Terrorism  In the fall of 2001, Bill C-36 was rammed through Parliament as if terrorism were a new reality. Then, it took the government almost a whole year to realize that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas are terrorist entities. Yet, for years now, they have been claiming responsibility for suicide attacks. Normally, it should not have taken close to a year to add these organizations to the list.

Terrorism  Speaker, I rise today to advise the House that the government has listed six more entities, pursuant to the Criminal Code, bringing to 13 the total designated since last July under Canada's Anti-terrorism Act. The newly listed entities are the following: Islamic Army of Aden, Harakat ul-Mudjahidin, Asbat Al-Ansar, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hamas. The decision to list an entity is a very serious one. The consequences are severe, not only for terrorists but for those who support them.

Ramadan  Ramadan is a time of focus on family and faith. I hope all Canadians take time to experience and learn more about the Islamic faith. On behalf of the official opposition, I would like to wish all my Muslim brothers and sisters a very joyous celebration of Ramadan.

Arts and Culture  Speaker, as member of Parliament for Don Valley West in Toronto, I was delighted by the recent announcement made by the Aga Khan Development Network that the Don Mills district of my riding has been chosen as the site for an educational and cultural complex housing one of the greatest collections of Islamic art and heritage outside the Islamic world. Works from the personal collection of His Highness the Aga Khan and from members of his family and rarely seen in public before will celebrate the rich cultural, intellectual, artistic and religious traditions of Muslim communities, past and present.

The Middle East  All this has contributed to the vicious wave of suicide bombings that over the past 18 months have taken the lives of hundreds of innocent Israeli citizens, proportionately far more than the 3,000 innocent civilians killed in the United States by Islamic terrorists on September 11. Innocent Israelis in prayer, in leisure, in the midst of ordinary life were mauled and murdered by bombers raised in the cult of the shahid or martyrdom.

The Middle East  The government acted promptly to counter this wave of intolerance that seemed to associate Islam and Arab communities with terrorism, a simple but inappropriate association that had to be denounced. Similarly, some people seem to want to transpose in our communities the conflict that exists in the Middle East.

Iraq  However, if they felt bolstered by what they could say would be unwarranted, improper aggression, a crusade against Islam or anything like that, then they might be tempted to use the weapons in a terrorist context. So whatever happens, I think it has to be done in the context of the United Nations. I support my government entirely and I hope that the American government is listening, because I think our government is giving extremely good advice.

International Actions Against Terrorism  I am very upset that so many people suffered in New York. I hate the Taliban regime and bin Laden. They are using Islam as a reason to oppress people and kill them. Islamic people are not murderers. I wish to thank U.S.A. and other countries that are trying to help the innocent Afghani people in Afghanistan and in Karachi, in Pakistan.

Iraq  Then there will be problems. We run the risk of having much more extreme Islamic governments than the governments that are currently in place in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. These famous pre-emptive strikes pose a problem. It is a new military and international relations doctrine, and we cannot agree to it.

Supply  It is not an issue of social inequities. Why would somebody take up arms against us? The type of fundamental Islam that Osama bin Laden portrays has nothing to do with social inequity. They hate us and the west for what the west portrays. We are what the Taliban is not; the Taliban is what we are not.

Supply  Yet Muslims and Islamic scholars say it would be hard to find two words more opposite in meaning. Experts say that to be a Muslim--which means to be a follower of Islam--is to be fundamentally opposed to the acts last week that likely killed more than 5,000 at the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

Health  We wish to bring the Costa Rican resolution to a vote, and we would have supported that resolution, which was a prohibition, a complete ban on all forms of cloning. We did not in fact support the Organization of Islamic States in its attempt to defer this for two years.

Ramadan  Ramadan presents an opportunity for Canadians to learn more about each other. It is an opportunity to learn more about Islam and about the Muslim community in Canada. Canadians are committed to nurturing and cherishing our diversity. We share a vision of a country where diverse backgrounds of all citizens are recognized and appreciated.

Canadian Wheat Board  Speaker, through access to information, a reporter was able to gain access to CSIS files. He received information on the Palestinian Islamic jihad fundraising activities, yet at the same time Canadians cannot find out about the Canadian Wheat Board activities. It is exempt from access to information. We cannot get an explanation as to why farmers received less for their wheat last year than the going world price.

Nobel Peace Prize  Shirin Ebadi was the first Iranian woman to become a judge, but she was removed from that office in 1979 when the Islamic Republic was created in Iran. She had to struggle for more than 10 years to regain the right to plead as a lawyer. Iranian women owe to Ms. Ebadi and her colleague Mehr-Anguiz Kar the family law amendments that give more rights to women.