Human Rights  Mr. Speaker, Canada was founded on the principles of free speech, democracy, and the rule of law. There is no other principle more important to the functioning of a democratic society than freedom of expression. That is why this foundational principle must be protected and guarded.

Point of Order  Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Minister of International Development gave me an answer that contradicts an email I received on February 6 at 11:50 a.m., entitled “semaine du développement international International Development Week”. It is in French and English. I am seeking the consent of the House to table this, even though it contradicts the minister's--

International Development  Mr. Speaker, the Liberals believe it is more fun to spend someone else's money than their own. I was shocked to learn in an email from the Minister of International Development that as part of refocusing international assistance, the Liberals consulted very few Canadians. They hosted more than 300 consultations in 65 countries but they only met with Canadians on nine occasions in five locations across our country.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, one thing I have been asking members on both sides of the House today is on their thoughts about now until 2019. This is one of the last free agreements, which was mostly negotiated by the previous Conservative government and finalized by the current government, but we do not see much new in the agenda.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, I was listening intently to my seatmate's speech on CETA. I am concerned that in the coming years, by 2019, we will not see any new free trade agreements come before the House to be debated and ratified. I am concerned that we will stop at CETA. The government is not very ambitious when it comes to finding new markets.

International Development  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Development admitted on a SiriusXM radio show that Canadians' international aid tax dollars could end up in the hands of ISIS fighters in the Middle East. Her excuse was that Canada must respect aid neutrality. We should never be neutral about mass slaughter, of those who use rape as a weapon, and those who pose the greatest threat to Canadian security.

Human Rights  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of the House the plight of the Kurds who are indigenous to the western parts of Iran. The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan is an official Kurdish political party dedicated to finding a peaceful solution to coexist with Iran, and which advocates for the political rights of the Kurds.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, when we look at CETA and all the free trade agreements that come before the House for ratification, a lot of this work was done by a previous government. I am always looking forward to the next opportunities for Canada, next opportunities for my home province of Alberta, of new markets with which we can trade.

Job Losses in the Energy Sector  Mr. Speaker, I have a short answer. When I worked for the Alberta finance department, we participated in the early negotiations of that upgrader. What the member may not know is that Ted Morton, the former finance minister and minister of energy in Alberta, has estimated that the potential cost to the taxpayer for an upgrader, which will likely never actually make a profit, would be $26 billion because of the way the contract was formulated and then signed by the previous governments.

Job Losses in the Energy Sector  Mr. Speaker, the first rule of government is to do no harm, yet it has done extensive harm to Albertans. It should get rid of the carbon tax. It has already broken its promise with respect to electoral reform, so why not another one.

Job Losses in the Energy Sector  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question on what the previous Conservative government would have done. The first thing I would like to say is that the Conservative government never would have introduced a carbon tax. The Conservative government would have continued investing in Alberta infrastructure.

Job Losses in the Energy Sector  Mr. Chair, I am very pleased to join this debate, as I was the one in the fall who kick-started the attempts to get an emergency debate on the jobs crisis. It was last fall when the government should have reacted, when Albertans were facing the worst economic headwinds in several generations, over 122,000 energy workers lost their jobs since the oil crash in Alberta, and the unemployment rate rose to 8.5%.

Job Losses in the Energy Sector  Mr. Chair, it is interesting to hear those members suddenly take such an interest in the plight of Albertans. Is that not the member who said Albertans feel refreshed after losing their jobs? I am exhausted after sitting in my office having meeting after meeting with my constituents, and listening to them telling me how they are going to lose their homes and cars.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Madam Speaker, I already addressed many of the member's concerns in my speech. I would just like to mention, again, bringing it back to subclause 7(d) of this agreement, that Canada will still be able to regulate different areas that are domestic areas. I think we need to look beyond this just for a moment and look at the principle.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Madam Speaker, as I mentioned, I was born in the city called Danzig, which benefited greatly from the grain trade almost 600 years ago. It really reshaped the city. I could talk about the city that I call home and that I am proud to represent. The part of the city I am in is called Calgary Shepard.