- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $170,231.20
- Government Page
- Apr/30/24 4:57:18 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I want to follow up on the member's comments on child care. We could have a debate about what would theoretically be a good child care system, but I think it is hard to deny that the current program from the government on child care is not delivering on the promise. We are hearing very clearly from child care providers across the country that the combination of price regulation with funding that does not match that price regulation is making it impossible for child care operators to maintain and meet the expectations. The result of this is government subsidies for some and less access for others.
Does the member acknowledge those failures, in terms of child care policy, and is she willing to hold the government accountable for them?
132 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/20/24 10:25:58 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, I want to thank my colleague for his excellent speech and, certainly, for the wealth of wisdom and experience that he brings to the House.
I would like to ask him, based on his knowledge and expertise, what the best way to isolate the Russian regime is and to hold the Russian regime accountable for the crimes that they have perpetrated. We have seen crimes committed in terms of the abduction of children, systematic sexual violence and the crime of aggression in general. What steps does he see as necessary to hold the Russian regime accountable?
98 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/16/23 7:50:00 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, I thank the minister for his comments this evening.
I want to underline our belief in the importance of humanitarian access. In the past, we have heard stories of humanitarian crossings being targeted by Hamas. Two years ago, we heard testimony on this at the foreign affairs committee, so no doubt access will be challenging, but it is certainly very important.
I want to ask the minister about the Iranian regime's role in supporting Hamas. What level of coordination does the minister see the Iranian regime being involved in with these recent horrific terrorist attacks? What additional steps should Canada take to hold the Iranian regime accountable?
110 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/25/23 10:55:53 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask if the government is considering using the tool of sanctions in the present context to hold accountable those who are involved in this violence and those who are involved in atrocities against civilians. Is the government contemplating the use of that tool at the present time to try to deter further violence against civilians?
60 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/6/23 3:40:55 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, in fact the motion that is before the House asks for those records from 2011, so we are quite open to the Auditor General's doing that work as well. My understanding of the record is that there were very small volumes in that earlier period and that there has been dramatic, 50-fold growth under the current government.
I would just say that some of the ethical scandals I have mentioned, including the collaboration with state-owned and affiliated companies around the world, the work with the Government of Saudi Arabia and the work with Purdue Pharma, have come out subsequently.
The government has been in power for eight years. We have seen what the Liberals have done, including dramatically increasing spending on outside consultants and McKinsey in particular. The government has to be accountable for its record.
141 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his good question.
It is obvious that this bill does not have enough teeth to solve the problem. I spoke about some measures that I believe we should implement.
I think we need to address the problems of significant backlogs. I think people need to have clarity around the reasons refusals are given. I think we need to take the targets we have more seriously. I also think, at the very least, this act should require more, in terms of what the strategy looks like, and require the minister to be accountable when we fail to meet those targets. I do not think we can be too prescriptive on things that do naturally require the management of government, as opposed to the direct prescriptive action of the House of Commons, but we can expect more accountability when the government fails to meet targets.
150 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/7/22 2:59:20 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the fact is the government has been way behind on supply chain slavery and has done nothing effective. We need to see a new framework very soon.
When it comes to international human rights, holding perpetrators of sexual exploitation and violence accountable should be central to a feminist foreign policy, but allegations of exploitation and violence at the World Health Organization in Congo and also at UNRWA remain unaddressed.
When will the Minister of International Development take action to ensure that employees of Canadian-funded international organizations are held accountable and face consequences for sexual violence?
98 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, direction and control regulations are a problem for the charitable sector in Canada. Direction and control regulations require that when charities are involved in activities, those activities are to be under the full direction and control of those charitable organizations. It is right that there be rules and restrictions around charitable organizations, that they be accountable for the dollars given to them and that they align their activities with their charitable purpose in accordance with the rules that exist, but this requirement of direction and control is not necessary to ensure accountability. We can have a framework that requires accountability without the restrictiveness of direction and control.
The effect of direction and control is particularly strongly felt in the area of international development because it really limits the ability of charities to form constructive partnerships with organizations in other parts of the world. The best practice in international development is to see the people in developing countries as the heroes of their own story and for donors and external organizations to be supportive, not to try to control and manage all aspects of the development process or of those communities' lives. Direction and control regulations therefore run totally counter to the best practice of self-determination in development. Effectively, they force the kind of ongoing neo-colonial view that many organizations, as well as individuals in developing countries, want to move away from.
In response to these concerns that come up repeatedly from various organizations that work in international development, and that are concerns for other charitable organizations as well, Senator Omidvar put forward a private member's bill that addresses this by moving away from direction and control while still ensuring accountability in accordance with a charitable purpose. This bill passed unanimously in the last Parliament and it passed in the same form unanimously in this Parliament. It now stands in the name of my friend, whose riding I cannot remember, in the House.
We asked the government, on February 14, what its position was on the bill. We asked three questions about direction and control, and I am following up on those questions because, unfortunately, the answers seemed to suggest the minister was not even aware of the issue. I am hopeful that maybe there was some mistake in the process of response and that we can get some clarity tonight about where the government is at on this direction and control issue.
I say to the government that this is not a partisan issue. Fixing direction and control should be a win-win. My colleague who put forward this bill had an NDP member second it as a demonstration of cross-party support. I believe that all opposition parties have been clear already about their support for this bill, so a majority of the House wants to see this bill pass, but sometimes the challenge with private members' bills is that we run out of time. We have a good idea people agree on, but it does not make it through the process quickly enough.
I would like to ask the government what its position is on Bill S-216, the direction and control bill that has now twice passed the Senate unanimously. If the government supports the bill, is it prepared to work with us to try to move this process along so that this Parliament can be the one that finally gets it done? I have worked on other issues, such as organ harvesting and trafficking, for example, where we have a good bill that everyone agrees on and yet it takes over 10 years and we are still talking about it because the clock has run out in every Parliament. I hope that will not happen in this case.
627 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
