Madam Speaker, it was interesting hearing the member's comments when he talked about the issue of extortion. The first thing that comes to my mind is, really? The Conservatives have an opportunity to deal with the issue of extortion, and what is their response to it? In one word it is a filibuster. We have provinces, stakeholders and law enforcement officers all getting behind Bill C-14, and there are substantive actions in the legislation the Government of Canada has on the Order Paper today.
We have legislation before us today that deals with extortion, and the Conservative response to it is to not let it pass. We had to shame them into getting the bail reform legislation to the committee stage. The member does not have to tell me about extortion. I am very much aware of the issue. I know the impact it is having on our communities. Several areas of the country are special targets for extortion.
This is the reason we have been standing up on it. I have stood up on numerous occasions trying to convince the Conservatives to recognize the efforts of law enforcement officers, premiers and the Prime Minister, who made a commitment, an election platform commitment, to deal with bail reform legislation. Within that legislation, there is a direct reference to consequences with respect to extortion, repeat offenders and so forth.
We then hear members stand up and say they want this and they want that. I understand that the Conservative Party uses the whole crime file as a fundraiser. I have received many fundraising letters myself from the Conservative Party, and they are all asking for more money based on the issue of crime. I do not know how I got on that mailing list.
The reality is that those in the Conservative Party look at the crime file and ask, “How do we generate money?” It is all self-serving, because when it comes time to do something, they are found wanting. I have likely even asked the member who posed the question today, a very good chance, what his personal opinion was on getting Bill C-14 passed before the end of the year. I have asked this of many Conservative MPs. I have encouraged the opposition to get behind substantive legislation that political parties of all stripes at different provincial levels are behind, and I have asked them to support it, but it is falling on deaf ears.
If they had not been shamed into allowing Bill C-14, the bail reform legislation, to go to committee, we would still be debating it. If the member wants to have peace, order and good government, he needs to look at supporting that.
Canada is not broken. The Conservatives will talk about crime—