Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, we are very happy that the nun has been freed and we want to thank everyone involved in getting her released. As for other areas, as we have said on numerous occasions, we have a program helping the Nigerian government. We are assisting the Nigerian government with

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that this requires a concentrated international approach, and that is exactly what Canada is doing. We are working with our allies in helping the Nigerian government attain the capacity to fight this war. Mr. Speaker, we are concerned as

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, I would say first to the member that, yes, we do agree with her that education is very important. Part of our international aid budget is directed toward making education one of the priorities of international development, and more specifically, education for girls,

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, yesterday Canada stood up on the world stage for international development, and we pledged $3.5 billion for child and maternal health for poor people in developing countries. As far as education is concerned, yes, Canada has contributed and will contribute towards e

International Development  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his question. It gives me a tremendous sense of pride in our government to see how the Prime Minister continues to rally global support in Toronto to save the lives of mothers and children. Yesterday our government pledged an additiona

Prohibiting Cluster Munitions Act  Mr. Speaker, if the member would go deeper to understand the tremendous co-operation we have with our closest ally, the U.S.A., he would understand why we need a very narrow definition. It is to protect Canadian soldiers so that they do not break our laws. In the larger frame of

Prohibiting Cluster Munitions Act  Mr. Speaker, as I said in my speech, when Canada signs this convention and more and more countries sign the convention, it would become, as the member of the Green Party said in her speech, a moral obligation for other countries to sign the convention as well. If they did not si

Prohibiting Cluster Munitions Act  Mr. Speaker, as I said in my speech, I thoroughly agree with the member. This is a very dangerous situation for children, who are damaged by these things. I agree with her that they should be banned completely. The unfortunate truth is that many countries still have not done so.

Prohibiting Cluster Munitions Act  Mr. Speaker, Canada has long recognized that explosive remnants of war, such as cluster munitions, have a devastating humanitarian impact on individuals and communities. Not only does their presence hinder the development of communities by rendering the land or infrastructure ina

International Development  Mr. Speaker, Canadians believe in achieving results, not just in rhetoric, like what the New Democrats are talking about. Let me say what I just said. At this time, the Prime Minister is in Toronto with other world leaders talking about women's, newborns' and children's health.T

International Development  Mr. Speaker, let me give some facts to my hon. colleague on the other side. In 2013, the Publish What You Fund Aid Transparency Index placed the former CIDA, now part of DFAIT Canada, eighth among the 67 donor organizations and third among bilateral agencies in meeting their com

International Development  Mr. Speaker, Canada has taken a leadership role in addressing the health challenges faced by women, newborns, and children in the world's poorest countries. Let me give this member some good results here. Thanks to Canada's global leadership, over 700,000 more children live to t

Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, one of the strongest human rights principles is to create all Canadian citizens equal, no matter what. That is the fundamental human rights situation. That is what I am concerned about in this bill, and I would like clarification on from my friend, the minister of ci

International Development  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister, under the Muskoka initiative on maternal, newborn, and child health, will save the lives of 1.3 million children and newborns, as well as more than 60,000 young mothers; so I do not know what the Leader of the Opposition is talking about. This is

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the other night when we had our debate here, in which the member participated, we expressed our deep concern about the situation in the Central African Republic and the situation there. Canada has been contributing, and we will continue to contribute, to the United