David Pratt

[Stanley Faulder, December 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, earlier today a delegation of Canadians met with the chairman of the Texas Paroles and Pardons Board to plea for a stay of execution in the case of Mr. Stanley Faulder, a 61-year old Canadian who is scheduled to die by lethal injection tomorrow in Texas. Regrettably that meeting was unsuccessful.

It appears that Mr. Faulder will die despite the fact that his rights as a Canadian under the Vienna convention were violated. It appears that Mr. Faulder will die despite the many irregularities in his case, irregularities that include a private prosecution, paid witnesses, and so-called expert psychiatric testimony from an individual who was subsequently expelled from his professional association.

Many ordinary Canadians rallied to Stanley Faulder's cause on legal and humanitarian grounds. The Minister of Foreign Affairs was also very active on the case as was the United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, United Nations officials and the famous Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Over 1,000 letters were sent to Texas Governor George Bush. It is very regrettable that the state of—

[Citizenship Of Canada Act, December 7th, 1998]

Madam Speaker, I hope that you find unanimous consent to put the following motion to the House without debate.

The motion reads as follows: “That this House request that the government convey to the governor of the state of Texas, the hon. George W. Bush, and to parole authorities of this state, its very serious concern about the violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations in the case of Mr. Stanley Faulder, a Canadian citizen who is to be executed on December 10, 1998 at Huntsville State Prison; and further, that the government convey this House's respectful request that the execution be stayed pending a judicial review of the case to ensure that due process has been followed”.

[Controlled Drugs And Substances Act, November 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I very much hope that you will find unanimous consent to put this motion to the House without debate:

That this House request that the government convey to the Governor of the State of Texas, the hon. George W. Bush, and to parole authorities of the state its very serious concern about the violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations in the case of Mr. Stanley Faulder, a Canadian citizen who is to be executed on December 10, 1998 at Huntsville State Prison; and further, that the government convey this House's respectful request that the execution be stayed pending a judicial review of the case to ensure that due process has been followed.

[Helicopters, November 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to congratulate one of the many vibrant high tech companies in my riding of Nepean—Carleton, which will have an impact on helicopter safety around the globe.

DRS Flight Safety and Communications was awarded five contracts earlier this month totalling $10.2 million for the supply of emergency avionics systems for Agusta and GKN Westland Helicopters joint Cormorant helicopter program.

The helicopter industry's version of the black box, the first 15 DRS devices, will be a vital feature of the new Cormorant search and rescue helicopters the federal government is buying to replace the Labradors.

The state of the art technology which allows rescue crews to locate downed helicopters by tracing satellite signals will also be used in more than 80 other helicopters for the British navy and air force, the Italian armed forces and Tokyo's metropolitan police force.

DRS' launch into the market is a prime example of a government investment success story. Over the past decade the company has spent approximately $10 million, including federal research money, to streamline and make the technology the most advanced on the globe. That is what I call an investment in our future.

[Stanley Faulder, November 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, 17 days remain before Jasper, Alberta native Stanley Faulder is to be executed by lethal injection in Huntsville State Prison in Texas.

Stanley Faulder's case presents some very troubling issues. Although in custody since 1977, Canadian officials were only notified of Mr. Faulder's situation in 1991, an apparent breach of the Vienna convention on consular representation which meant that Faulder did not have access to proper legal representation.

No juror has ever heard testimony about the brain damage Mr. Faulder suffered in childhood that left his behaviour occasionally unpredictable. And no court has dealt with the fact that James Grigson, the forensic psychiatrist whose testimony was critical in convicting Stanley Faulder, was later expelled from the American Psychiatric Association for unethical and unscientific testimony in death penalty trials.

I urge my colleagues in the House and every Canadian interested in justice to write to Texas Governor George W. Bush and the Texas Board of Parole and Pardons seeking clemency for Stanley Faulder.

[Foreign Affairs, November 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will know that Mr. Stanley Faulder, a Canadian citizen, it to be executed in a Texas prison December 10. It would appear there were irregularities in the evidence presented in the case and that Canadian officials were only notified of Mr. Faulder's situation in 1991, a violation of international convention.

What course of action is the minister pursuing to prevent Mr. Faulder's execution?

[Kosovo, October 30th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs will know that international concern over the situation in Kosovo continues notwithstanding the last minute pullout of Serbian troops and heavily armed police. Can the parliamentary secretary provide the House of Commons with an update on the situation in Kosovo especially as it relates to Canadian participation in the 2000-strong verification force?

[Nunavut Act, October 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the hon. member's comments with great interest. It is interesting to know that he is a lawyer and perhaps brings a different perspective to this legislation than some of us who are not from the legal profession.

My question in terms of this new system to be applied to Nunavut is whether there will be flexibility within the system in terms of responding to the needs of aboriginal communities. One of the things we have learned in this country is that there are some very different traditions as far as justice and the application of justice.

Coming in this morning I heard on CBC radio the whole issue of adapting sentencing circles to southern communities like regional municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. I am interested in knowing whether there is flexibility within the system, if the hon. member knows or has this information at his disposal. I would like to know whether there is enough flexibility in the system to allow for those sorts of options in the north with this new legislation.

Clearly some of the mechanisms we have in terms of the British tradition of justice differ greatly from the aboriginal system. I ask the hon. member if he has any information on that and whether we will be seeing more creative types of justice applied to northern communities that adapt more to the needs and the traditions of the people who live in those communities.

[Nunavut Act, October 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the hon. member for South Shore speak about the issue of incarceration. I guess it will not have much effect in terms of incarceration.

I would interested in probing the member further on that subject given that it is obviously part of the justice system. There will have to be agreements in place to house the inmates who are convicted for more than two years, hopefully as close as possible to their homes so that it will enhance the prospects for rehabilitation.

The Conservative Party certainly has a long history of building prisons. The one that comes to mind right away is the one that the former Conservative prime minister from Quebec built in his riding. I think it was the Port Cartier prison.

Does the hon. member have any other thoughts with respect to how incarceration issues will be dealt with? He seems to have displayed some expertise on the subject given his comments this afternoon.

I do not know if the hon. member has the information available, but I would like to know the number of inmates we might be talking about that are generated from the actions of the court system. If he could provide some information on that it would be helpful.

The member also mentioned that if these amendments were successful in terms of the application of the one court system to the eastern Arctic the people in the western Arctic would be looking with interest at the experiment, if that is what we want to call it.

Does the hon. member have any information with respect to what sort of political pressure is currently being exerted by the people in the western Arctic with respect to how quickly they would want such a system implemented?

I would appreciate if the hon. member for South Shore could enlighten the House with respect to those issues.

[Women's History Month, October 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, October is Women's History Month, an opportunity for Canadians from coast to coast to honour women whose efforts have made a difference in our society.

One of my constituents, Mrs. Claire Heggtveit of Nepean, is a woman who has dedicated her life and work to the principle of equality.

Earlier this week Mrs. Heggtveit was one of five women honoured with the 1998 Persons Case Award which recognizes outstanding contributions toward promoting equality for women in Canada.

As an economist, she was vital in developing a statistical framework during the 1960s and 1970s which aided the federal government in assessing the quality of women's health and socioeconomic status. She also completed a Canadian survey for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the first national focus on family planning, abortion and divorce.

All Canadians owe a debt of gratitude to women like Mrs. Heggtveit who have helped move this country along the road to true equality.