Correctional Service Canada March 20th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, Ashley Smith lost her life for throwing an apple.

If the minister truly took Ashley Smith's tragic death seriously, he would follow through on the correctional investigator's recommendations. The investigator raised a number of red flags about detainees who have mental disorders and who self-harm.

The Conservatives have not taken action. The latest statistics are frightening. Under the Conservatives, the number of incidents of self-harm have nearly tripled.

What resources will they allocate to address this problem? What is their plan to avoid further tragedies?

Public Safety March 19th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve real answers and not meaningless accusations.

While the Conservatives are making cuts to border services and we are only days away from the tabling of the federal budget, where we expect even more cuts to occur, people have the right to know how much of their tax dollars were used to film arrests for a reality television show. Obviously, image means everything for the Conservatives, and content means nothing.

I am offering the minister another opportunity to answer the question. How much did this dangerous publicity stunt cost Canadians?

Public Safety March 18th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, it is one thing for the minister to be obsessed with people who have gone through traumatic experiences, but it is another thing altogether for him to decide to share that obsession with the entire country.

The minister is showing no consideration for these people, who, for reasons we may never know, decided to put their lives in danger and flee their country. He should reflect on that before sensationalizing their situation.

Our border services officers do important and dangerous work. Reducing it to simple entertainment is unacceptable.

How much is this charade costing our border services?

Parliamentary Budget Officer March 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, in response to this nonsense, I want to quote a document from 2006. “Governments cannot be held to account if Parliament does not know the accurate state of public finances.”

Who said that? The Conservatives did in their election platform. Was that just meaningless rhetoric? Instead of strengthening the Parliamentary Budget Officer's powers, they have attacked him and undermined him at every opportunity. Instead of being transparent, they forced him to go to court to obtain documents.

Why have they abandoned their promises of transparency?

Parliamentary Budget Officer March 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, it has become increasingly clear that Conservatives prefer to keep Canadians in the dark on how public money is being spent.

The PBO analyzed the estimates and the cost of the war in Afghanistan and the F-35s. Instead of strengthening the PBO, Conservatives are making it weaker. Instead of welcoming oversight, Conservatives are hiding the numbers.

Instead of being more transparent, why are Conservatives breaking their promises?

Correctional Service Canada March 7th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the correctional investigator is scathing: our prison system is in crisis and aboriginal women are the primary victims.

Aboriginal people represent less than 4% of the Canadian population, yet one in three women in federal prisons is aboriginal. They are released later and are disproportionately involved in the use of force and in segregation. We are all responsible for this failure.

Instead of slashing Correctional Service Canada's budget, will the minister finally acknowledge this crisis and take action?

Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012 March 7th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, it is pretty unbelievable that the minister opposite is refusing to answer questions about the gag order since that is what we are dealing with here. It is really sad that we cannot debate this further.

I would like to cite an hon. member who said the following on December 9, 2002:

Mr. Speaker, here we go again. This is a very important public policy question that is very complex and we have the arrogance of the government in invoking closure again.

Whose words are these? The current Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages said that on December 9, 2002. I think it is sad that the government has a double standard. The Conservatives impose gag orders when it suits them but complain about them when it does not.

Where does the minister stand? Will she finally explain why she is imposing a gag order? Why are they going back on their position?

I could ask more questions, but I am sure my colleagues also have questions that they would like to ask.

Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act March 6th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to ask the minister a question about shortening the debate on Bill C-42. I found it interesting that the committee spent only a few meetings discussing this bill. The last time the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act was amended, which was several years ago, it took months and months of serious study. I find the seriousness to be lacking this time.

In addition, the minister said at the outset that he was open to amendments because he felt that the bill was worth studying properly and that it might be lacking in some way. The only amendments the Conservatives accepted were their own, and they mainly had to do with correcting spelling mistakes.

Does the minister not feel that we did not have enough time and that we still need more time to debate this extremely important bill? Does he not think it arrogant not to listen to what the opposition has to say on the matter?

Border Services March 6th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, March break is approaching and many Canadians plan to take advantage of the opportunity to travel. However, the United States have hit a budgetary wall and announced close to $85 billion in cuts. Border services will be the first to be affected, which will increase wait times at the border and in airports.

What is the government's plan to ensure that travellers and our businesses and companies do not have to pay the price of the cuts being made on the other side of the border?