Alice Wong, MP

The Board of Internal Economy has released the expense reports for all Members of Parliament for the April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 fiscal year. You can view the report by member by clicking here.

Although this is not a competition, MP Alice Wong’s Members’ Expenditures ranked 29 out of 34 members (i.e. was the 5th lowest) in British Columbia (this excludes two members that were elected through by-elections in the fiscal year).

The salient details are attached here. For information, our previous year’s 2008-2009 fiscal year expenses are reported here.

Bill C-49 was introduced to the House of Commons today. It addresses the issue of human smuggling, and specifically does the following:

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SUMMARY
This enactment amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to, among other things,

(a) authorize the Minister, in certain circumstances, to designate as an irregular arrival the arrival in Canada of a group of persons, the result of which is that some of the foreign nationals in the group become designated foreign nationals;

(b) authorize an officer or the Minister, as the case may be, to refuse to consider an application for permanent residence if the applicant has failed to comply with a condition of release or other requirement imposed on them;

(c) provide that a person may not become a permanent resident as long as an application by the Minister for cessation of that person’s refugee protection is pending;

(d) add, as grounds for the detention of a permanent resident or foreign national, the existence of reasonable grounds to suspect that the person concerned is inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality, criminality or organized criminality;

(e) provide that the Immigration Division must impose any prescribed conditions on the release of certain designated foreign nationals;

(f) provide for detention rules and a review procedure that are specific to the detention of certain designated foreign nationals;

(g) clarify the authority of the Governor in Council to make regulations in respect of conditions of release from detention;

(h) provide that certain designated foreign nationals may not apply to become permanent residents until the expiry of a certain period and that the processing of any pending applications for permanent residence is suspended for a certain period;

(i) require certain designated foreign nationals on whom refugee protection has been conferred to report to an officer;

(j) authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting the reporting requirements imposed on certain designated foreign nationals;

(k) provide that the offence of human smuggling is committed when a person organizes the coming into Canada of another person and knows, or is reckless as to whether, the entry into Canada is or would be in contravention of the Act;

(l) provide for minimum punishments for the offence of human smuggling in certain circumstances;

(m) in respect of the determination of the penalty to be imposed for certain offences, add as an aggravating factor the endangerment of the life or safety of any person as a result of the commission of the offence;

(n) change the definition of “criminal organization” in Part 3 to give it the same meaning as in subsection 467.1(1) of the Criminal Code; and

(o) extend the time for instituting proceedings by way of summary conviction from six months to five years.

The enactment also amends the Balanced Refugee Reform Act to provide that a refugee protection claimant whose claim is rejected is not prevented from applying for protection earlier than 12 months after the day on which the claim is rejected, if it is rejected as a result of a vacation of the initial decision to allow the claim.

The enactment also amends the Marine Transportation Security Act to increase the penalties for persons who fail to provide information required to be reported before a vessel enters Canadian waters or to comply with ministerial directions and for persons who provide false or misleading information. It creates a new offence for vessels that fail to comply with ministerial directions. It also amends the Act to authorize regulations respecting the disclosure of certain information for the purpose of protecting the safety or security of Canada or Canadians.

RICHMOND, BRITISH COLUMBIA, October 9, 2010—Richmond youth will have the opportunity to meet local employers and explore career possibilities in their community thanks to support from the Government of Canada. Dr. Alice Wong, Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism and Member of Parliament for Richmond, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

“In today’s environment, it is more important than ever that young Canadians have the skills and information they need to participate and succeed in the job market,” said Dr. Wong. “Our government is proud to support activities like this one that benefit both employers and youth.”

The Richmond Youth Service Agency will receive over $19,000 through the Government of Canada’s Youth Awareness program to organize the 4th annual U‑Connect Career and Community Fair. The event will introduce youth to a variety of local employers and community agencies, as well as employment opportunities and career possibilities available in the region.

“It is critical that young people, and those that support them, are able to connect with opportunities that help them identify and achieve their education, career and life goals,” said Mr. Marshall Thompson, Executive Director of the Richmond Youth Service Agency. “Our agency believes that connecting youth to employment, education and community supports will ensure that all youth are prepared to succeed both today and tomorrow. We are pleased to partner with the Government of Canada to support youth, our community and local employers in reaching these goals.”

The federal government is working with the provinces and territories, community organizations and other stakeholders to provide Canadians with the training, skills and opportunities they need to participate in the workforce and contribute to their communities.

Youth Awareness is part of the Government of Canada’s strategy to create the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world. The Government underscored its commitment to this strategy in Canada’s Economic Action Plan. A key component of the Plan is to create more and better opportunities for Canadian workers through skills development. To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

The Youth Awareness program is delivered by Service Canada, which provides one‑stop personalized services for Government of Canada programs, services and benefits. For more information about this program, visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca, call 1 800 O-Canada or drop by your local Service Canada Centre.

On October 7, 2010, Alice Wong made the following statement on Richmond-based athletes that are participating in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India:

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The following is a transcript:

Mrs. Alice Wong (Richmond, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, as we speak, the 19th Commonwealth Games are moving into day four in Delhi, India.

Already, Canadians have been winning medals in events. Among them, in the men’s team artistic gymnastics, Robert Watson and Jason Scott, both members of the Richmond Gymnastics Association, were part of a five member Canadian team that won the bronze medal. Congratulations to them. Richmond is proud of them.

Other athletes from Richmond include: athletics, Evan Dunfee; field hockey, Amanda Stone; gymnastics, Demetra Mantcheva; rugby sevens, Nathan Hirayama; table tennis, Andre Ho and Mo Zhang; and wrestling, Arjan Bhullar.

Richmond is supporting all of them and the whole national team. Go Canada go.

We are curious as to the opinion of the people in Richmond about potentially renaming YVR to Terry Fox Airport. If you live in Richmond and have an opinion on the matter, please send it to wonga7@parl.gc.ca along with your residential address.

On September 30, 2010, Alice Wong made a statement in the House of Commons regarding the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and the People’s Republic of China.

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The following is a transcript:

Mrs. Alice Wong (Richmond, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, next month marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Canada and the People’s Republic of China.

Our ties are strong in business and education and in cultural exchanges. Bilateral trade is a good example. Currently, China is our second largest source of imports and our third largest source of exports. Today over 1.3 million Canadian residents are of Chinese origin and form one of the largest groups within Canada’s multicultural mosaic. Chinese is now Canada’s third most spoken language after English and French.

Recently, the approved destination status for Canada marked another positive step in our relationship with China. It will strengthen our diplomatic and commercial ties and, more important, our people-to-people ties, resulting in a win-win situation.

Tomorrow will be the 61st national day of the People’s Republic of China. On behalf of Richmond, happy birthday.