Debates of Feb. 3rd, 2005

Income Tax Act

[Roy Cullen, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Calgary Centre-North for providing me with an opportunity to inform the House about the progress being made in the area of northern development and to assuage any concerns he may have that progress on the Mackenzie Valley may in any way be threatened. I can say with certainty that this is not the case.

As has been indicated in the House by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, the government continues to work with the President of the Treasury Board on smart regulations, specifically dealing with the regulatory regime in place in the north with respect to the development of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

Over the last several months we have been reviewing the recommendations contained in the smart regulations report. I am pleased to report to the House that one of the regulations related to the Mackenzie gas project highlighted the cooperation plan as a model for streamlining the regulatory regime in Canada's north.

We are continuing our review of this and other recommendations that relate to the northern regulatory environment. We do so with a view to determining how they can be best implemented in our northern operating environment.

I wish to remind the hon. member opposite and assure him that the environmental assessment and regulatory regime in the Mackenzie Valley is the result of aboriginal land claim agreements negotiated and legislated between these parties and the Government of Canada. Working together, we want to ensure that the spirit and intent of settled land claims are met and done so in a spirit of trust and respect.

There could be no mistaking the government's commitment to the effective and sustainable development of Canada's north. I should emphasize that the Government of Canada's participation in the environmental assessment and regulatory review of the Mackenzie Valley gas project is being undertaken on behalf of every individual in Canada.

Let me further assure the House that through the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and its pipeline-readiness office, the government continues to meet its commitments as outlined in the cooperation plan. A coordinated and effective environmental assessment and regulatory review process, which reduces duplication and meets the legislative needs of all parties, are in fact key elements of the cooperation plan.

In short, I wish to applaud the hon. member for his commitment to sustainable development of the vast potential of Canada's north. We continue to work with vigour to address any issues that arise. We are committed to working together with first nations governments and we will continue to forge ahead to the benefit of all Canadians.

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Calgary North Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the essence of the matter, in short, is that the government has created a regulatory spiderweb in the north which imperils development and which imperils this important project. Frankly, the real question is whether this generation of aboriginal Canadians will have economic opportunity that is in keeping with their potential and whether they will have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of their resources.

That question hinges entirely upon what the government does in respect of this regulatory spiderweb that it has created. Its own smart regulation report has indicated that this situation imperils the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline and in fact can damage the Alaska pipeline as well for the same reasons.

That report was put forward for very specific recommendations. I do not hear from my friend today that the government has done anything other than review those recommendations. What concrete action is the government taking?

[Roy Cullen, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a coordinated effort among key regulatory bodies is critical to the success of our endeavours in respect to the Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

It is important that the government should continue to play a leadership role in building on the shared vision embodied in the cooperation plan. In doing so, we are creating a broader, long term framework for regulatory cooperation among northern regulators that benefits the process through ensuring timeliness, transparency, predictability, clarity and certainty.

In short, our work in the north in respect to the Mackenzie Valley pipeline continues and our efforts in ensuring its sustainability endure.

[Leon Benoit, Conservative, Vegreville—Wainwright, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I asked a question in the House on December 2 regarding the firearms registry. The background to my question read as follows:

Mr. Speaker, the government keeps talking about the benefits of its bungled gun registry, which it now says will...cost [by its own estimates] $1.4 billion, 2,000% more than the Liberals said it would. They are so confident of the benefits that they keep the cost benefit analysis locked away as a cabinet secret.

I want to refer to the fact that while the government continued to say that the gun registry was providing a great service to Canadians, it went to the expense to carry out a cost benefit analysis of the program. The results obviously came back extremely negative because they refused to make the results of the cost benefit analysis public. The reason it gives for not providing the information under access to information is that it is a cabinet secret, which is absurd.

I therefore would like to try asking my question again in the hope that the parliamentary secretary, in his response, will say that the government will release the cost benefit analysis. I doubt that will happen but that is what I am hoping for.

I want to make it very clear that the benefit is not there for the gun registry and we know that. The following are the top 10 items that demonstrate that very clearly.

Ten. Of firearms used in homicides, 86% were unregistered and 80% of murderers were unlicensed.

Nine. A briefing note dated April 12, 2001, to the current securities minister, the minister from Edmonton, when she was the minister of justice, said that staffing levels associated with the firearms program were 1,800 employees.

Eight. The firearms registration in Nunavut was temporarily suspended by the courts for more than two years.

Seven. There is no requirement in the Firearms Act for gun owners to tell anyone where they store their guns or who they loan their guns to. So much for the Liberal promise that the police will know where the guns are.

Six. There are only 282,000 of the two million firearm licence holders who have taken a firearms safety course.

Five. There are more than five million of the seven million firearms in the gun registry that have still not been verified, contrary to police demands.

Four. More than 315,000 owners of a registered handgun still have not registered their handgun. They know they are out there but they are still not registered.

Three. More than 400,000 firearm licence-holders still have not registered a gun.

Two. More than 300,000 owners of previously registered handguns still do not have a firearms licence.

One. The Liberals have only registered 7 million out of 16.5 million guns.

I think those quick facts demonstrate very clearly that the Liberal firearms registry program simply is not effective. I am hoping that the minister or the parliamentary secretary--

[The Deputy Speaker]

We are going to hear from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

[Roy Cullen, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Vegreville—Wainwright for the opportunity to rise in the House today and answer his questions.

First I want to say that the Canadian Firearms Program is complete and fully operational. It is up to us to ensure that any government program is carried out as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.

Significant steps have been taken to reduce costs and provide more information to Parliament on the Canada Firearms Centre and the Canadian firearms program. Costs to the centre are now half of what they were in fiscal 2000-01 and will continue to decline to $85 million in 2005-06 and beyond.

Hon. members will also recall that in May 2004 the government announced an annual $25 million cap on firearms registration activities to be implemented beginning in 2005-06. By 2006-07, when revenues from firearms licences and other fees are taken into account, the net annual cost of the Canada Firearms Centre to Canadians will be approximately $57 million annually.

Effective firearms control is contributing to public safety. According to Statistics Canada, the firearms related homicide rate in Canada in 2003 was less than half the rate in 1975. Other firearm related crimes, such as armed robbery, have also declined significantly.

As I already mentioned, not only do the Canadian Firearms Program and the Canadian Firearms Information System work, but they work very well.

Police are using the firearms program information in their day-to-day work to respond to calls to prevent crime and investigate offences. There have been 3.6 million queries on the Canadian firearms registry on-line since 1998 by police and other public safety officials. The Canada Firearms Centre produced more than 2,200 affidavits in 2004 to support firearm related criminal prosecution.

More than 13,000 licences have been refused or revoked to date by firearms officers across the country on public safety grounds, including reasons such as a history of domestic violence, drug offences, mental health issues and other concerns. The Canada Firearms Centre responds to numerous calls annually on its 1-800 line for public safety or spousal violence risk.

I would like to emphasize that Canadian police stand by the firearms program. Both the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Canadian Professional Police Association support the firearms program, including the registration of all firearms. The majority of Canadians do support the firearms program.

In fact, an Environics survey taken in January 2003 found than 74% of Canadians supported the current gun control legislation. When Canadians obtain a firearm licence and register their firearms, they also support safe and healthy communities across the country.

Compliance is high as there are almost 2 million firearms licence holders in Canada, representing about a 90% compliance rate. Also, there are almost 7 million firearms registered, representing a rate approaching 90% of estimated firearms in our country.

This speaks to the large benefit in relation to the costs that are now managed and will be sustained at those levels.

[Leon Benoit, Conservative, Vegreville—Wainwright, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member is red-faced having to defend this program. The fact that the government will not release the cost benefit analysis tells the story. Once again the member is spreading some information that is less than complete.

For example, he talked about a poll done in January 2003 where 74% of Canadians supported the current gun legislation. The fact is that a poll done in April 2004 by JMCK Polling stated that a substantial majority, in fact 77% of Canadians, wanted the registry scrapped.

Why did the parliamentary secretary not refer to that survey and that poll result? Those are the facts. This program has done nothing to help the police deal with the issues of crime.

In fact, the chief of police for Toronto, the place we would think would be supporting this legislation, has said that the registry should be scrapped and that money should go into policing instead. That is what should be done.

[Roy Cullen, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate that the Canadian firearms program is contributing to public safety.

As hon. members know, licensing and firearm registration data is kept in the Canadian firearms information system, also know as CFIS. We know that law enforcement agencies need accurate and complete information from the Canadian firearms information system in order to do their job. That is why licensing and firearms registration are so important.

Canadians are doing their share in ensuring public safety. When Canadians obtain a firearms licence and register their firearms, they support safe and healthy communities across the country. Our compliance rates represent a major success for such a new regulatory program of this nature.

[The Deputy Speaker]

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 6:36 p.m.)