Evidence of meeting #14 for Public Safety and National Security in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
Roxanne James Conservative Scarborough Centre, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank Mr. Easter for bringing this amendment forward. I remember hearing this from one of the witnesses we had before the committee.
We're not going to support it at this time. I'll bring back what I mentioned in our previous committee, that in the greater scope of the victims bill of rights many things are likely going to be addressed, not just within the context of what the individual member who brought this private member's bill forward is trying to achieve in this bill, but in the greater scope of the victims bill of rights on many other issues and other areas of the code.
Again I'd like to thank Mr. Easter for bringing this forward. We agree with it in principle, but we're not supporting it as an amendment in this particular bill at this time.
3:55 p.m.
NDP
Randall Garrison NDP Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We will be supporting it, and I am going to come back to the same point we had on the amendment I proposed to expand victims' rights. We've been waiting for the victims rights bill from the government for more than a year, and this will certainly pass before that bill.
If we support this, it would actually give additional rights to victims at this point. By not supporting it at this time, the government is actually delaying victims' having this access to the information. I'm disappointed to hear that they won't be supporting it. If they think this is a good idea, this is a good time to do it.
Thank you.
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
I think Randall's assessment said it all. We've been waiting for the bill from the government for a long time. I doubt if even the government members know what is in that bill. This might be in it. Some day the government might balance the books, too. We don't know when that will be.
I think this is an opportunity for the government—
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
Roxanne James Conservative Scarborough Centre, ON
I really don't think that comment was within the scope of this particular bill that we're taking a look at.
That's all I need to say.
Thank you.
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Daryl Kramp
Thank you.
Mr. Easter, you got the comment in, but now let's just move on with the bill.
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Facts are facts, Mr. Chair.
I really think this is an opportunity for the government to show that they mean what they say. For the government to claim that they're going to provide for other than transcripts at some point in the future is just not enough. This is an opportunity for them to actually support something they claim to support. If they don't support this, clearly their position is that they don't support providing any information other than transcripts. We will see by the way they vote.
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Daryl Kramp
Thank you, Mr. Easter.
Is there further discussion?
Seeing none, I will call the vote on the amendment put forward by Mr. Easter to proposed section 144.1.
(Amendment negatived)
(Clause 7 agreed to)
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Daryl Kramp
For clause 8 we have a new amendment. It is a government amendment, reference number 6437856.
Yes, Mrs. James.
4 p.m.
Conservative
Roxanne James Conservative Scarborough Centre, ON
I just want to clarify that actually government amendment number 8 comes first. The order should be reversed between amendments 7 and 8, so that the actual reference is 6437857, which is the coming into force.
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Daryl Kramp
That's fine. Let's deal with amendment number 6437857 first. This will be a housekeeping change, from government-7 to government-8.
We'll deal, then, with amendment number 6437857.
Mrs. James.
4 p.m.
Conservative
Roxanne James Conservative Scarborough Centre, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The government moves to amend this bill by adding, after line 31 on page 5, the following new clause 8:
8. Section 6 of the Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
(Amendment agreed to)
4 p.m.
Conservative
March 4th, 2014 / 4 p.m.
Conservative
Roxanne James Conservative Scarborough Centre, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The government moves to amend by adding after line 31 on page 5 in the previous amendment, which we just did, the transitional provisions as listed on the pages in front of you under our government amendment number 7.
This clause clarifies that Bill C-479 will affect the following classes of federal offenders: offenders currently serving the carceral portion of their sentence who receive a sentence for a new offence following the coming into force of Bill C-479; offenders on parole or statutory release who receive an additional sentence following the coming into force of Bill C-479; and offenders currently serving a sentence after the first scheduled parole or detention review following the coming into force of this particular bill.
The reason for this amendment is that currently, as the bill was drafted, it would only apply to offenders who had not yet been sentenced at the time the law was changed, and in fact we wouldn't see the fruits of this particular bill until many years into the future.
4 p.m.
NDP
Randall Garrison NDP Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC
Thank you very much for the explanation. We will be supporting these.
I think there is always some concern when you make measures in either the Criminal Code or the Corrections and Conditional Release Act retroactive. The government has provided that this will operate in the case of new offences or new hearings, so I think they've satisfied that standard; thus we can support these amendments.
4 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Daryl Kramp
Thank you very much.
(Amendment agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Yes, please? We have someone among our witnesses seeking the floor.
4 p.m.
Director, Corrections Policy, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman, for the intervention, but I believe the committee needs to vote down clause 7 as it was introduced, because when you amended clause 5, you moved all of the narrative dealing with transcripts into clause 5 with the government motion that amended clause 5.
All of that dealing with provision of transcripts is now in clause 5; ergo, you need to vote down clause 7.
4:05 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Daryl Kramp
Perhaps we can get some clarification. We'll just take a minute to study your recommendation. We might have you repeat it in a second.
4:05 p.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
May I ask a question, Mr. Chair? Which amendment did that?
Was it amendment G-4?
4:05 p.m.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Yes, it would be amendment G-4 that did that. I see what you're saying.