From House of Commons, Februray 5, 2007

Mr. Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas, NDP) :

Mr. Mohamed Mahjoub is on the 74th day of his hunger strike at Kingston immigration holding centre. Mahmoud Jaballah and Hassan Almrei are day 63.

The Minister of Public Safety has taken no initiative to find an end to this situation. Is the minister prepared to let these men die in his custody, never having been charged, never having been convicted and not knowing the evidence against them?

Will he immediately today appoint the Correctional Investigator Canada as an ombudsperson to speak the men and make recommendations about their grievances?

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Hon. Stockwell Day (Minister of Public Safety, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, I cannot talk about individuals whose cases are before the Supreme Court but I can tell the public that the facility, as I visited about two weeks ago, is a brand new facility of $3.2 million, six cells in it. The doors open on to a common area where there is a large kitchen where any detainees have their own washer and drier, microwave, refrigerator stocked with a variety of juices, soups, soy milk, chocolate sauce and honey.

Also available to them is a separate unit where they have their own office space. They have a medical room. They have an exercise room with modern universal equipment. They are visited by a health care practitioner at 10 o'clock every morning.

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Mr. Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas, NDP) :

Mr. Speaker, a full refrigerator does no good if one feels the only option is to starve oneself to death.

Medical experts have pointed out that hunger strikers should be monitored daily after day 10 and that after day 49 serious health issues like heart failure, renal failure, heart arithmea are very likely. Still the hunger strikers in Kingston are not being monitored. A request for a doctor today by Mr. Mahjoub has been ignored.

Will the minister ensure daily monitoring takes place at the living unit and then a full examination of these men by an independent medical doctor is urgently arranged?

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Hon. Stockwell Day (Minister of Public Safety, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, again I cannot speak to individuals who may be detained who have cases before the Supreme Court.

But going further, it would have helped if the member had actually visited this facility once, instead of giving a very discredited picture to Canadians. It is not the case at all as he suggests.

There is also a medical practitioner on call. There is a psychologist on call. As I said, the unit is visited daily at ten o'clock every morning by a health care practitioner. There is also a common area where families can have visits seven days a week.

It is also designed so that any detainees who are there can have their spiritual needs met by visits from their spiritual leaders and even constructed in a way in which they can pray in--

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