Rosane Doré Lefebvre

[Correctional Service Canada, November 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, that is not a real apology, but that is probably all he is capable of doing.

The Correctional Investigator of Canada has been investigating the presence of detainees with mental health problems in the corrections system for a long time. The symptoms of mental illness are too often misunderstood in this environment. The investigator is explicitly recommending that a study be done regarding the challenges of providing mental health services, and is recommending the creation of an action plan.

Will the Conservatives implement this recommendation, yes or no?

[Correctional Service Canada, November 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to get back to the comments that the Minister of Public Safety made yesterday in response to my question about the troubling case of Ashley Smith. This young woman took her own life while she was detained, because she did not receive proper treatment for her mental illness.

The minister resorted to nonsensical partisan attacks, as though he did not realize that Ashley Smith was herself a victim of a system that cannot properly handle people with mental illness.

Will the minister apologize to the loved ones of Ashley Smith for his inappropriate comments?

[Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Beauport—Limoilou for his excellent speech. The member for Hochelaga also briefly mentioned the fact that Panama is a tax haven in her speech.

While they were speaking, I visited the OECD website and learned that Canada has not signed an information exchange agreement with Panama, although it has done so with many other countries. I will not list them all, because we have signed information agreements with several dozen of them, which means that we can exchange tax information with them.

I think that is a serious flaw with Bill C-24. What does the member for Beauport—Limoilou think about that?

[Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, my two colleagues who just spoke, the member for Hochelaga and the member for Thunder Bay—Rainy River, gave excellent speeches.

My northern Ontario colleague represents many workers who want to protect the environment and, especially, their rights as workers. He finds the debate we are having in the House very interesting.

The member for Hochelaga raised some very serious points about the agreement: the absence of the right to strike and the possibility of hiring scabs in Panama. That is a very aggressive stance towards workers.

Does my colleague not find that this agreement violates the rights of workers in Panama?

[Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague across the way for his very interesting speech. Before deciding to ask him a question, I took the time to look at the timeline of this agreement and how it was discussed in committee.

In the previous Parliament, the government introduced Bill C-46 on the Canada-Panama free trade agreement, which died on the order paper. The government is now introducing Bill C-24 on the same subject. A number of witnesses came to committee to discuss Bill C-46. They said, among other things, that the Republic of Panama was used as a tax haven and that it had a bad record when it comes to workers' rights and environmental protection.

The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway moved a number of motions and amendments to address the most contentious aspects of this agreement, but they were all defeated by the Conservatives and the Liberals.

I am sure that my colleague across the way is just as concerned about tax havens, environmental protection and workers' rights as most Canadians. So why then did the Conservatives not support the NDP's amendments to flesh out Bill C-24?

[Correctional Service Canada, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, a tragedy is an accident; it is something that cannot be foreseen. In the case of Ashley Smith and too many women suffering from mental illness, someone should have seen this coming.

For a week now, the NDP has been asking questions about this and calling on the Conservatives to implement the recommendations made by the Correctional Investigator of Canada. For some time now, the investigator has been calling for the creation of treatment programs for offenders who have a history of self-injury.

Will the Conservatives take the advice of the Correctional Investigator of Canada, yes or no?

[Correctional Service Canada, November 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, this issue cannot simply be ignored. Treatment for mental health issues should be available for all women offenders during their incarceration.

The correctional investigator discovered that only 12% of women offenders were entitled to the mental health assistance program. In addition, 35% of those offenders are currently on waiting lists. In 2011, the assistance program accounted for only 1.8% of the prison budget.

Will the minister ensure that Correctional Service Canada has the resources needed to provide adequate assistance programs to women offenders?

[Correctional Service Canada, November 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are all too aware that our correctional system is failing women with mental health problems. One-third of women offenders struggle with mental health issues and 50% have a history of self-harm and yet there is no programming for women who self-injure.

The correctional investigator report laid out clear recommendations to address this failure in the system. Will the minister commit to implementing these recommendations? Refusal to do so would surely result in more cases like the Ashley Smith case.

[Correctional Service Canada, November 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Ashley Smith's family deserves real answers.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. In 10 years, the number of offenders with mental health problems has doubled. Moreover, 50% of offenders have engaged in self-mutilation, which is what Ashley Smith did before taking her own life.

In his recent report, the Correctional Investigator of Canada outlined clear recommendations to address these serious problems. Will the minister implement these recommendations?

[Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, November 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, first I would like to thank the member for Halifax for her excellent speech.

She also gave an interesting overview of the situation and of what is presented in Bill S-2. She pointed out that the government did not listen at the consultations and did not pay attention to the recommendations in some of the reports tabled in the House.

I also think she touched on a very interesting point, which is that the first nations currently receive inadequate funding.

I would like to hear my colleague speak more about the fact that we should have listened to aboriginal women's groups on this subject, and that we should have examined other important issues for the first nations, such as providing adequate funding but also scrapping the Indian Act.