Mr. Speaker, thank you for this opportunity to speak on Bill C-18, an Act to amend the Customs Act and the Criminal Code.
The purpose of Bill C-18 is to broaden the scope of the present powers of customs officers as far as arrest and detainment are concerned. It is in response to the necessity for enhanced control and effective intervention at Canadian customs posts. The proposed changes would affect about two-thirds of the 3,200 customs officers.
Like the other provinces sharing a border with the United States, Quebec is a target for dangerous individuals attempting to seek refuge there. There is an indisputably urgent need to reinforce border crossing points in order to intercept guilty parties.
Recent statistics from the Department of Revenue indicate that, over the past three years, 8,500 cases of suspected impaired driving, close to 200 presumed cases of child abduction, close to 2,000 persons with outstanding warrants, and more than 500 cases of persons in possession of stolen property, vehicles in particular, were apprehended. The department makes no mention of the number of people going through customs at the Canada-U.S. border with drugs and so on.
Eighty percent of these occurrences involve highway border crossing points, not ports of air or sea entry. These statistics speak volumes and justify the reinforcement of border posts, as Bill C-18 will do.
Customs officers would facilitate the role of the police through immediate intervention at the border. This would broaden the scope of custom officers' present power to arrest and detain, in order to fill a void between the time they detect an offence under the Criminal Code and the time peace officers arrive and intervene.
The proposed amendments would also enable customs officers to arrest persons for whom an arrest warrant has been issued under the Criminal Code.
In the case of individuals suspected of impaired driving, the designated officers would take a breath sample. Individuals testing high would then be handed over to the police for a breathalyser test. I wonder whether, at this point, whether they would be handed over to the RCMP or the to provincial police, in the case of Quebec. The provincial authorities would then have to continue the investigation and initiate proceedings against those presumed guilty of breaking the Criminal Code at the border.
The Bloc Quebecois and I support additional powers for customs officials. However, we first want Quebec's jurisdictions respected and then we want details from the minister on the provinces, cities and municipalities that would be affected by the changes proposed in the bill. Then, although the president of the customs officials' union has indicated his support for the bill, we want details on the terms of selection and employment of the new category of customs officers thus created, including their new responsibilities, whether the officers would be chosen from the pool of existing employees and what changes would be made to labour contracts.
In the case of Quebec, the one that interests us, we want details on the powers of these officials compared with those of the Quebec provincial police force, the RCMP and the courts involved, in particular on whether fines at customs posts in Quebec will be collected by the federal government or by the government of Quebec?
A few days ago, the Minister of Revenue sent us the second progress report on the creation of the Canada customs and revenue agency. I will take the liberty of making a few comments here, although it is related to C-18, because it is a serious matter for us Quebeckers.
I was surprised to learn the following from the fact sheet. “—the Agency's mandate is being broadened to allow it to administer a wide range of provincial tax laws and measures—”, “agency status means—more flexibility to manage its resources and operations—”, “the agency would administer provincial programs should that prove cost effective—”. This is blatant and direct interference in provincial jurisdiction.
The establishment of this agency clearly shows that the federal government is try to encroach even further on provincial jurisdictions. It is not dealing with duplication and overlap as it should, but is grabbing more and more powers from the provinces.
Quebec objected to the agency administering its programs and will stand by the position it has taken in the interest of Quebeckers.
As far as Bill C-18 is concerned, the Bloc Quebecois and I are in favour but we have serious reservations regarding the collection of fines. We will keep an eye on this government to ensure that this bill is not used as an excuse to interfere in provincial jurisdictions.