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 12th report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women entitled, “Turning Outrage into Action to Address Trafficking for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation in Canada”. This is a very important report. All committee members have shown great interest in it. We hope all parties will cooperate to review and implement the recommendations.

[Judicial Appointments, February 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Chief Justice of Canada, the Judicial Council and the Canadian Bar Association are all warning that the government is putting the independence of the judiciary in jeopardy, but the minister is ignoring their advice and is stacking the deck in his favour, not to fight crime but to clone his ideology.

Will the minister reverse this dangerous position and guarantee he will preserve the independence of the judiciary?

[Judicial Appointments, February 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Chief--

[Judicial Appointments, February 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the neo-conservative government is simply trying to deflect attention from its manipulation of judicial appointments. It is shocking that the petty, meanspirited Prime Minister and his colleagues will do or say anything. They make outrageous claims and slander reputations. They gerrymander the way judges are selected to suit their ideology.

When will the minister admit that the government's change in policy for judicial advisory councils is threatening the independence of Canada's judiciary?

[Homelessness, February 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is turning a deaf ear to hundreds of social agencies whose funding for homelessness is running dry.

As Canadians are well aware, the new government has made it a practice to slash social programs initiated by the former Liberal government, relaunching them under the neo-con brand name. This political brinkmanship only ends up hurting hardest those who are most in need.

In Toronto and across the country homelessness funding under the previous SCPI program will leave social agencies with a six month funding gap until the homelessness partnering program comes into effect sometime later this year.

In the meantime, non-profit organizations are preparing to lay off front line staff workers who work with homeless people.

Will the federal government grant at least a six month extension of the current SCPI funding so that agencies can continue to work to end homelessness in Canada?

[The Environment, February 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, a Toronto Stock Exchange CEO says that an international carbon emission market is crucial and that intensity based emission reductions simply will not do the job. Europe has a carbon market. The Chicago Climate Exchange is online.

Will the government finally admit that Canada will be left behind if it does not participate in the international market, or does the minister believe that the TSX is some money-sucking, socialist conspiracy designed to destroy the economy?

[Business of Supply, February 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her analysis. She talked about the importance of having a holistic anti-poverty strategy. She talked about the fact that in areas where there are bankruptcies, et cetera, the workers suffer. When the Liberal government was in power we understood that. It is the Conservatives who do not understand fiscal management at all. They brought the country to its knees. It was in economic doldrums. Once the economic health of the country is back to normal, it is important to invest in programs.

Despite the fact that the country was in economic doldrums, there was lots of investment being made. There was investment being made in the national child benefit program. There was investment in women's programs. There was investment in CPP, which actually helps seniors.

I would like the member's comments on the fact that when the Minister of Finance is trying to determine the debt of the country, he utilizes the CPP to net out the debt. As well, I would like the member's comments on issues affecting women, children, seniors, aboriginals and people with literacy issues. She alluded to the fact that there have been homeless programs cancelled, youth employment programs cancelled, literacy programs cancelled, funding to the vulnerable cancelled. How do we go forward?

The Liberal government had implemented a national strategy. It had reduced income tax as opposed to a GST cut because a GST cut only affects the very rich. It had implemented an early learning and child care strategy. It had implemented the Kelowna accord. It had implemented issues around helping people with disabilities.

I would like the member's comments, please.

[Passports, February 14th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, that is a totally ridiculous answer from an incompetent government. The Auditor General specifically has singled out the Conservatives because they have no plan. One Vancouver newspaper said that the lack of action on the part of the government is:

—absolutely unforgivable...a sign of sheer incompetence on the parts of both [the] Public Security Minister...and [the] Foreign Affairs Minister...

When will the minister provide Canadians with a wait time guarantee on their passport application?

[Passports, February 14th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, in January the foreign affairs minister denied that the Conservative government's incompetence had left thousands of Canadians without a passport.

Now the Auditor General confirms what angry Canadians already know; that the Conservatives have no plan to deal with the surge of applications predicted last summer by the government.

While the foreign affairs minister junkets overseas on his diplomatic passport, why has his government's incompetence stranded thousands of Canadians unable to get a passport?