Madam Speaker, I am honoured to speak on this issue on behalf of my constituents. This is a very sensitive and delicate issue.
No one is pleased to debate in this House child pornography or other things which are hurting our society. We have to address these sensitive moral issues very seriously and we have to effectively suggest and act in this Chamber so that we can control these issues and take the right decisions.
My colleagues and I, as the official opposition, have chosen to use our supply day today to force the House to debate and vote on the recent decision by a British Columbian judge that in effect allowed the possession of child pornography and made it legal in this country.
It is a good thing for Canadians that we are here on this side of the House as an alternative to the government. We are here to hold the Liberal government accountable and suggest that it make the right decision in this Chamber. The Liberals are apparently prepared to do nothing about the effect the legal possession of child pornography will have except sitting on their hands and waiting for the courts to do something.
Courts cannot replace elected officials. The judges are unelected. They are unaccountable. It is we in this House who have to think, who have to act. We cannot tinker with the law. We need a law that has strong teeth which can give protection to society, which can give protection to the children and the most vulnerable in society.
The constituents of Surrey Central and I are outraged that the Liberal government is not prepared to take immediate action to protect our children. During the break I received an unprecedented number of phone calls on this issue. In fact, the Liberal justice minister has been spewing forth legal mumbo-jumbo ever since this decision in an attempt to do nothing about the situation.
As parliamentarians Canadians expect us to work on their behalf in this place to defend and uphold the levels of morality in our society. Clearly the production and possession of child pornography is unacceptable to the vast majority of Canadians.
The other day on the Internet two pedophiles were talking to each other. One said that he would rather choose Canada to live in and love children. How pathetic this is. Do the Liberals want to make Canada famous for red lights? Will it be a red light country?
Our children need care and they need protection. They need protection from drugs. They need protection from violence, television, the Internet and sexual abuse.
We do not want Canada to be a haven for pedophiles, drug dealers, criminals and terrorists. It would be a shame if we in this House did not act on this right away when it is needed. We expect the government to act and to act fast. We believe it is our duty as the elected representatives of the people to do something about this decision and outlaw the possession of child pornography.
My constituents and I were assured that immediately upon return to Ottawa this week the House would take measures to ensure the protection of our children from being induced or forced to commit sexual acts.
On January 22 about 70 members of parliament from the government side wrote a letter to the Prime Minister. It will be surprising to see what kind of result we will get from the vote today. I wonder how they will vote. If these members have the guts to write to their Prime Minister, who was probably not listening to them in caucus, we would encourage them to stand and represent their constituents and a vast majority of Canadians and vote accordingly.
We on this side of the House believe it is our moral responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in our society, the children. I am sure the members on the other side of the House will think the same way.