Justice  Mr. Speaker, I recently introduced a bill on sexual assault law that will help restore confidence in the justice system. The bill seeks to provide training to future judges, among other things. It will also require written reasons to be provided in a greater number of decisions.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, last week, a Halifax taxi driver was acquitted of sexual assault charges. The circumstances are disturbing, and incredibly, the judge ruled, “Clearly, a drunk can consent”. Countless legal experts have pointed out the mistakes in this judgment. I have introduced a very common sense bill to make sure that judges are not making basic errors or, even worse, painful comments that make victims think twice of ever pursuing justice.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, Shelly Wynn is the widow of Constable David Wynn, who needlessly died because the justice system failed to protect him. His death was preventable. Shelly is in Ottawa today helping us fight to protect others. The Liberals have an opportunity to show Shelly that this will never happen again.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, here in Canada and around the world, human traffickers physically and sexually exploit women and girls. It is a brutal and disgusting crime that deserves to be punished harshly, but when the Liberals introduced their human trafficking law, they weakened the punishments that could be handed out to these criminals.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, research has revealed that when a woman or girl is raped in our country, her chances of being believed or being able to pursue justice are highly inadequate. I volunteered at a rape crisis centre and one of the most difficult decisions that a woman makes is whether or not to go to the police.

International Women's Day  Mr. Speaker, today is International Women's Day, and Conservatives are celebrating the role of women in Canada's public life. We are encouraging the next generation of women and girls to reach even higher. That is why we are so proud to welcome the 338 Daughters of the Vote into the House today.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, this is the first time in the history of Canada that a sitting prime minister has been under investigation by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. This is serious. The Prime Minister needs to tell Canadians the truth. Did someone in the PMO or the Privy Council Office tell him that this private flight was against the rules?

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister is answering the Ethics Commissioner's questions, but the Prime Minister also has a constitutional responsibility to be accountable to Canadians in the House, so we are asking him these questions on behalf of Canadians. After all, it was actually the Prime Minister who said, “As the head of government, the Prime Minister represents all Canadians and should be directly accountable to” them.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, there are now dozens and dozens of serious criminal cases that are being thrown out of court, in part because the Liberals have not appointed judges to deal with them. In one case, a man is accused of breaking his two-week-old baby's ankles, and he has had his criminal charge stayed, and he may never face justice.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, when I was in university, I worked at a rape crisis centre and I participated in a program that looked at how victims were treated by the courts. I saw what survivors of sexual assault have to go through. Judges not having the appropriate training only makes the process more difficult for everyone involved.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, in New Brunswick, in June 2014, Justin Bourque murdered constables David Ross, Fabrice Gevaudan, and Doug Larche. It has been described as one of the worst crimes in Canadian history. Because of back-to-back sentences for multiple murders, Bourque received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 75 years.

Foreign Investment  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister stood in the House defending his decision to approve the sale of a piece of Canada's health care system to China, but he could not say exactly who owns this company. In addition to the time they have spent reviewing the approval, they have now had 24 hours to figure out who owns this company.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, it is interesting the Prime Minister will not tell Canadians how much his carbon tax will cost, especially considering it is his signature economic and environmental policy. Why hide it? He will not reveal the cost to families, seniors, and workers. In fact, this is now becoming widely known as the carbon tax cover-up.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, like me, many Canadians would be surprised to learn that a lawyer does not need any experience in the sensitivities of sexual assault cases to become a judge overseeing these types of challenging trials. There currently is also no mandatory training for sitting judges.

Judicial Accountability through Sexual Assault Law Training Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-337, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (sexual assault). Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand in the House to introduce a bill to address the need to build more confidence in our judicial system when it comes to the handling of cases involving sexual assault and sexual violence.