Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, one of the things I appreciated today was that at the very least the Conservatives have recognized, as we have in government, the importance of the defence industry as a whole. Close to 20,000 jobs for the hard-working middle class are directly related to the defence

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is not that often I stand in my place following the member to extend a compliment, but I do appreciate how the member across the way has highlighted what needs to be emphasized. We do have a very strong defence industry in our country. We have a process already to

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, during the last federal election, the leader of the New Democratic Party indicated that a multibillion dollar contract that went over a number of years was something the New Democratic Party would support. Can the member indicate to the House whether part of that com

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, if anyone felt offended by it, I would apologize. However, I would let the member know that it was a point of order that was raised as I was answering the question at the time. It is not necessarily to justify it, but it is just to apologize.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that the member actually acknowledged that the foreign affairs committee is in fact looking into the issue. One of the things that I would suggest to the member—

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, if the member would just calm down a little, she would understand that what I have indicated is that they are in support of the foreign affairs committee looking into this particular issue.

Business of Supply  At the end of the day, what I would suggest—

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I hope we can kind of reset the clock on this. The member proves the point I was making. In her question, she said that the standing committee on foreign affairs is in fact dealing with the issue. Is it dealing with it directly? What do members think they are going

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise to address the motion before us today. There are a number of things that come to mind. I would like to start off by talking about the importance of human rights. This is fairly universal. Canadians truly care about what is happening around

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, given the sensitivity of many of the issues that come before the House, one does not question the importance of human rights. There are other standing committees. We can talk about the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development or the Standin

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the issue of human rights is something I have had the opportunity to speak a great deal on. When I reflect back on the Liberal Party, now the government, it is the party of the Charter of Rights. In fact, it was Pierre Elliott Trudeau who brought the Charter of Right

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, in the name of openness and transparency, I listened very carefully to what the member was talking about, and it is important to recognize that it was not that long ago that her leader made it very clear to all Canadians that they supported the multi-year, multi-bill

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, in 1999, the Chinese Communist Party launched a nationwide persecution campaign to eradicate the Falun Gong. Millions of Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested and put in custody, and many have been sentenced to long prison terms of up to 20 years, where torture

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time.

National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act  Mr. Speaker, I would have to agree to disagree on some of the points the member has brought forward. One of them is that he suggests it is wrong for the Prime Minister to make the appointment. The critic for the official opposition, the Conservative Party, is one of the individu