Public Safety Committee on Nov. 3rd, 2009

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

I just want to make a clarification. I appreciate the conversation that's going on in committee, but I'm a little fearful that there may have been some misunderstanding by opposition members on what I said earlier.

I did not say that all peeping Toms become grave sexual offenders, but that many grave sexual offenders have in fact started off as peeping Toms. As Monsieur Ménard indicated, most alcoholics start one beer at a time, but not all beer drinkers are alcoholics. I just want to clarify that so that everyone understands.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Thank you.

We're ready for the vote on NDP-4.

(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

We will group clauses 27 to 32 together.

(Clauses 27 to 32 inclusive agreed to)

(On clause 33)

We now come to clause 33. Mr. Davies, you can move your amendment.

I will advise the committee that G-2 is very similar to NDP-5. There are subtle differences. Look at them carefully. If you approve NDP-5, you cannot approve G-2. You can't do both.

There's a little procedural thing here. I am referring in G-2 to e033-027-23a regularly.xml. It's easier to simply say G-2.

Do you understand what I said about these two amendments being similar, and if you approve one, then you can't do the other one?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Can we offer to Mr. Davies the opportunity, if he's seen the other one and feels that one or the other is superior, to deal with only one?

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

We can give a moment for him to--

Yes?

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

I'm wondering if Mr. Davies and I could have one minute. We can discuss that and we might come up with a solution.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Sure, we'll wait for a minute here.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Mr. Davies, you are allowed to either move or withdraw your amendment, as you wish.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Chairman, I'm going to move my motion, please.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

You're going to move your amendment.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I am, yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Go ahead, sir.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. I'm batting zero, so hopefully this one will get passed.

This is, I think, something that we all recognize as a deficiency in the current act. We all heard evidence before this committee that the registry should include information about sex offenders' vehicles.

In my opinion, it was an inexplicable deficiency on the minister's part to draft legislation that did not have that. In fact, I'm still quite perplexed by the fact that his officials and he testified before this committee that they specifically addressed their minds to adding vehicle information of sex offenders to the registry and chose not to do that. I'm hoping this committee will rectify this.

In fairness to the minister, when he appeared before this committee he indicated a receptiveness, which I think is positive.

My amendment would add the requirement that a sex offender would have to disgorge to the registry

(d.01) the make, model, year, colour and licence plate number of any motor vehicle that they own, lease or use on a regular basis;

I did have a brief discussion with the government side, and in my view, the amendment the government side put in after this is, I think, identical to mine. I don't believe it adds anything different from what I've already put forward.

So I would move my amendment and urge all committee members to support it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Mr. MacKenzie, is there further discussion?

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Yes.

Actually, I do appreciate Mr. Davies' thoughtfulness on this amendment. However, there are a couple of subtle differences, I do believe, and I would prefer that we don't pass his amendment.

First, the lease vehicle is collected already in the registration. When you lease a vehicle, it is registered. The plates are registered to the individual. So it's registered back there.

There's one important ingredient that I think is also missing in Mr. Davies' amendment. It's one that I forgot to mention to him when we just had our short discussion. It doesn't include the body type. Sometimes the body type is even more important to police officers when they're trying to locate vehicles. The simple part of missing the body type is probably pretty crucial, maybe more crucial, in some ways, than a licence plate number. You could have a Ford truck, but it could be a van, or it could be a pickup truck, or it could be a variety of things. The body type is crucial.

For that reason, I would prefer that we not pass Mr. Davies' amendment and that we pass the government amendment.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Chairman, I would consider that a friendly amendment.

If you want to add “body type” to my amendment, I would consider that a friendly amendment and not oppose it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Procedurally, I don't believe there is such a thing as a friendly amendment. We would actually have to amend yours or else defeat it and choose the government amendment.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Well, I would entertain an amendment to mine, if they want.

I just want to say too, with respect, that my language says “of any motor vehicle that they own, lease or use on a regular basis”. The government amendment is, “vehicles that are registered in their name or that they use regularly”.

So “use” is there and “registered” is there. As my friend has told me, whether you own or lease a car, it's registered in your name. There's absolutely no difference with respect to the leasing or the registration of it, in my view.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Okay. If there's no more discussion, we'll vote on NDP amendment 5.

(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])

I will now allow the government to introduce their G-2.

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I move to amend clause 33 of the act by adding:

(h) the licence plate number, make, model, body type, year of manufacture and colour of the motor vehicles that are registered in their name or that they use regularly.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Is there any further discussion on this? I think we've discussed it.

(Amendment agreed to)

Now we will go to NDP-6.

Mr. Davies, please go ahead and introduce it.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I so move, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Does anybody have any comments with regard to this?

Mr. MacKenzie.

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Again, Mr. Chairman, the government does not support the proposed amendment. The Sex Offender Information Registration Act already requires registered sex offenders to report name or address changes within 15 days of the change, which would be amended to seven days in Bill C-34, clause 30. Changes to other information are required at annual reporting.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Okay.

Mr. Davies.