Art Hanger

[Justice, October 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, victims of sexual abuse frequently suffer for the rest of their lives as a result of the insidious, despicable acts perpetrated on them by their attackers. The last thing victims want to do is to shed public light on their darkest of experiences.

This week I had the honour of once again meeting Sheldon Kennedy. Sheldon has demonstrated an extraordinary amount of courage in speaking out against his attacker and this cancerous criminal activity which impacts on our youngsters.

At the October 21 parole hearing the government let Sheldon Kennedy and every other victim of sexual abuse down. Instead of punishing the pedophile who attacked Sheldon the government chose to grant him parole after a mere 20 months in jail.

Sheldon will carry the scars of the abuse for the rest of his life. His attacker will be a free man in six months. There is, however, a positive side to this story. Sheldon can hold his head high knowing he did the right thing. He has taken a stand against this terrible crime so others do not have to suffer. Canada can be proud of Sheldon Kennedy.

[Petitions, October 22nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have three major groupings of petitions that I would like to present to the House today, the first bearing 606 signatures.

The petitioners call upon parliament to enact two-strike legislation requiring anyone who is convicted for the second time of one or more sexual offences against a minor to be sentenced to imprisonment for life without any eligibility for parole or early release, and also, with respect to anyone awaiting trial on such offences mentioned in this petition, the petitioners pray that such a person be held in custody without eligibility for bail.

The second grouping of petitions, bearing 573 signatures, calls upon parliament to bring about a pedophile registry to register those persons who are sexual offenders and pedophiles who cannot be cured or rehabilitated. The petitioners call upon parliament to enact such legislation.

The third grouping of petitions, bearing 526 signatures, again calls upon parliament to eliminate the right of a convicted pedophile to be let out of jail on bail pending an appeal. This would thereby ensure the protection and safety of the victims and the community from such a convicted offender.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, October 22nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present the fifth report of the Canadian NATO parliamentary association which represented Canada at the 1998 spring session of the North Atlantic Assembly of NATO parliamentarians, held in Barcelona, Spain from May 22 to 26, 1998.

[Apec Inquiry, October 20th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is fighting freedom of speech and people protesting. He wants to blame the CBC, the RCMP and even the students for the pepper spray scandal.

Will the Prime Minister stop with the jokes, come clean with Canadians and take responsibility for what happened at APEC?

[Apec Inquiry, October 20th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we are here to preserve the truth and what happened at the APEC conference.

I spent my entire life fighting crime and criminals. The Prime Minister here has been fighting students—

[Apec Inquiry, October 20th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I spent 22 years on the Calgary police department and during part of that time trained as a riot squad member. The only time I ever used a baseball bat was when I took my son to the park and we played baseball. Bats are not police issue nor are water cannons. They are only used to disperse students in third world country dictatorships.

When will the Prime Minister stop maligning the good reputation of Canada's police forces and admit that he was at the root of the APEC clamp down?

[The Senate, October 19th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has again slapped Albertans in the face.

Ninety-one percent of Albertans want an elected Senate. Both Premiers Klein and Bouchard want to change this country. Premier Klein wants to hold a good faith vote on an elected Senate. Premier Bouchard wants to hold a vote on separation to break up the country.

Why does the Prime Minister treat Premier Bouchard's negative initiative with more respect than Premier Klein's positive one?

[The Senate, October 19th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs came to Alberta with a message to deliver. That message to Albertans was that the Senate election that is being held today was a waste of taxpayers' money.

My question is for the real deliverer of that message, the Prime Minister. What does he think is a bigger waste of money, Alberta's democratic Senate election or the present current useless Senate?

[Apec Summit, October 8th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I believe I missed the punchline on that last commercial from that side.

I have a question for the top police officer in the country, the chief administrator of law enforcement. I want to check the facts on this letter.

Mr. Toole's letter does not corroborate the solicitor general's story. The letter is very carefully and legally crafted by a lawyer to say nothing.

My question for the solicitor general is, is he calling the member for Palliser a liar?

[Kosovo, October 7th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the member poses a good question but there is a political side as well as a practical side to the issue.

The practical side is whether we are in a position to go into an area of possible conflict with our troops protected with the best equipment available and under the best command. Are we also able to rotate the troops over time if that conflict rolls on and on.

On the political side there is a hesitancy on the part of the European Community which has already hesitated about rapid force strikes into Kosovo. Why? Does it not want to get into the fray? The American public is getting very tired of having that expense and American troops in the Balkan area. There is no question that debate is raging on in a very substantive way.

On the political side it is not very clear exactly what is going to happen. Certainly we can debate the issue philosophically but we must also consider the practical side and not blindly jump into something without going in a very specific direction and knowing what our limitations are.