Minister of Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, it is the public safety minister's job to ensure the integrity and independence of the RCMP. Serious allegations have surfaced that when the minister was leader of the opposition his officials appeared to have designed an illegal buy-out to pave the way for the mini

Minister of Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, I know why the minister is sensitive about this issue, but this is a serious matter and the minister must acknowledge its seriousness. The only way to ensure that the RCMP is able to investigate this new evidence that has come forward is for its boss to step aside.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, I have repeatedly urged the Conservative government to act on addressing the foreign credentials file, an issue it promised to resolve unequivocally in its last campaign. Sadly, the Conservatives have explicitly broken their promise and have abandoned and frustrated

House debate  Mr. Speaker, I cannot help but be amazed by the speech that the parliamentary secretary has just given. It took three months to get this opportunity to respond to a question that was asked on February 20. This is how urgently the Conservatives are treating this file. The parlia

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to indicate that I will be splitting my time with the member for Richmond Hill. As I stand here to debate this motion today, I want to first extend my deep sympathy to the families and friends of all the soldiers who paid the ultimate price and sacrificed the

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I have spoken with veterans and with soldiers. There is no doubt that there is a difference of opinion among many soldiers and veterans about the conduct of the mission. I would request the hon. member to ask the Prime Minister why he put the motion that the mission

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I understand what the hon. member is saying. Canada right now has a commitment until 2009. What Liberals will continue to do from now until then is urge the government to exercise wisdom in its decisions of how it conducts the mission and to focus on diplomacy and de

Human Rights  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on all parliamentarians to join me in condemning all forms of hate speech. Unfortunately, occasionally we see hate and intolerance rear its ugly head among us. On April 4 a small explosion outside a Jewish community centre in Montreal sent a ch

Afghanistan  Mr. Speaker, Colonel Steve Noonan filed an affidavit confirming that at least one detainee was beaten while in the custody of the Afghan police. Will the Minister of Foreign Affairs, his secretary of state or the Minister of National Defence now jump out of their seat and accuse

Afghanistan  Mr. Speaker, Canadians want the government to follow the proud example of our soldiers. The Minister of National Defence has gone absent without leave and now we clearly know why. Both the minister and the Prime Minister need to be told that denial is not a river in Afghanistan

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I know the minister is aware of ITAR. ITAR is an American regulation that prevents Canadians who were born in certain countries from working on contracts that were paid for by Canadians through the Canadian government. We heard reports that the federal government had

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, does that also include Canadians who work in the private sector?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I wonder if the minister agrees that ITAR violates our Constitution which guarantees equal rights to all Canadians. ITAR currently creates two classes of Canadian citizenship.

Business of Supply  Minister, ITAR covers contracts that were signed by your department. It includes employees--

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, it includes employees who work for the minister's department, employees who work for contractors who are working for his department. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the defence minister. I am curious. If he is admitting that it violates our Constitution, why is