Debates of April 22nd, 2009

Firearms Registry

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well what I mean. The registration process is a burdensome one and discourages people from renewing their possession and acquisition licences. This is a real safety monitoring process and one that allows us to know who is likely to have guns and who is not.

That said, however, we must address the real target: the criminals. For this reason I encourage the hon. member to support our program, which is focused on criminals and not on hunters, farmers and the first nations.

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

Mr. Speaker, my constituents are well aware of what I do to focus on organized crime, and of how effective my actions are.

This is the same government which will in future require a person wanting to operate a boat with an electric motor on a lake to pass an exam in order to obtain a licence, and we agree with that. But the minister told us yesterday in the House that it will no longer be necessary to have a certificate to have a rifle.

Why is what is right and necessary to operate a boat not required to possess a gun? Can he explain this to us?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, that is simply nonsensical. Let us keep in mind—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, to finish my sentence, what my colleague is saying is simply nonsensical. Let us look at what happened in committee. There is a bill aimed at crimes committed by street gangs, such as drive-by shootings. They want to reduce minimum sentences for drive-by shootings and punish criminals less, while punishing hunters, farmers and first nations more.

That is the Bloc's wishy-washy approach, and one our government does not endorse.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during an IRB hearing on April 9, the Border Services Agency once again submitted new evidence in English only. When the opposing side insisted on receiving a French version, the agency decided to withdraw the evidence rather than have it translated.

Can the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism explain why the Border Services Agency was so hostile, why it chose to risk losing a case rather than “lower” itself to using French in Quebec?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming all too clear that the Bloc Québécois member does not respect the IRB's independence. The IRB is a quasi-judicial tribunal that makes decisions according to the rules. Moreover, the IRB members who were handling the case made a number of decisions about procedure.

It is up to them, as members of a quasi-judicial tribunal, to make such decisions. It is not the government's job to interfere in IRB decisions.

Official Languages

[Pascal-Pierre Paillé, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Official Languages has doubts about whether the media consortium responsible for broadcasting the Olympic games can guarantee full coverage of the games in French across Canada. The commissioner also fears that not enough money is being budgeted for simultaneous interpretation

Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages tell us what steps he plans to take in order to allay the commissioner's fears and ensure that French is given its rightful place at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a tremendous victory for Canada and for Canada's official languages. Record investments have been made in our broadcasters and, on the ground, in the Olympic torch relay and the opening ceremonies. It will be a tremendous success and both of Canada's official languages will be fully respected in 2010.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, U.S. Homeland Secretary Napolitano said that to the extent that terrorists have come into the U.S. they have come from Canada.

She has also called for a “real border” between our nations saying that we have become too informal and that our border and Mexico's must be treated the same.

While this aggressive policy threatens thousands of Canadian jobs and billions in trade, the public safety minister is in denial saying that there is no “effort to change things”.

What are the Conservatives waiting for, a security fence along the 49th parallel? Why do they refuse to stand up for Canada's interests?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we are standing up for Canada's interests every day on the border and around the world. We are advancing our interests on issues of trade and security all across the front.

On the issue of the 9/11 terrorists, it is quite clear that none of them came from Canada. None of them crossed the Canadian border into the United States. The 9/11 commission said exactly the same thing. I do note that the Secretary of Homeland Security has also acknowledged that and we accept her acknowledgement.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the minister should pick up the phone and talk to the homeland secretary about all the other mistakes that she is making because the government has refused to act. First, there was no deficit, then there was no recession and now there is no problem with the border.

This is not storytime. This is question period and it is time for that party to get its act together, stand up for Canadian interests and ensure those in the United States know what the real goods are.

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, those are comments from a party that was asleep at the switch when the Americans instituted the western hemisphere travel initiative, the toughest measure to thicken our border and make it difficult for Canadians to travel to the United States and difficult for trade. What did the Liberals do? They did absolutely nothing.

We, on the other hand, have been very active. We obtained a number of extensions. We are developing effective ways of ensuring that it can proceed in a fashion that facilitates trade while ensuring we have security.

We have been defending Canadian interests every step of the way. The Liberals were asleep at the switch all the time.

Justice

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, a report by Statistics Canada on Tuesday indicates that crime had been declining for a decade before the Conservatives took office. It is unfortunate they cannot take credit for that.

Since 2006, we have seen an increase in gun crime and the Conservative's refusal to accept the advice of the brave men and women who serve in uniform as police officers. Why the phony rhetoric on crime? Do the Conservatives not trust the police?

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

Mr. Speaker, members of the Liberal Party have finally figured out in the last three weeks that there is a problem with crime in this country. I thank them for this, but we have been trying to get that into their heads for the last three years.

We have bills before Parliament right now on drugs, gangs, identity theft, auto theft and credit for time served. Why do they not help us now to clean up the mess they ignored for 13 years?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister likes to take photos with police officers but he does not actually listen to their advice. Maybe that is why the Canadian Police Association says that the Conservatives have “betrayed” police officers.

Where is the long term, sustainable funding that the Conservatives promised to increase the number of front line police officers? The Canadian Police Association says that Vancouver and British Columbia have not seen a single penny.

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, when we assumed office, we reflected in our policies some of the things Canadians have been telling us. They were concerned about crime, they wanted to see more support for the police and they wanted to see laws toughened on criminals, all things that had been neglected for 13 years.

Among the things we did was institute a police officer recruitment fund. Over $400 million were delivered to the provinces to hire new police officers. We committed to 1,000 new RCMP and we have delivered over 1,500. We are doing the job that the Liberal Party never did because it was not really concerned about crime because, as he said, it did not think it was a problem.

Canadian Forces

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians across the country continue to show their appreciation for the dedication, courage and hard work that our men and women in uniform perform on a daily basis. Whether it is wearing red on Fridays or attending red rallies, Canadians want our military and veterans to know we support them.

Last summer, VIA Rail showed appreciation for Canadian Forces members and veterans through free travel. Could the minister tell us whether our veterans and men and women in uniform will have access to a similar service this summer?

[Rob Merrifield, Conservative, Minister of State (Transport)]

Mr. Speaker, the question from my hon. colleague from Medicine Hat gives me the opportunity to explain to the House what happened earlier today.

The Minister of National Defence, Minister of Veterans Affairs, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and I had the privilege of meeting with VIA Rail. I am happy to announce that it will extend this offer to our veterans again this July, as well as allowing five of the veterans' immediate family members to travel for half price.

This is not about VIA Rail. This is about the brave young men and women who protect our country. Their mission, service, dedication and love of the country are greatly appreciated.

Public Safety

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, members of the Canadian Police Association are feeling betrayed by the Conservative government. Why? It is because the Conservatives have failed to live up to their three-year-old promise to put 2,500 more police officers into Canada's communities.

The government created an ineffective program with no mechanism to ensure that funding actually ends up hiring new officers. Provinces and territories are free to use federal funds as they see fit while police squads go understaffed.

When will the government fix this problem and live up to its election promise to put more police officers on our streets?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, our government keeps its commitments. One of the commitments we kept was our commitment to combat crime and that included delivering police officers to make our streets and communities safer. That is why we delivered $400 million to the provinces for local policing. That money was delivered and the provinces are providing it. If the member has a concern with how they are doing it, he can raise that with the provinces.

On our side, we have delivered. We have delivered to the provinces and we have delivered over 1,500 new RCMP because we believe that police officers are the front line to combat crime.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

No, Mr. Speaker, it is the minister's job to ensure that money gets in their hands.

Vancouver has the lowest ratio of police to population and Vancouverites are living in fear of gang violence. Because of the government's negligence, cities like Vancouver have yet to see $1 to recruit and deploy more front line officers in our communities. To tackle the gang, drug and gun problems, the government must get more police officers on the street. Canadians are tired of broken promises.

When will the Conservatives give our communities the resources they need to fight crime and help our police get the job done?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the funds made available by this government, just recently the provincial government was able to announce new officers to combat organized crime. That is what we are doing.

What is the NDP doing? It is opposing or trying to gut our legislation that would deliver mandatory prison sentences for organized crime. That is the NDP approach on organized crime.

We will fight, even if we have to fight the NDP, to combat the criminals.

Arts and Culture

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week, the Department of Canadian Heritage is spending $2 million on B.C. Scene, an event designed to convince international performing arts producers to hire artists from British Columbia to perform abroad. With the cancellation of the PromArt and Trade Routes programs, artists are wondering how they could honour potential contracts.

Does the minister understand that it is a very poor investment to promote an export product and at the same time cut funding for foreign tours?