| In the House of Commons – April 26, 2010
STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS
David Freiman
Mr. Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre, Lib.): Wrzesnewskyj.B@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of David Freiman. Born in what is now Sambir, Ukraine, his story traces a history of both tragedy and triumph.
A lumber foreman before the war, Mr. Freiman’s life was overtaken by the horror of the Nazi Holocaust. Of a pre-war population of some 10,000, Mr. Freiman along with Esther, the woman who was to become his wife, were among the less than one hundred miraculous survivors of the murderous evil brought upon Sambir’s Jewish community. He lost everything: parents, brothers, sisters, a toddler son. What he never lost was his will to live, to succeed for the future of his new family and of the Jewish people.
That drive brought him to Canada where, through hard work, intelligence and a sterling reputation for ethical conduct, he became a leader in business circles and a stalwart pillar of the Jewish community.
David Freiman’s family is here to mark this special day and to honour his exemplary life.
[Member spoke in Hebrew as follows:]
T’he nishmata tsrura bi’tsror ha’chayim.
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ORAL QUESTIONS
Anti-terrorism Act
Mr. Joe Comartin (Windsor-Tecumseh, NDP): comartin.j@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Speaker, following 9/11, Parliament implemented the Anti-terrorism Act but subjected the law’s most controversial sections to a five year sunset clause. Since 2007, the government has tried three times to reinstate the most draconian aspects of that law and now it has announced a fourth attempt.
Among many other opponents, this time it also faces opposition from the former director of CSIS, Reid Morden, who said that it was needless and that it crosses the line between state security and individual rights.
Why will the government not drop this useless and dangerous bill?
Hon. Rob Nicholson (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC): Nicholson.R@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Speaker, what we will never do is stop fighting terrorism in our country. This government will never stop doing that. We are working to give law enforcement agencies the tools they need to safeguard national security. Human rights protections are built into them. I even accepted one of the amendments that came from the Senate. It is true. It is in the bill.
This is a very reasonable proposal. This is exactly what law enforcement agencies need in our country to fight terrorism at home and abroad. . .
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Airport Security
Mr. Dennis Bevington (Western Arctic, NDP): Bevington.D@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, the transport committee heard testimony from an Israeli security expert who said he was able to foil the nude body scanners although he was carrying enough explosives to take down a 747. Because of this, the Israelis have decided not to install these scanners at their airports. The transport committee has continued to hear evidence about Canada’s aviation security.
With this revelation, will the minister hold off deploying more of these scanners until after the transport committee has made its report to the House?
Hon. Rob Merrifield (Minister of State (Transport), CPC): Merrifield.R@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Speaker, let me help the hon. colleague with some facts. We have multi-layered approach when it comes to airport security. In that layered approach, some of those are visible and some of those are invisible. When it comes to the scanners that he talks about, they are much more effective when it comes to liquid explosives than the metal detectors that are currently in many of the airports.
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ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns
Question No. 126-
Hon. Joseph Volpe: Volpe.J@parl.gc.ca
With respect to the evacuation of Lebanese-Canadians from Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War: (a) what security checks were applied before evacuation to ensure none were members of Hezbollah; (b) how many of the evacuees returned to Lebanon within six months; and (c) what was the final cost of the evacuation itemized by specific category?
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GOVERNMENT ORDERS
Balanced Refugee Reform Act
Hon. Jason Kenney (Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, CPC) Kenney.J@parl.gc.ca
moved that Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Federal Courts Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee. . .
Canada has always been a place of refuge for victims of persecution, warfare and oppression. English Canada was founded by refugees fleeing the American revolution, the United Empire Loyalists. Canada was the north star of the underground railroad for escaped slaves from the southern United States…
Having said that, there have been moments when we turned our backs on those most urgently in need of our help. We think, of course, of the example of the European Jewish refugees during the second world war who Canada refused to accept, detailed in the great historical work None is Too Many written by Harold Troper and Irving Abella…
Hon. Maurizio Bevilacqua (Vaughan, Lib.): Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca
Madam Speaker, it is critical that we examine the legislation before us and ensure that the refugee system reform measures will fix the refugee system challenges our country faces. . .
. . .Although reform of the refugee system is needed, we must ensure that it is fair, efficient and just. While the reform package incorporates some Liberal recommendations such as the refugee appeal division, we have to do due diligence on the bill. After all, there are concerns about what has occurred in the past four years, such as slow processing times and longer wait periods for persons claiming refugee status so, caution is in fact warranted. . .
[Translation]
Ms. Nicole Demers (Laval, BQ): Demers.N@parl.gc.ca
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise here today to speak to Bill C-11.
I would like to begin by saying that the Bloc Québécois will support sending this bill to committee so it may be studied more thoroughly, along with all issues pertaining to immigration and refugees.
This bill raises a number of concerns. We have already pointed out several inconsistencies relating to refugee status. . .
[English]
Mr. Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas, NDP): Siksay.B@parl.gc.ca
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak in this debate on Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Federal Courts Act.
The Conservatives, in their penchant for giving bills nicknames, have called this the “balanced refugee reform act”. I am hoping beyond hope that this will be the case with this legislation but there have been some serious concerns raised about the bill and I hope to speak to some of those.
Canada has always been a haven for refugees. We as a country have done very well by those refugees who have arrived here and made Canada their home. . .
However, there have been failures of our immigration refugee policy that left people unprotected. One of the most egregious of those cases was the Jewish refugees who came to Canada during World War II and were not welcomed and were turned away. There were also the people on board the Komagata Maru who arrived in Vancouver at the turn of the last century and were returned to India. . .
Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood-Transcona, NDP): Maloway.J@parl.gc.ca
. . .I did want to talk about the bad experiences we have had here in Canada. Anti-Semitic immigration policy proved deadly in the years leading up to World War II, when European Jews were refused entrance into Canada.
In 1939 the ship St. Louis left Germany carrying over 900 European Jews seeking refuge and protection on the other side of the Atlantic. They were refused everywhere they went. They had to return to Europe and most of those people died in concentration camps. That is an example of a very bad situation in our history.
Hon. Jason Kenney (Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, CPC):
. . .In my speech I also remarked on the restrictions on European Jewish refugees before and during the second world war. My colleague is absolutely right. That is a cautionary tale for all of us when dealing with these issues. I am pleased to tell him that our government has launched a project of remembrance and education about the restrictions on Jewish European refugees before and during the war. He may be interested in following up on that. . .
To read the complete discussion on Bill C-11 click here
To read Bill C-11 click here
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To view the complete debate in the House of Commons click here |
