House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 47% of the vote.
Justice February 16th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and prayers are with those young women and their families. The disappearance of a child is a tragedy, particularly under such circumstances.
We are determined to achieve the important objectives of Bill C-452. I can guarantee that we will act quickly in a way that reflects our values and complies with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Justice February 5th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the criminal justice system in the country is about more than retribution. There are other elements that are important in sentencing.
The most serious crimes should attract the most serious sentences. There is a place for mandatory minimums in our criminal justice system, but it is not everywhere. That is the reason why we are undertaking a comprehensive review. We are going to ensure that the hands of judges are not tied and that mandatory minimums are there for the most serious offences like the ones to which the member just referred.
Justice February 5th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, we believe that mandatory minimums should be the exception and not the rule. That is the reason we are conducting a complete and comprehensive review of the changes to sentencing and the changes to parole that were brought in under the previous government.
The most serious offences should have the most serious sentences, however, it is not a one-size-fits-all. A comprehensive review of the Criminal Code is necessary, and that is what we are undertaking.
Business of Supply February 4th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan deliver his speech and talk about timely, temporary, and modest deficits.
During his time in the prime minister's office and during the Conservatives' time in office, those timely, temporary, and modest deficits added $160 billion to this country's debt.
Just to be clear, the eight deficits that were run during the last government, were all of them timely, temporary, and modest?
Business of Supply January 28th, 2016
Madam Speaker, I listened intently to the member's remarks. Certainly, over the years he is a frequent contributor to debate in the House, someone who speaks very passionately, but from time to time, I would say is prone to hyperbole.
There was something I heard today that I invite the member to clarify. I thought his critique of the record of the Conservative government with respect to the gutting of environmental laws in the last Parliament was entirely fair. One of the things he said, and I would ask him to either clarify or withdraw, is that the Liberals voted with the Conservatives in the budget omnibus bills in the last Parliament. That, quite simply, is not true. I would ask him to either clarify or withdraw that remark.
Business of Supply December 9th, 2015
Mr. Chair, I welcome the member for Richmond Hill to the House. It could not be more appropriate than for someone with a background in management consulting and information technology to give his maiden speech in the House on open government.
I would invite my colleague to perhaps talk a bit about his background as a management consultant in the information technology field and how it gives him an appreciation of the availability of data, and particularly the availability of data in useable, machine readable format, and how that is important to business.
Business of Supply December 9th, 2015
Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my colleague from Vancouver Quadra for that speech. It is refreshing to hear the government benches espouse the virtues of evidence-based decision-making.
I know my colleague has served time as the Liberal Party critic for National Defence, and also as a provincial environment minister.
It seems as though most of the time when we talk about evidence-based decision-making, we revert to talking about science and climate change. As the justice critic in the last Parliament, the lack of evidence-based decision-making in criminal justice policy was a hallmark of the previous government, and it has resulted in us having a sizable agenda going forward.
My question to the member is twofold. Could she talk a bit about the importance of evidence-based decision-making in her previous portfolio in defence, to the extent that there is a connection there? Also, could the member member talk about the importance of the long-form census, the restoration of it, and where it fits in the whole evidence-based decision-making thrust of the government?
Business of Supply December 9th, 2015
Madam Chair, I would like to thank my colleague from Guelph and welcome him to the House. Guelph has been the beneficiary of some excellent representation in the last Parliament. I have no doubt that he will continue that tradition.
It is so refreshing that one of the first orders of business of this government is to restore the long-form census, to put meaningful action to the commitment to evidence-based policy.
With respect to how long it will take for the changes to bear fruit, which have been implemented virtually on day one, it is difficult to say, but the fact is that we have now set out on the right track, and only good things will come from the newfound respect and regard for evidence.
Business of Supply December 9th, 2015
Madam Chair, one of the most common refrains from the opposition benches in the last Parliament was that we were in an environment where the government was driven by ideology and not by evidence. This was certainly characterized in the climate change debate and in the muzzling of scientists.
I was so happy to hear in question period the Minister of Science rise in response to the first question posed to her and say that the war on science is over. It is a good day, it is a new day, and it is one when Canadians can rightly look forward to a change in the approach of government and the respect for science and evidence-based policy going forward.
Business of Supply December 9th, 2015
Madam Chair, it really comes back to bringing government into 2015, into modern times. We have an access to information system that has not been overhauled since 1983. If we look at what has happened in terms of technology, when we look at what has happened in terms of the information age and the availability of information online, we see that legislatively we are way behind. We are way behind society in terms of what the demands are, in terms of what the expectations are, and in terms of the degree to which people want to be involved and informed in the decisions that affect their everyday lives. That is really what this is about. It is a long-overdue modernization to give Canadians what they want.