Mr. Speaker, as the intervention of the Government of Canada before the B.C. court of appeal points out, we are defending the constitutionality of that section of the Criminal Code. We believe that law to be constitutional.
Lost her last election, in 2006, with 39% of the vote.
Justice February 1st, 1999
Mr. Speaker, as the intervention of the Government of Canada before the B.C. court of appeal points out, we are defending the constitutionality of that section of the Criminal Code. We believe that law to be constitutional.
Justice February 1st, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I reassure the House this government takes very seriously the protection of our children. This government takes very seriously allegations of child pornography and child abuse. As the hon. member is aware, carriage of this case lies primarily with the attorney general of British Columbia who has appealed this case to the B.C. court of appeal. He has asked for an expedited appeal.
Last week I made the decision to intervene on behalf of the Government of Canada and the people of Canada to defend the constitutionality of this law before the B.C. court of appeal.
Young Offenders December 9th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I find this very interesting. Our friends in the official opposition talk a lot about provincial rights. They talk a lot about consultation with the provinces. They may not be aware that the youth justice system is a shared jurisdiction. Because of the shared jurisdiction, we are going to consult with the provinces and the territories before we introduce legislation.
Young Offenders December 9th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member is probably aware, I met with my provincial and territorial colleagues in Regina at the end of October. We had a very candid and frank discussion about youth justice. It became readily apparent that the provinces and the territories had big differences in opinion and approach in relation to how we move forward with the new youth justice system.
At that time my provincial and territorial colleagues were able to agree on four broad principles. They want a flexible regime that reflects provincial and territorial differences in the approach to youth justice. They want a balanced approach. They want additional resources. And they want additional consultations. To that end, federal, provincial and territorial officials met for two days last week in Toronto. I would like to report that those were very constructive consultations.
I am not going to work to any artificial deadline. We will introduce legislation—
Aboriginal Affairs December 3rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I would think that is more likely a comment to be coming from our hon. friends on the other side of the House.
I did meet with representatives from treaty six and friendship centres in Cold Lake. We talked about the issue of compensation and about the problems of abuse in the residential schools.
I explained that not only do we have a healing fund which will help those who were abused in residential schools but we are indeed dealing with claims. Some claims have been settled in provinces like Saskatchewan. We are working on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to not compound the victimization of those who have been hurt.
Violence Against Women December 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is right to remind all of us this week about the scourge of violence against women. None of us should forget December 6 at l'École polytechnique when so many young women lost their lives.
It is with great pride that I inform the House that yesterday we implemented our new gun control legislation.
Royal Canadian Mint Act November 30th, 1998
moved that the bill be read the third time and passed.
Royal Canadian Mint Act November 30th, 1998
moved that the bill, as amended, be concurred in.
Justice November 30th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, we are not telling the police or crown prosecutors how to administer the criminal law of this land.
As I have already pointed out, discretion lies with the police, with crown prosecutors. They may choose to lay a formal charge. They may choose to caution or to warn in certain circumstances.
I find it passing strange that the hon. member and his party who are so opposed to gun control in this country would now argue for strict enforcement of those very provisions they are opposed to.
Justice November 30th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the Criminal Code and jurisdiction over criminal law in this country.
In fact, right now law enforcement agencies and crown prosecutors have discretion in terms of how they go about enforcing sections of the Criminal Code. The police may choose, especially in relation to minor offences, to formally caution or warn as opposed to lay formal charges. There is nothing new about that.