Sean Casey

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, March 13th, 2015]

With regard to contracts under $10 000 granted by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada since May 30, 2014: what are the (a) vendors' names; (b) contracts' reference numbers; (c) dates of the contracts; (d) descriptions of the services provided; (e) delivery dates; (f) original contracts' values; and (g) final contracts' values, if different from the original contracts' values?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, March 13th, 2015]

With regard to contracts under $10 000 granted by Justice Canada since April 1, 2014: what are the (a) vendors' names; (b) contracts' reference numbers; (c) dates of the contracts; (d) descriptions of the services provided; (e) delivery dates; (f) original contracts' values; and (g) final contracts' values, if different from the original contracts' values?

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 13th, 2015]

With regard to the administration of justice: what are the details of all appeal cases in any court of Canada, or of a province or territory, since January 1, 2008, in which Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, the Attorney General of Canada, any Minister of the Crown, or any government of Canada agency, office, or crown corporation, is or has been an intervener, or sought standing as an intervener, notably (i) the parties to the case, including other interveners, if applicable, (ii) the summary of the issue or issues in dispute, (iii) the name of the court and the court docket numbers associated with the case, (iv) the expenditures to date, as intervener, on each case, (v) the reason for which the intervener sought standing as an intervener, (vi) the date and reference number of the judgement, if a judgement has issued?

[Petitions, March 13th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present a petition signed by hundreds of residents and visitors to Prince Edward Island. The signatures are from all four federal ridings in Prince Edward Island. The petition includes signatures from Summerside, North Enmore, and right across the island.

These petitioners are concerned that the cuts to Canada Post are killing good jobs. The petitioners are also concerned about the elimination of door-to-door mail delivery, the closure of post offices, and the drastic increase in postage rates.

The petitioners are calling upon the government to reverse the cuts and to look at innovating instead of cutting.

[Recognition of Charlottetown as the Birthplace of Confederation Act, March 13th, 2015]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-659, An Act to Recognize Charlottetown as the Birthplace of Confederation.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to table a private member's bill to recognize Charlottetown as the birthplace of Confederation.

We just went through a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the meetings of the Fathers of Confederation in Charlottetown. Immediately after the 2014 celebrations, Province House began a substantial renovation. It is my sincere hope that this bill will pass in time for the 150th anniversary of Confederation itself. There was, in 1996, a declaration by the Prime Minister that gave Charlottetown this very recognition; the goal of this bill is to enshrine that declaration into an act of Parliament.

I would particularly like to recognize the substantial efforts by Philip Brown from Charlottetown, who was instrumental in pushing to have this measure come to the floor of the House of Commons.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Ethics, March 13th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, so the standard of accountability within the government can be reduced to 140 characters on social media.

The member for New Brunswick Southwest has shared his racist views on suitable jobs for “whities” and “brown people”. This is not an isolated incident. The same member has also referred to first nations as Canada's teepee republic.

Will the Prime Minister remove the member from his caucus, or do Conservatives condone racism?

[Ethics, March 13th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, this week we heard the racist views of the member for New Brunswick Southwest on the economic role of “whities” and “brown people”. The member spewing this racism is the Prime Minister's former director of communications. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and kick him out of the Conservative caucus, or is there a place for racism within the government?

[Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, March 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, in his remarks, the member defended the words that are in the short title, and that is one of our sticking points. He particularly defended the inclusion of the word “cultural”.

I will ask the question as directly as I can. Which cultures are being targeted? Does he care to name one and if not, what purpose does the word “cultural” serve in the title?

[Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, March 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I take issue with a statement in one of the very last sentences the member pronounced, when she said that the opposition does not find these practices to be barbaric. That is not the case. What we do take issue with is their being described as “cultural”.

My questions for the member are these: Does she agree that forced and early marriage and violence against women are wrong, regardless of culture? If so, what does it add to have the word “culture” in the title of the bill? Should it be removed? If it should not be removed, which cultures does the Conservative Party seek to condemn?

[Criminal Code, March 10th, 2015]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-656, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (fetal alcohol disorder).

Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure to introduce this private member's bill, which will amend the Criminal Code to establish a procedure for the assessment of individuals who are involved in the criminal justice system and who may suffer from fetal alcohol disorder. It requires the court to consider a determination that the offender suffers from fetal alcohol disorder as a mitigating factor in sentencing.

A similar bill was earlier introduced and then withdrawn in this Parliament. This bill builds on the previously introduced bill by adopting some recommendations from the Canadian Bar Association that require Correctional Service of Canada to also recognize the existence of fetal alcohol disorder as a disability within that system.

At the justice committee we are currently engaged in a study of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. It is clear that there is a need for legislation. It is also clear that the original version of this bill that was introduced had the support of all parties. My hope is that will result in the fast-tracking of this bill, which is an improvement on the earlier one.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)