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Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was know.

Last in Parliament March 2011, as Conservative MP for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles (Québec)

Lost his last election, in 2011, with 30% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Criminal Code May 29th, 2006

Mr. Speaker, first I would like to draw the House's attention to the next question my colleague asked.

If we are going to use statistics to determine whether a law should be changed, we must go back more than two or three years. If we consider how the situation has evolved from one generation to the next, we see that, according to Statistics Canada, from 1970 to 2004, a period of 34 years, the overall crime rate has risen by 57%. The number of violent crimes has climbed by 100%. The number of homicides has dropped by 10%. The number of robberies has risen by 60%. The number of sexual assaults has jumped by 45%. The number of non-sexual assaults has grown by 112%.

These statistics cover all 10 provinces and the three territories. Clearly there is some urgency here. When we have people who should be incarcerated but who are sitting at home with their feet up waiting for their sentence, our system is not working. It cannot work because it undermines justice. If we want to regain the people's faith in the justice system, Bill C-9 must apply when serious crimes are committed so that delinquents will be kept in, not let go.

Criminal Code May 29th, 2006

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member expressed a full and frank opinion on poverty, but as far as I can tell, we are discussing Bill C-9. We will therefore redirect the question toward this bill.

First, there is nothing repressive about Bill C-9. The crown attorney simply has the choice of proceeding by indictment or by summary conviction. Any lawyer knows that there is a difference between an indictment and a summary conviction.

When an indictment is issued, it is because, given the circumstances, the crown attorney and the police feel that the crime is serious. If the crown attorney finds that he can proceed by summary conviction for the same offence because of the circumstances or because the police tell him that it is less serious, Bill C-9 will not apply. It is important to understand that this applies to indictments. Everything depends on the crown attorney, who, along with the police and the people around them, will have the power to determine whether to proceed by indictment or by summary conviction.

This is not repression. This procedure already exists. The difference is that the crown attorney will have to proceed differently for indictments and summary convictions.

Criminal Code May 29th, 2006

Mr. Speaker, this is the first time I have spoken in this House, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank the people of Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles for placing their trust in me on January 23. They are proud to see that we have kept our promises to date.

I would like to say a special thank-you to my wife Julie and my four children—David, Guillaume, Anne-Gabrielle and Élisabeth—and to my father, my brother and my two sisters for their support. I also want to acknowledge the unwavering loyalty of my team of volunteers and the support of the Conservative Party of Canada Association for the riding of Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

To close this aside, I would like to congratulate the Quebec Remparts on winning the Memorial Cup. It was a long time coming.

I am honoured to be able to speak at second reading about Bill C-9, which aims to modify conditional sentencing.

Before I speak about the bill and its implications, I would like to remind this House that a conditional sentence can be ordered only if certain conditions are met.

First, there must be no minimum term of imprisonment for the offence the offender is convicted of. As well, the offender must be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of less than two years, and the court must be satisfied that allowing the offender to serve the sentence in the community will not endanger the community and is consistent with the fundamental purpose and principles of sentencing set out in sections 718 and 718.2 of the Criminal Code.

These sections stipulate that a sentence must have one or more of the following objectives:

(a) to denounce unlawful conduct; (b) to deter the offender and other persons from committing offences; (c) to separate offenders from society, where necessary; (d) to assist in rehabilitating offenders; (e) to provide reparations for harm done to victims or to the community; and (f) to promote a sense of responsibility in offenders, and acknowledgment of the harm done to victims and to the community.

It is also useful to understand the intention of the legislator by looking back at the information document accompanying Bill C-41 in 1994. This bill is the one that created conditional sentences in our Criminal Code. According to it, the addition of this new sentence meant that offenders who had committed less serious offences and who otherwise would have been incarcerated could, under strict control, serve their sentences in the community.

Reducing the number of offenders in prison for minor offences protects the public by isolating from society those who have committed more serious offences and taking, for those whose offences are less serious, effective alternative measures in the community.

This government is of the opinion that conditional sentencing has a place in certain instances, but it is also convinced that the aim and fundamental principles of sentencing are violated when the accused is given a conditional sentence for a serious crime in which there are no exceptional mitigating circumstances.

Therefore, in the latest general election, the new Conservative Party promised to eliminate conditional sentencing in the case of serious crimes requiring greater denunciation and dissuasion.

The underlying principle in sentencing being proportionality, sentences for serious crimes must henceforth “reflect the gravity of the offence” and the “degree of responsibility of the offender”. That is exactly what Bill C-9 proposes to do. To this end, it would amend section 742.1 of the Criminal Code so that indictable offences for which the maximum term of imprisonment is ten years or more cannot be eligible for a conditional sentence. This would cover not only offences in the Criminal Code, but also those in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

This bill will target certain offences such as driving while impaired causing death or serious injury—a scourge in Quebec—dangerous driving causing death or serious injury—another scourge—criminal negligence causing death or serious injury, sexual assault prosecuted by way of indictment—a problem—aggravated sexual assault, assault with a weapon causing bodily harm, and manslaughter.

The bill will also target serious drug-related offences punishable by a sentence of 10 years or more and prosecuted by way of indictment. As we can see, implementing this threshold will target the offences in the government's electoral program. This threshold will also prohibit the use of conditional sentences for serious property offences and justice related offences. For example, persons found guilty of corruption or of arson could no longer serve their sentence in the community.

The true purpose of the bill is to correct a persistent anomaly. Conditional sentencing was not introduced in the Criminal Code in order to allow offenders charged with serious crimes to serve their sentence with their feet up at home. That is not what the legislation was made for. Such situations are not rare. They threaten our Canadian values, put the community at risk and discredit faith in justice.

This bill could also have repercussions on our correctional institutions. Some offenders currently given conditional sentences would be sent to prison if Bill C-9 became law. It is important to note that only a third of offences currently eligible for conditional sentencing will be effected by this reform and those are offences punishable by a maximum of 10 years or more and prosecuted by way of indictment. As far as the number of convictions are concerned, we estimate that roughly 5,164 of the 15,493 conditional sentences in the 2003-04 fiscal year would be affected by Bill C-9.

Another important consideration is the prosecution procedure. The proposed amendment will have an impact only on those offences prosecuted by way of indictment. As we know, there are many offences which can be prosecuted either by indictment or by summary conviction. Crown attorneys and police officers will decide how they wish to prosecute a case depending on the circumstances under which the offence was committed. Furthermore, this reform will not prohibit the courts from utilizing other types of sentences. For example, they will be able to impose a suspended sentence or a sentence accompanied by a probation order in the case of offences for which a conditional sentence of imprisonment is prohibited, when they consider such an option warranted by the circumstances.

This will also impact on the aboriginal communities. Aboriginal people are overrepresented in our correctional institutions, but we often forget that they are also overrepresented among victims. The 1999 General Social Survey entitled “Canada’s Native People”, from the series of Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics profiles, shows that aboriginal people are three times more likely to be victimized than non-aboriginal people, as well as three times more likely to be victims of spousal abuse. It is for the protection of victims and our communities that this bill proposes to modify the conditional sentencing system.

There is one other consideration. That is the impact of this bill on the provinces and territories. We will be working together with our partners to ensure that the necessary adjustments can be smoothly put into place. As I explained earlier, if Bill C-9 were to become law, only one segment of those who today are receiving a conditional sentence of imprisonment would be sent to jail.

In our fields of jurisdiction, we will be working with the Federal Prosecution Service, the Correctional Service of Canada and legal aid to ensure that our measures are successful.

The impact on the federal government will depend on the number of accused who are given an unconditional as opposed to a conditional sentence. We will be monitoring that impact and, if necessary, we will take it into account in any future initiatives to combat crime.

This bill reflects the intention of this government to go back to the source and prohibit the use of conditional sentencing for serious offences. This government is trying to protect victims and communities, not dangerous offenders. Only a prohibition, as expressed in this bill, will enable us to achieve that goal. The appropriate use of conditional sentencing will ensure that our Canadian values are protected and strengthen the integrity of and confidence in our criminal justice system.

Budget Implementation Act, 2006 May 12th, 2006

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for painting such a negative picture of our budget. I would like to draw his attention to this, though: by virtue of their attitude over the past 13 years, the Liberals came very close to ruining Canada because they did not recognize the fiscal imbalance. Today, the Conservative Party's budget does recognize that fiscal imbalance.

Since, by voting against the budget, the Liberals denied the existence of the fiscal imbalance, can my colleague explain why all Canadians acknowledge that it exists? By voting against the budget, the Liberals do not recognize the fiscal imbalance, when everyone knows that it exists. I would like to hear my colleague's answer about this fiscal imbalance that his party refuses to recognize.

Budget Implementation Act, 2006 May 12th, 2006

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for illustrating all aspects of the Conservative budget and demonstrating that the Conservative Party did a good job.

The question I would like to ask him concerns specifically the $1,200 that will be given to mothers, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all mothers a Happy Mother's Day. My colleague wants the $1,200 to be given to the Quebec government, which would then administer the sum.

Why would he chose this rather than give Canadian mothers the choice they are entitled to, that is, to receive that money and to do what they would like with it? Would he deny women this right, namely, to make their own choices when they receive the $1,200?

Asbestos April 28th, 2006

Mr. Speaker, the mining and production of serpentine asbestos, known as chrysotile, play an important part in Quebec's economy.

Could the Minister of Natural Resources tell this House about the safe use and production of this resource?

Member for Eglinton—Lawrence April 6th, 2006

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the hon. member for Eglinton—Lawrence, who is also a candidate in the Liberal leadership race, suggested that showing respect to the people of Quebec would divide the country. He has provided, yet again, more evidence of the Liberals' arrogant attitude toward Quebec.

What does the Prime Minister think of the comments made by this member who wants to become leader of the Liberal party?

Conservative Government April 5th, 2006

Mr. Speaker, after years of Liberal corruption, which threatened unity in Quebec , it is good to have a truly federalist government in Ottawa, a government that understands the importance of being open to Quebec, a government that really wants to work with the province.

The Prime Minister has already taken major steps by announcing that Quebec will have a seat at UNESCO and will participate in decision-making regarding our language and our culture. He has undertaken to deal with the fiscal imbalance faced by several provinces, including Quebec. This will allow Quebec to ensure its growth and prosperity.

Whereas the approach of the Liberal government to federalism was characterized by secret agreements, bribes and money slipped into envelopes, the approach of the present Prime Minister is distinguished by his efforts to achieve transparency and accountability.

With this government and this Prime Minister, Quebec will be integrated, its voice heard and its population united.