Citizenship and Immigration committee  Chairperson, we don't believe that a boatload of 150 people, which might occur twice in a decade or whatever, should be treated any differently from a refugee who would come in via a plane, in the sense that the current system has worked, and Canada Border Services Agency has made it very clear that the current system to be able to detain an individual, whether they come in as two or 500, or whatever the number might be, has proven itself to be very effective. This highlights the fact that it is clearly a Conservative government opinion that they need to actually bring in this whole mandatory detention concept and ability to designate those people, which then in essence establishes two types of refugees.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Here it's more just to illustrate for us by making this amendment that from the Liberal Party's perspective there is only one class of refugee. Presenter after presenter made it very clear that this is in Canada's best interest. That's the essence of the motion. If you support Canada having one level of refugee, then I suggest you vote in favour of it.

Fisheries committee  Just to be clear, this is a motion about this committee reaffirming its support. This committee has always supported the sealing industry. One of our members has raised a doubt, and frankly, I wanted it to be clear, as a member of this committee, that those comments didn't reflect a position, or a changing position of this committee.

Bill C-11 committee  You don't have to do it—you would keep the current state of affairs—but if what you want is more certainty, then I think you would be missing an opportunity to provide that certainty by not importing that very clear and relatively uncontroversial language into the text of the act.

Government Operations committee  It's not clear to me why it shouldn't or couldn't be made available to parliamentarians. It certainly is my hope that ministers at the top of these departments are seeing much more detail than parliamentarians are seeing.

Bill C-11 committee  Our concern is that the book market is much smaller in Canada, and it's much smaller in Quebec, so if something is affected, it does have ramifications. Mr. Trosow suggested the CCH decision. That seems to be a really clear definition. It defines what education is. In your work with the Copyright Board, because that's where it's adjudicated—these issues are fought over again and again to really clarify exactly what's fair and what's not—does it help to have a clear definition like the six steps of CCH?

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Do we really want to foster money laundering and drug trafficking? The Conservatives, who like to pass repressive bills, should be outraged. Let us be clear. The government is negotiating an agreement at the expense of Canadian workers. This agreement will lead to the loss of millions of dollars in tax revenues. This proves that a small country like Panama can dictate Canada's policy on tax evasion.

Privilege  Again, on February 25, it was said that, “It is widely known that you have engaged in criminal activity to further your political career, as you did in 1999”. It needs to be clear that the hon. member has not been convicted of any criminal offence. These statements are not only misleading but are false and can only be viewed as an attempt to discredit the reputation of my hon. friend.

Privilege  Some of it is a bit more problematic, but that is a view that perhaps others who are a little less directly involved in this issue will be able to comment on. I want to make it very clear that I am apologizing personally and on behalf of my party for the fact that a certain member of our research bureau was responsible for creating the Twitter account concerning the minister's personal life.

House debate  However, I may have figured it out. After all the good remarks by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, it is clear that the NDP simply votes against all of these measures because it really does not support measures that help families, businesses and long-term economic prosperity. It needs to think about this because Canadians count on all of us to ensure they are well taken care of, particularly in this area.

Breast Density Awareness Act  There were some concerns raised by the member for Vancouver Centre from the Liberal Party. I realize that her submission was that there should be language that said “a best clearing house”. I just want to explain that, as much as we appreciated her amendment and suggestions, we felt that the language was already in the bill. However, I am heartened that members of the official opposition have supported this bill throughout the process and that the member for St.

Finance committee  As I mentioned, we've also launched a Centre for Impact Investing. One way I could make it clear is if we think about this 3.5% disbursement quota from foundations, one of the ways we can look at how to free up more capital is if the rest of the money is held up in traditional investments.

Veterans Affairs committee  Bernard Butler has spoken to some of our engagements more recently with veterans organizations that extend past the traditional groups we have dealt with. They're very clear. They communicate directly with us. The ombudsman plays a key role in this as well. The ombudsman's office is the spokesperson for many veterans. We get input from them about what makes the most difference.

Senate Reform Act  I find it quite ridiculous that this term is used in a bill that refers to the Senate. In fact, it is quite clear that both the Conservatives and the Liberals have appointed party cronies to work in the other chamber and that they are accountable to the Prime Minister. That much is clear and nobody here questions it.

Finance committee  Agreed. I was lumping non-profits in there. I think it's clear that they should at least disclose and be accountable to Canadians and be transparent. I see you're nodding and agreeing with me, that's fair to say. Unfortunately, the mike doesn't pick up your nod, but you would agree.