Questions on the Order Paper March 22nd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, Lockheed Martin paid for all transportation costs for the F-35 model featured at the press conference held on July 16, 2010, in Ottawa. The Department of National Defence did not incur any costs for the transport of the model.

National Defence February 28th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, we are providing our military with the equipment they need while ensuring taxpayers receive good value for money.

We are working with all stakeholders, including industry, to leverage these procurements to drive economic growth and provide our troops with the right equipment at the right price.

The government is rebuilding the forces by acquiring critical aircraft to transport supplies, modernizing army vehicles to protect our personnel, and making unprecedented investments in our navy.

We will continue to provide the Canadian armed forces with the tools they need by ensuring we invest taxpayers' money responsibly and maximizing—

Justice February 15th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, restoring the confidence of Canadians in our criminal justice system continues to be an ongoing priority for this government.

Ever since we were first elected in 2006, the government has passed over 30 measures aimed at keeping our streets and communities safe. These include ending early parole for murderers, tougher penalties for impaired driving, raising the age of consent, and eliminating the use of house arrest for serious crimes such as sexual assault and kidnapping.

According to the Department of Justice, between 1994 and 2004 the number of review board admissions increased by 50%. This is partly why we have introduced the not criminally responsible reform bill. We are acting to ensure that public safety is given paramount consideration.

Canadians and victims have expressed significant concerns that such individuals could be released back into the community. We are taking action to ensure that public safety comes first. We will continue acting to strengthen Canada's justice system. I hope that for once we can count on the support of the opposition parties in our efforts to stand up for victims and all law-abiding Canadians.

Criminal Code February 14th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, when I was speaking to this before, I commented on the problems that could arise with police personation because it offends a natural trust, which we would like to think is ordinarily well-founded, that could be exploited and abused by criminals for their own purposes. Every time someone pretends to be a peace officer or a public officer with the intent of deceiving the public or a particular person, damage is indeed done to society's overall ability to trust in the uniform and the other identifiable tools and equipment that such officers would normally carry.

This leads to the second conclusion about this offence. No matter what the purpose of the personation is, or even if there is no purpose at all, it is dangerous and criminal conduct. Public trust in the police and other public institutions is critical to public order and stability.

Returning to Bill C-444, the legislation addresses the most serious forms of the offence of personating a peace officer or a public officer. I would pause to note that the offence under section 130 applies to personation of both peace officers and public officers, both of which are defined in the Criminal Code.

Bill C-444 proposes an aggravating factor that also addresses the personation of a peace officer and a public officer. This is a reasonable approach when one takes into account the definitions of those terms. “Peace officer” is defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code and includes holders of particular offices, most important, police officers and corrections officers. The term “public officer” is also defined in section 2 of our Criminal Code and includes, for instance, customs officers and officers in the Canadian Forces. There is some overlap between the terms and therefore it is sensible to include both.

The personation of a peace officer or a public officer, and most especially the police, is the most troubling circumstance. Pretending to be a peace officer or a public officer is serious, regardless of the purpose for which it is done, as I said, or even if there is no purpose at all. However, when a person's trust in the police is exploited in order to make it easier to commit another crime, and in particular, a crime against the person who was made to believe they were dealing with a police officer in the first place, that is extremely blameworthy conduct. Bill C-444 aims to ensure that individuals who would do exactly this are punished accordingly.

We are fortunate in Canada to have a society in which citizens, on the whole, trust their law enforcement. This trust leads citizens to want to accept the authority of anyone who appears to be a police officer. A police personator can exploit this trust and use it to more easily approach, interact with and assert physical authority over others.

Peace officer or public officer personation is, in general, quite rare, and thankfully, this more blameworthy form of it is even rarer. Unfortunately, however, it does still take place. Bill C-444 aims to identify this situation as one that aggravates the crime and should lead to a harsher sentence than that which would otherwise be imposed on the offender.

I would like to thank the hon. member for Red Deer for introducing Bill C-444, and allowing us, as parliamentarians, to discuss this serious problem, and in doing so, educate Canadians on these very real risks.

Aboriginal Affairs February 14th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the grieving families of these missing and murdered aboriginal women. This is a tragic and compelling issue and one that we have been on the front lines trying to address.

The Aboriginal Friendship Centres of Saskatchewan supports families of missing and murdered aboriginal women. Justice Canada is collaborating with the Manitoba justice to enhance victims' services. The Saskatchewan ministry of justice has created three specialized missing persons liaison positions.

We have federal project funding on an ongoing basis. We are working collaboratively with aboriginals and non-aboriginals.

Aboriginal Affairs February 14th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I rose in a speech before the House earlier today and said that we welcomed a special committee to deal with the policy issues on this. The hon. member was in the House when I said that. Her question belies her presence.

Successful projects that this government has funded include: the Thunderchild First Nation awareness project, delivering workshops and information sessions; the Canadian Centre for Child Protection in collaboration with the Assembly of First Nations and the RCMP; the Treaty 8 awareness campaign; the Canadian Red Cross that has successful prevention programs; the Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc. Medicine Bear Counselling, Support and Elder Services in Winnipeg; the tree of life program for youth—

Aboriginal Affairs February 14th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, our government has been a leader when it comes to working with the provinces and responding to the needs of victims in aboriginal communities.

Provincial and territorial governments acknowledged this when they noted that our government had taken significant action to respond to the 52 recommendations in last year's comprehensive missing women report.

We have also strengthened sentencing for all violent offenders, something that the opposition parties consistently vote against. We provided funding for the Thunderchild First Nation's awareness project and the Treaty 8 awareness campaign. We are getting it done.

Aboriginal Affairs February 14th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that this government is taking concrete action to address the tragic issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women. Also, we support a special committee to look into the public policy issues. We are providing significant resources to law enforcement and victims' services, and we are working with all levels of government to ensure there is a coordinated response.

The murder and abduction of women in this country is completely unacceptable. We will continue to move forward with a vigorous criminal justice agenda to address these issues. We encourage all opposition parties to support all of our efforts.

Business of Supply February 14th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, all parliamentary committees have their own rules and procedures, including special committees. I certainly hope that, as part of the mandate of this committee, we will have the opportunity to reach out to aboriginal communities. Whether that means bringing some people here or physically going there is yet to be determined.

However, there is no doubt that we need to engage aboriginal communities and organizations in the solutions, along with government. We cannot do it alone and that is part of what I am hoping to convey here today: we need public support; we need the support of Parliament; we need the support of our federal organizations and our provincial and territorial counterparts. We need to come together on an issue that we now recognize and, unfortunately, have recognized for many years as something we need to address both with front-line action, which we have been doing, and with a further look through the special committee as to solutions.