Consular Affairs  Mr. Speaker, our government is very concerned about the well-being of the Garratt family. I encourage the hon. members not to play politics with issues of concerns of Canadians who are struck abroad. Our government continues to raise this issue at the highest levels with Chinese

Consular Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend from Brampton East for his championing the interests of Canadians abroad. I am happy to report that Salim Alaradi is on his way home. I thank his courageous family, his legal team, and our consular officials who worked tirelessly in gettin

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, on the one hand the opposition members do not want us to talk with China. On the other hand they are saying we are not talking enough with China. This government will never abandon our Canadian citizens abroad. Unlike the previous government, we will always stand up

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the Garratts have not been abandoned by this government. We continue to be engaged on this file. We have expressed our concern for the well-being of the Garratts, and we have repeatedly raised the issue with Chinese officials at the highest levels.

Consular Affairs  Mr. Speaker, like Mr. Lim's family and friends, the Government of Canada is highly concerned about Mr. Lim's rights and well-being. We have been engaged with Mr. Lim's family and his advocate. I have met in the past and will continue to engage anyone who is interested in helping

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I regret the tone of the question. Having said that, the world needs more Canada, and Canada is better off with increasing engagement in the world. This is a harder choice than the previous government's choice. That means if we want to be effective in promoting huma

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, it is precisely because of our commitment to human rights that we are engaging more effectively in the world. The promotion and protection of human rights, including freedom of religion, is very important for our government. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, when he w

International Child Abduction  Mr. Speaker, far too many families are suffering through a loss of contact between parents and children due to cross-border family disputes. May 25 will mark International Missing Children's Day. I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm our government's commitment to ad

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, some of my Conservative colleagues falsely claim that the Supreme Court is taking the decision out of the hands of elected representatives. The fact of the matter is that we as a nation, we as elected representatives, we as citizens embraced the Charter of Rights of

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate my colleague on his first private member's bill, and also for his sincere effort in confronting and combatting impaired driving. The hon. member and I represent the same city, the city of Mississauga. The Peel regional police frequ

Ministerial Expenses  Mr. Speaker, I would like to repeat that our government is committed to consulting Canadians on the TPP. The House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade is conducting a study on the TPP. Therefore, I invite all members of the House to participate in this consultati

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government made a commitment to consult Canadians before taking a decision on ratification. That is exactly what we have been doing since taking office. The government has consulted on this agreement on over 250 separate occasions and will continue to do

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, I do not know what the hon. member has against consultation. I do not know what the hon. member has against the hard work by the members of the Standing Committee on International Trade. Our minister, our parliamentary secretary, and our government are committed to f

The Senate  Mr. Speaker, again, the question remains. Why did the former government not do anything? It was not able to implement any of the reforms. For 10 years, while the Conservatives were in office, they promised Canadians they would implement reforms, during every election and at every

The Senate  Mr. Speaker, let me address the member's first point on his opinion about what the Supreme Court said. If that is the case, dare I remind him of what the former prime minister, and his former leader, said after the Supreme Court decision. He went around the country saying that he