Situation in Haiti  Mr. Speaker, there is a difficult challenge in getting the balance right. The difficulties are so great and the needs so pressing in the immediate, that, yes, we need to ensure we give every bit of concrete present help that we possibly can. However, we must do it in a way that we build the capacity for the long term and we get Haiti back on its feet so it has the strength of the robust infrastructure to make it through whatever the gods or nature chooses to throw at it in the coming years.

Situation in Haiti  Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk about an extremely important issue. I would just like to say that I will be splitting my time with the member for Honoré-Mercier. I would like to start by paying tribute to my colleague and good friend, the hon. member for Bourassa, for all the work he has done on this issue.

Situation in Haiti  Madam Speaker, the question I have for the parliamentary secretary is that in an emergency debate such as this, we are all of us presenting our opinions, our reflections and our concerns about a very important issue. One of the things I was hoping to hear from the parliamentary secretary tonight in his speech, which was unfortunately cut short by him, was how exactly he feels Canadians can help in getting the Haitian people to regain their confidence in their own institutions, in their own government?

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act  Madam Speaker, I do not think this particular bill would have a tremendous impact on the number of people going to their members of Parliament for advice, help and knowledge. That is not what this bill would specifically address. However, what I certainly hope this bill would be able to do is reduce the number of people who come to my office, worried and extremely troubled because they have spent an awful lot of money on someone who made them promises that he or she had no business making and actually gave them extremely bad advice that has hindered them in their process of immigrating to Canada, and sometimes gave them such bad advice that they ended up with a big red x that would bar them entirely from ever being able to immigrate to Canada, all because of the work of an unscrupulous immigration consultant.

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-35 at third reading. Everyone knows that our country was built on immigration. People came from all over the world to try to build a new life. In some ways, it was easier to come to Canada in the past. There was certainly less paperwork 100 or even 50 years ago.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I stand today on behalf of the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal and the 132 other community organizations across Canada with a petition to reinstate support for the community-based projects addressing the legacy of residential schools. The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to assist the Aboriginal Healing Foundation of Canada in supporting community-based projects nationwide, as per the foundation's mandate, and to make the $199 million promised in the 2010 budget available to the already established community-based projects currently addressing the legacy of residential schools.

Haiti  Mr. Speaker, $5 million for Haiti is great, but the government is sitting on $350 million in its coffers that has already been allocated to that country. That money is needed right away. It is time for the government to release all the funding it promised. Canadians and Haitians were expecting the government to help our friends in their time of need.

Haiti  Mr. Speaker, nearly one year ago, Haiti was devastated by earthquake. Canadians responded with extraordinary generosity, and the government promised to double their contributions. Eight months later, our friends in Haiti have received barely a third of the money. The need is great, because the country is now in the grip of a cholera pandemic that has already killed more than 1,000 people and sent tens of thousands to hospital.

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, today the Winnipeg Free Press admitted that it made a mistake in an editorial and a headline by making a false accusation about the Leader of the Opposition. It is now perfectly clear that our leader was not playing political games. He called for a straight-up fight and a clear choice for the voters of Winnipeg North, and spoke only about Kevin Lamoureux, who brings to this byelection 18 years of commitment to his constituents.

Media Literacy Week  Mr. Speaker, Marshall McLuhan wrote, “New media are not just mechanical gimmicks for creating worlds of illusion, but new languages with new and unique powers of expression”. This week we are celebrating the fifth annual Media Literacy Week. Media literacy has evolved with the arrival of cyberspace.

Sustaining Canada's Economic Recovery Act  Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to note that the member represents a riding on the very west coast of the country, very far from my riding of Papineau, and the concerns faced by citizens in both of our ridings are very much the same. The need for affordable housing in Papineau is greater than it has ever been before.

Sustaining Canada's Economic Recovery Act  Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party supported the budget because we believed a lot of what the Conservative government had to say. We had some concerns about some of the directions and some of the decisions that were taken within the budget, but we agreed that Canada needed to spend, to invest in things.

Sustaining Canada's Economic Recovery Act  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance recently announced that Canada is facing a record deficit of $55.6 billion. I am always amazed that this government has no problem spending billions of dollars on the G20 and its fake lake, on the F-35 fighter jets—which might not even be the right plane and are definitely too expensive—and on an action plan that has not created any long-term jobs and that now, because of the deadlines, threatens to eliminate assistance for some people.

Preventing Human Smugglers From Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act  Madam Speaker, I am glad to defer to the hon. minister's expertise on demagoguery. What is odious about this piece of legislation is that it is dividing Canadians into two Canadas. He is talking about new Canadians who have one particular perception of things and other Canadians who may not.

Preventing Human Smugglers From Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act  Madam Speaker, this ultimately is the kind of bill that is being presented here. We have indicated that we have grave concerns about particular pieces of this legislation. The government has indicated that it is a very important piece of legislation. Canadians have indicated that they have real, founded concerns about human smuggling and its impact on our immigration and refugee system.