Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, yesterday I introduced my private member's Bill C-444, which would add a clear and concise sentencing provision to Section 130 of the Criminal Code, which deals with the personation of peace officers and public officers. My bill would establish that personating an officer be considered by a court to be an aggravating circumstance when a criminal offence is committed.

Criminal Code  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-444, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (personating peace officer or public officer). Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce a bill to amend the Criminal Code, which would establish personating a peace officer for the purpose of committing another offence to be considered by a court to be an aggravating circumstance.

Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to attend the budget implementation act technical briefing. This was an opportunity for all members and their staff to ask questions with regard to all the amendments and so on that were taking place on the bill. We found that people realized that any of the major questions and concerns that were being raised were of a political nature and certainly not a technical nature.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to present a petition signed by 579 people from my riding of Red Deer. The petitioners urge the federal government to honour its commitment to the UN protocol by providing adequate funding to set up safe housing for victims of human trafficking.

Red Deer Optimist Rebels  Mr. Speaker, determination, teamwork and belief in their coaches propelled the Red Deer Optimist Rebels to gold at the Canadian Men's Midget Triple A Championship on April 29 at the Telus Cup in Leduc. Checking the score on the way to the airport, I heard the result after two periods: five to one for their Quebec opponents, but Red Deer did have a power play to start the third.

2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts  Mr. Speaker, Red Deer was proud to host the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Women's curling teams from all across this great nation vied for the Canadian championship. What a show these teams put on. Excellent shot making, thrilling games and heart-stopping action ensured that curling enthusiasts were treated to the best women's curling on the planet.

Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act  Mr. Speaker, one of the things the member spoke of was information. I have had the privilege of serving on the public accounts committee for the last two years. We have worked closely with the Office of the Auditor General and with the former auditor general, Sheila Fraser, on many different files.

Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's question, but not some of the comments she made with regard to it. As passionate as people are about those people who have been killed by long guns, I have that same passion. I also know people, friends of mine, who have been killed by long guns.

Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act  Mr. Speaker, I will begin by thanking the many individuals who have been part of the development of this historic bill, specifically the member for Yorkton—Melville for his advocacy over many years, as well as the member for Portage—Lisgar for her private member's bill in the previous Parliament.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, last July the Minister of the Environment announced his intent to implement a joint environmental monitoring system with the Province of Alberta. At the time the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development said this: —these commitments hold the promise of establishing a credible, robust, and publicly accessible monitoring system for measuring environmental conditions and changes in environmental quality levels, as well as determining the sources of those changes.

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, Canadians value the work that our front line police officers do every day to keep our streets and communities safe, and this often comes at no small price to their own personal safety. Yesterday, near the town of Breton next to my riding, there was a serious incident involving the shooting of an individual who had barricaded himself in his home and exchanged gunfire with the RCMP.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, I have heard from many constituents in my riding and across Canada worried about troubling U.S. tax laws that would punish Canadians. For many of these constituents, their only transgression was failing to file IRS paperwork they were unaware they were required to file.

Order of Canada  Mr. Speaker, on November 4, I was honoured to attend the Governor General's Order of Canada ceremony to support and thank one of Red Deer's most valuable citizens, Joan Donald. She received this prestigious award for her contribution to business and her philanthropy across our community.

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  Mr. Speaker, it was said by Socrates, “Nobody is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problems of wheat”. I am afraid that comes into this realm. Could the hon. member discuss what will happen when we have the ability to continue the pooling options for wheat, durum and barley but be able to include other grains as well?

Firearms Registry  Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave our government a strong mandate to end the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry once and for all, and that is exactly what we are doing. However, members on this side of the House are not the only ones who received that mandate from the people of Canada.