This bill was last introduced in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session, which ended in September 2013.
Vic Toews Conservative
This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.
This is from the published bill.
This enactment amends the Witness Protection Program Act to, among other things,
(a) provide for the designation of a provincial or municipal witness protection program so that certain provisions of that Act apply to such a program;
(b) authorize the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to coordinate, at the request of an official of a designated provincial or municipal program, the activities of federal departments, agencies and services in order to facilitate a change of identity for persons admitted to the designated program;
(c) add prohibitions on the disclosure of information relating to persons admitted to designated provincial and municipal programs, to the means and methods by which witnesses are protected and to persons who provide or assist in providing protection;
(d) specify the circumstances under which disclosure of protected information is nevertheless permitted;
(e) exempt a person from any liability or other punishment for stating that they do not provide or assist in providing protection to witnesses or that they do not know that a person is protected under a witness protection program;
(f) expand the categories of witnesses who may be admitted to the federal Witness Protection Program to include persons who assist federal departments, agencies or services that have a national security, national defence or public safety mandate and who may require protection as a result;
(g) allow witnesses in the federal Witness Protection Program to end their protection voluntarily;
(h) extend the period during which protection may, in an emergency, be provided to a person who has not been admitted to the federal Witness Protection Program; and
(i) make a consequential amendment to another Act.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Mr. Speaker, I do not profess to be an expert on the international law or the legal procedures that would be engaged with foreign people who have been convicted, so—
Dan Albas Conservative Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC
Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the opportunity to ask a question.
My colleague certainly has raised a lot of points that I was unaware of, particularly the 2008 review, the four recommendations and how much of what is in both this bill but also in Bill C-42, another fine piece of legislation, addresses many of those concerns.
We have heard about working along with the provinces to see further integration between their programs and the national program. As a government, we are respecting the provinces' jurisdiction, and that is a positive benefit.
There are a lot of positive aspects to the bill. What other areas does the member feel are important in the government's approach to this, as well as to other legislation, to help keep Canadians safe?
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Mr. Speaker, the primary change that we see in the legislation is that rather than simply having law enforcement agencies initiating this process, the process can now be initiated by the Department of National Defence, CSIS, Canada Border Services Agency and other agencies that deal with national security. It is important that these are also allowed into the system.
Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Speaker, the member referred to the lack of or inability to bring forward permanent funding to help this program move forward and not putting forward the recommendation on establishing national standards. That would touch on provincial jurisdictions.
How hard did the government actually try to work with the provinces to see if there was a deal that could be reached to ensure there would national standards across the entire country?
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Mr. Speaker, many times tonight the NDP members have indicated the lack of resources associated with this bill. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The RCMP is charged with the primary responsibility of the act. The assistant commissioner, Mr. Todd Shean, on two occasions, in front of the committee, indicated very clearly that he was confident there were enough resources. I will read into the record his actual statement. On March 5, he said:
I am confident that we have the necessary resources to conduct an effective witness protection program, even with what Bill C-51 adds.
Earlier in the year, on February 28, he said:
—with the changes this bill brings about, the RCMP is comfortable that we have the resources within our existing resources to run an effective witness protection program.
Ted Opitz Conservative Etobicoke Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, I know a question came up about foreign agencies. On a case-by-case basis, foreign agencies can appeal to the RCMP to see where these international agreements line up. We do have an area in the RCMP that does this.
I liked the member's discussion about the funding formula and how the provinces and the municipalities lined up with the federal government. Could my colleague expand on that a little?
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am going to have to rely on outside witnesses and experts for my response to that question.
Mr. Tom Stamatakis, president, Canadian Police Association, said this:
I should also note that the parts of this legislation that deal with extending the authority to designated provincial or municipal protection programs and not just the federal program remind me of some of the testimony I recently gave to this committee around the economics of policing and the need for us to adopt and embrace operational efficiencies in order to deliver the best possible community protection at a reasonable cost to the Canadian taxpayer.
What we see is that different levels of government and policing are working together to address the situation that all of us here tonight agree needs to be addressed so we can provide better protection for witnesses who come forward to try to get out of gangs or to try to cut down the gang and terrorist activities that occur within our borders.
Corneliu Chisu Conservative Pickering—Scarborough East, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak about the importance of Bill C-51, the safer witnesses act, and to express my full support for it.
My constituents in Pickering—Scarborough East are deeply concerned about the worst mass shooting in the history of Toronto, which took place in July last year at the barbecue event on Danzig Street in Scarborough, just barely outside of my riding. It was clearly gang-related, and it ended with two people dead and 23 wounded.
As we are all aware, the bill will make much needed changes to the Witness Protection Program Act to give law enforcement authorities the proper tools to prevent such horrific crimes and to better protect the public.
The act came into effect in 1996 and needs to be updated to keep up with the passing of time. Prior to this, witness protection services were indeed provided to key witnesses, although such protection was not provided on any formal basis. With the passing of the act in 1996, the process was formalized. Clearly, after 17 years, it is time to modernize this important piece of legislation to make it more responsive to law enforcement needs and more effective for those it is designed to protect. Seventeen years ago, there was no Facebook; there was no Twitter.
While we are talking about 17 years, I would like to note that the leader of the NDP stayed silent on a bribery offence by the mayor of Laval for 17 years. I think it is important that he testify at the Charbonneau commission on corruption to tell Canadians what exactly he knew. I, as a professional engineer, would lose my licence if I did not act properly.
Back to the matter at hand, a robust witness protection program is a critical tool in our ongoing efforts to combat organized crime groups and terrorism. Bill C-51 responds to a number of concerns that have been raised by a variety of stakeholders. This government has taken the time to listen to the concerns of these stakeholders and of the provinces to ensure that we are putting forward the soundest legislation possible. I will direct my comments today to the proposed amendments to this bill, which has been developed to alleviate concerns for some of the provinces.
Members may recall that five provinces already have witness protection programs in place. They are Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. I would note that there are some differences between the federal program and those of the provinces. Witness protection programs at the provincial level have their own criteria for admission. They are tailored in such a way as to respond to the requirements of their particular law enforcement agencies.
Whether a witness is covered under the federal program or under one of those in the provinces is decided by the relevant investigating police force. There are a number of determining factors for admission to the federal program in this regard. In making this decision, police could consider such factors as the estimated cost, the level of threat and the anticipated time for which protection is necessary for the witness. If the witness is involved in a case of a federal nature, a province may also decide that its witness should be referred to the federal program for consideration and possible admission.
The provinces have been unequivocal about their desire for a more straightforward process to procure secure identity changes for their protectees. We have listened to this concern. Clearly, provinces face undue difficulty with the current program, as the RCMP only helps federal protectees obtain the federal documents necessary to secure identity changes. This results in a requirement for the provinces to admit their protectees to the federal program on a short-term basis so that they can have the assistance of the RCMP in the document process. This is an overly laborious process that can result in lengthy holdups. Delays due to the cumbersome paperwork are unacceptable when we are talking about protecting the lives of key witnesses who are supporting key investigations. We have addressed this issue in the bill.
Through this bill, we are also enhancing federal-provincial co-operation. To do so, we are putting in place a new process to ensure that provincial programs can be officially designated following a process that will include a one-time request to the Minister of Public Safety. This is significant in that once a program has been designated, provincial officials will be able to call on the RCMP to acquire the necessary federal documents for a secure identity change for a provincial witness. To be clear, this witness would not have to be admitted first into the federal program, making it a significant improvement over the current system. Furthermore, the designation process would be a one-time request.
I will also take a moment to acknowledge the suggestion by some that the RCMP be completely taken out of this process. It was suggested that provinces should be able to approach federal departments directly to make their request for secure identity documents. We do not agree with this. As a result, the bill would ensure that the RCMP would remain part of this process. Having the RCMP act as the single point of contact minimizes the number of people involved in the process, thereby making the process more secure. We have also listened to the concerns of federal partners in this regard. These partners were of the view that continuing to use the RCMP as a single point of contact was the most prudent course of action.
Another important change we would make to alleviate the concerns of some provinces is with respect to the prohibition of disclosure. In the current Witness Protection Program Act, the prohibition of disclosure of information about the location and change of identity is limited to federal protectees only. It is this government's view that the provincial stakeholders' concerns about this limitation are completely founded. That is why we would broaden the protections to provide for the disclosure of information regarding witnesses to include those in the designated programs I mentioned a few moments ago.
Further, the legislation would clarify exceptions to the disclosure prohibition, all the while ensuring that federal and designated provincial authorities are able to carry out their duties and maintain the protection of witnesses. As an example, both federal and designated provincial authorities would be able to provide information about protectees in many instances when doing so is necessary to prevent a serious offence from occurring.
There is no doubt about the need for the amendments to the Witness Protection Program Act, amendments such as those proposed in Bill C-51. This sound legislation is just one of the many ways in which this government has demonstrated its commitment to providing law enforcement agencies in this country with the tools they need to do their job.
To conclude, I will remind my hon. colleagues that with the passage of this bill, we have an opportunity to see that witnesses in this country feel safe to come forward and assist our law enforcement agencies with some very serious investigations.
I will reiterate that there are no anticipated cost increases with respect to implementing the proposed changes in this bill, as the RCMP has also indicated. An effective and reliable witness protection program is essential to the fight against crime, especially organized crime and terrorism. I therefore call upon all hon. members to support this comprehensive legislation.
Philip Toone NDP Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC
Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to my colleague’s speech. I am somewhat surprised that he exceeded the time limit for debating this bill and that he spoke of members who have problems with ethics. I think the Conservatives have a lot to think about on that score. I hope that he will talk to his colleagues to see if perhaps they might step down before being removed from office, since he himself hinted that he might be in danger.
As for the bill now before the House, I would like to get his comments. He talked about supporting police forces across the country. According to the RCMP website, small police forces would have a great deal of difficulty implementing this bill. Even though it has considerable merit, the funds are just simply not there.
The RCMP says that funds are needed, but that they are not available for small police forces.
How will it resolve this problem?
Corneliu Chisu Conservative Pickering—Scarborough East, ON
Mr. Speaker, this legislation would apply efficiency. It is inviting efficiency. I would use the engineering term of the Venn diagram.
In answer to the hon. member's concern about the RCMP and his concern about finances, I have here a quote from Todd Shean, Assistant Commissioner, federal and international operations, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who said, “...with the changes this bill brings about, the RCMP is comfortable that we have the resources within our existing resources to run an effective witness protection program”.
It is not a question of resources; it is a question of the assessment that is done. During the assessment process, the person may decide that he or she does not want to enter into the program or does not want to proceed on the route he or she is on. We may assess that the individual is not suitable for the program.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I do not want to put my colleague from Pickering—Scarborough East on the spot, but I am wondering if he is aware of the strategy of the hon. government House leader with respect to this legislation. It strikes me as strange that we are still debating it. I think everybody here supports it.
Rather than go to time allocation, was there any effort made to negotiate with the official opposition and other parties to bring this to a swift conclusion so it could be passed?
Corneliu Chisu Conservative Pickering—Scarborough East, ON
Mr. Speaker, there were consultations, but I am not the House leader, so I cannot answer my colleague's question.
Ted Opitz Conservative Etobicoke Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is a very resourceful fellow himself. He is a retired army engineer who has served in Bosnia and Afghanistan. He understands resource allocation in terms of battalions and brigades, because he has been responsible for that.
Now that this program would be expanded, we would have the opportunity to look after witnesses who may impact national security. I would like my colleague's opinion on the impact of this legislation on witnesses who may come forward to provide evidence in cases of terrorism.
Corneliu Chisu Conservative Pickering—Scarborough East, ON
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is also a former military member who served with great success in Bosnia defending Canadian values.
I just want to say one thing. The police is like the army. They manage their resources. The bill would smooth the transition between the small police forces, the provincial forces and the RCMP. They would manage their resources in a very good way.
I am just wondering why the NDP is always asking about resources. I do not understand why they are looking at a $21 billion gas tax.
