Debates of Dec. 6th, 2007

Gun Registry

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 18 years later, we still remember the horror of the massacre at the École polytechnique. This unprecedented violence against women let to the creation of the gun registry. Police across the country consult this registry 5,000 times a day to plan their operations better. More than 19,000 gun permits have been refused or withdrawn from people who should not have a permit.

Why does the Conservative government still insist on depriving law enforcement authorities of a tool that is crucial to public safety?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, of course, what happened at the École polytechnique 18 years ago is a tragedy. That is why we want to see a reduction in the number of crimes committed with firearms.

We have put in place our plan to have more police officers on our streets and to increase the number of checks on people who want to obtain a gun permit.

We are going to continue with these initiatives to reduce crime.

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is doing everything in its power to eliminate the gun registry. It recently introduced a bill to delete 7 million guns in circulation from the registry. It has appointed only people who are clearly opposed to the registry to its advisory committee. It has renewed its amnesty for people who refuse to obtain a permit.

Why does this Conservative government not recognize the legacy of the unfortunate incidents at the École polytechnique, Concordia and Dawson by maintaining the gun registry in its entirety?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, even the Auditor General said that a huge amount of money had been wasted in one part of the registry. That is why we are going to continue asking questions of everyone who wants a gun permit. We are also going to tighten the requirements for obtaining a permit.

I also want the Liberals to support our bill to introduce mandatory sentences for crimes—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for London West.

Justice

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, despite the government's massive surplus, women who have been victims of violence struggle to get legal aid to fight their abusive partners in either civil court or family court.

The former Liberal minister of justice was working with the provinces and the territories to improve access to civil legal aid. The Conservative government is doing nothing.

When will the government start working with the provinces and the territories to secure an agreement which would help women and their children who are in abusive relationships?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell the House what the previous government worked on while it was in office. The Liberals got rid of civil legal aid in 1995. What is the explanation for that?

We have a family violence initiative that provides a fund for innovative projects. We work closely with our federal and provincial counterparts. All government departments and agencies are engaged in tackling this difficult problem.

We do not need any lessons from a group that never got the job done in this area.

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, everybody knows that the Conservative government did not inherit a $45 billion deficit.

The truth is that it is easier for a man accused of assaulting his spouse to have access to criminal legal aid than it is for a woman who has been the victim of violence to have access to civil legal aid.

The government's insistence on ignoring this issue is characteristic of its backward attitude toward women's equality.

Will the government commit to immediately restarting the negotiations it abandoned with the provinces and territories to establish funds for civil legal aid?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are somewhat incredible on this, as they are on a number of issues.

I have to point out to them that women are also the victims of violence in gun crimes. We need better protection for 14 and 15 year old girls. What has been the position of the Liberals on this? They tried to gut our bill that would provide mandatory minimum penalties for people who commit serious firearms offences. Then they voted against it. For the first time, five Liberal members could not stand what their party did and voted against them. Now, supposedly, they are supporting it.

I am asking her to talk to her colleagues in the Senate. Let us get this back. Canadians need those laws.

Public Safety

[Serge Ménard, Bloc, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the presidents of the Canadian Police Association, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Canadian Association of Police Boards have all written to the Minister of Public Safety, asking him not to postpone the implementation of the firearms marking regulations once again. At great length and over four pages, they explained to him how this measure could help solve more crimes faster.

Why are we seeing yet another delay, which can only benefit criminals who use firearms?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, according to our information, only one country has introduced the bill called for by the United Nations. We want to wait and continue studying the situation. I received telephone calls from police officers, opposition members and other groups in order to carefully consider the situation. That is why we want to wait.

[Serge Ménard, Bloc, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that country is the United States. If we are behind the United States when it comes to firearms, we are way behind.

The government turns a deaf ear when police officials say that the firearms registry can prevent crime. Now it is again ignoring police officials when they say that firearms marking can help them solve crimes.

Why does it listen only to the gun lobby, for which it has been denounced by the presidents of those three major police associations?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, for the member's information, the country I was referring to was Brazil. I can say that we are 1 of 64 countries out of over 200 that have signed this particular UN ratification, but we are deferring its implementation.

We are hearing from police officers who work on the street. We are hearing from a variety of organizations. I am hearing from Liberal MPs who are asking that we defer and study the implications of this. We do not want more programs that take officers off the street. We want to keep them on the street.

Polls

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the unelected Minister of Public Works, Senator Michael Fortier, says one thing about the policy on polls and then contradicts himself. This leads us to believe that the real minister in this matter is his director of communications, who seems to be more familiar with the policies than his minister. Apparently we will have to wait for the Paillé report to obtain more coherent answers.

For the third time, I will ask the parliamentary secretary the question again and the citizens expect something other than a terse “soon” in reply. When exactly will the Paillé report be made public? We want a date.

[James Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, the report will be made public very soon.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, bravado may come easily, but in any case people are able to draw conclusions.

Could it be that the real reason why the Minister of Public Works is delaying publication of the Paillé report is that the government will be embarrassed and hindered by stricter guidelines for the use of public money for partisan polling? Is that the real reason?

[James Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, not at all. The report will be made public very soon.

Prime Minister

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is well known that the Prime Minister is a hockey fan. On February 10, 2007, he dropped the puck at the World Pond Hockey Tournament in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick. That does not seem to be the only thing he did.

Can the Prime Minister tell us whether he had a personal meeting with a senior member of Irving Shipbuilding, set up by lobbyist Fred Doucet, on February 10, 2007?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I met with the president of that company, and the meeting was arranged by my office.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Fred Doucet is not the only problem.

This meeting took place on February 10. Irving Shipbuilding filed a lawsuit before the Federal Court against the Government of Canada regarding its $1.5 billion submarine maintenance contract on February 9. Since then, the defence minister has always said that the matter was before the courts and that it would be improper for the government to interfere in that process.

Why did the Prime Minister meet a senior executive from that company the day after it launched its lawsuit? Was it to please Fred Doucet?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Irving, who is a prominent New Brunswick business man, asked to meet me and I was delighted to meet him.

At the same time, I think everyone knows that the government is proceeding with the submarine contract and, obviously, there is a case before the court and that case will continue.

Wireless Industry

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, we know the previous industry minister opposed wireless set asides. We know his senior policy advisor, Martin Masse, opposed wireless set asides. We know that Brian Mulroney's spokesperson, Luc Lavoie, demanded that Masse be fired.

Did the Prime Minister, at any time, discuss the wireless spectrum auction with Brian Mulroney?

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I was responsible for the wireless decision. The answer to the question is no.

For six years in the House of Commons, session after session, day after day, the member for Kings—Hants stood in this chamber praising Brian Mulroney, worshipping him and idolizing his record, accolade after accolade. For six years, he was the main cheerleader of the Brian Mulroney fan club, missing only the Mickey Mouse ears.

Why has he suddenly de-friended him?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, for more certainty, we need an answer from the Prime Minister himself.

Has the Prime Minister ever discussed wireless spectrum with Brian Mulroney? Yes or no?

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, as I made clear to the House previously, as the Minister of Industry, I am responsible for the decisions relating to the spectrum option. The decision was made by myself, following a period of consultation when I met with the CEOs and people in the industry. Based on all of the information before me, it was my decision as the Minister of Industry.