Richard Marceau

[Criminal Code, October 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise in this debate on Bill C-2. First I want to offer my congratulations on your important position in this minority government Parliament.

This House will not see many bills as important as Bill C-2. There are a number of aspects to it, including the battle against child pornography. I believe, and this belief is shared by all members of the Bloc Quebecois, that few of an MP's responsibilities are more important than protecting the most vulnerable people in our society, in this case, the children. All members will agree that children are our most important resource. They are our future. They deserve all our attention and more importantly, all our protection.

We could spend a long time debating this issue, but I believe you will find, beyond the partisan rhetoric in this House, that all members of Parliament want to fight sexual deviance--the attraction to minors. That is the attitude the Bloc Quebecois will take in this debate. Since the beginning, we have maintained a responsible and rigorous attitude. This was our attitude in the previous legislature when we debated this bill in its previous form. Our attitude will be the same this time for Bill C-2.

There are three main elements to Bill C-2: fighting the sexual exploitation of minors; fighting voyeurism, particularly at a time of Internet accessibility and of cameras and technology that make it possible to miniaturize nearly everything; and fighting child pornography. Since I have only 10 minutes, I would like to proceed in reverse order and begin with the problem of child pornography.

When we examine a bill, especially one that amends the Criminal Code, it is important to look carefully at the words in the legislation and the definitions in it. Bill C-2 defines child pornography as follows, and I quote:

“child pornography” means

(a) a photographic, film, video or other visual representation, whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means,

(i) that shows a person who is or is depicted as being under the age of eighteen years and is engaged in or is depicted as engaged in explicit sexual activity, or

(ii) the dominant characteristic of which is the depiction, for a sexual purpose, of a sexual organ or the anal region of a person under the age of eighteen years; or

(b) any written material, visual representation or audio recording that advocates or counsels sexual activity with a person under the age of eighteen years that would be an offence under this Act.

(c) any written material whose dominant characteristic is the description, for a sexual purpose, of sexual activity with a person under the age of eighteen years that would bean offence under this Act; or

(d) any audio recording that has as its dominant characteristic the description, presentation or representation, for a sexual purpose, of sexual activity with a person under the age of eighteen years that would bean offence under this Act.

For an individual to be found guilty of child pornography, their actions must fit within the definition I have just read.

A means of defence is created. This is a fairly basic difference between the Bloc Quebecois and the Conservative Party.

The bill creates a single means of defence: that of legitimate purpose, unlike the previous bill. Thanks to our committee work, we were able to make a rather significant change, since the old defence was the public good.

That was a very nebulous concept. A number of people faulted it for that reason. It had been defined in the previous legislation. The definition of legitimate purpose in Bill C-2 repeats the one we had added in committee in place of public good. According to the definition, the legitimate purpose could be related to theadministration of justice or to science,medicine or education.

Certain individuals would therefore not be found guilty of child pornography, when their aim was in fact to fight it. They could be, for example, a psychiatrist treating sexual deviants who are child pornographers, a police officer investigating child pornography cases, or a university teaching future psychiatrists about child pornography.

The amendments to Bill C-2, the new definition of the means of defence, have tightened it up. The list of activities I have given is, moreover, all-inclusive, and will thus limit the means of defence.

Thus, for a person to be found guilty of child pornography, there are two tests. The first is to determine whether what the person did falls within the rather narrow definition of child pornography. If so, the second test is to determine—and this is a defence—whether the act alleged serves a legitimate purpose or not.

Several concerns were raised in committee, in particular about artists who might write a book in which they describe their first sexual experience. The first question is whether the book is written material whose dominant characteristic is the description of sexual activity for a sexual purpose.

Thus, the bar is already fairly high. Many legitimate artists would not have to worry about failing the first test. Indeed, in most cases, their written material does not fall within the definition. If by some misfortune it is considered child pornography, the defence would still be available.

Bill C-2 strikes a fair balance, allowing a fairly serious crackdown—a position the Bloc Quebecois agrees with when it comes to child pornography—but leaving a degree of latitude for doctors, police, and some artists. For example, a nude painting or statue by Michelangelo will not be considered child pornography.

I would simply like to express my disappointment. I think the parliamentary secretary is aware of the fact that there is no minimum sentence for anyone found guilty of child pornography. What the minister wants to do—what members of his team have told me—is to send a strong message that we want to fight child pornography by increasing maximum sentences.

I think the argument can be made that a minimum sentence is also essential in ensuring that a person found guilty of child pornography gets a taste of penitentiary life.

We are talking about those dearest to us, about very fragile beings: our children. Anyone who touches our children in a sexual manner deserves a mandatory prison sentence to make sure he does not reoffend.

[Ramadan, October 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the month of Ramadan begins at sunset on Friday, October 15. In the Muslim lunar calendar, Ramadan is the ninth month and a strict fast is observed. Fasting during Ramadan is the fourth of the five pillars of Islam and is probably the most observed rite among Muslims.

More than a billion Muslims throughout the world, including nearly 110,000 Quebeckers, will devote this month to fasting, meditation, devotion to God and self-control. From dawn to dusk each day for 30 days, Muslims abstain completely from eating, drinking and smoking.

The last 10 days of Ramadan are considered especially sacred, culminating in the 27th night, Lailat al-Qadr or the night of power, when the Qur'an was revealed to Mohammed.

Ramadan will be followed by three days of festivities called Eid-al-Fitr, the feast at the end of the fast.

My Bloc Quebecois colleagues and I wish all Muslims in Quebec a very joyous Ramadan.

[Saint-Émile Knights of Columbus, October 7th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, this fall will mark the start of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Saint-Émile Knights of Columbus in the riding of Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

In the coming months, a number of special activities will take place in the community, reflecting the dynamism and vitality of this group.

The Saint-Émile Knights of Columbus are recognized as leaders and their commitment to the community has been acknowledged for the past 50 years. I could not, of course, begin to list all their wonderful accomplishments, but the commitment of these men over the past half-century is a fine tribute to their founder, Father Michael McGivney, and continues his example.

As the group prepares to begin its celebrations, I join with my colleagues in the Bloc Quebecois in extending our most sincere fraternal wishes to the Sainte-Émile Knights of Columbus. Congratulations.

[Health, May 10th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government's strategy of waiting for the election campaign to announce the reinvestment that it wants to make in health is despicable.

After causing so many problems in that sector, how can this government be so cynical as to run its election campaign at the expense of health? That is disgusting.

[Health, May 10th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health is trying to fool the public with this $37 billion, because one fact remains: the current federal government has withdrawn from health care funding, and the 16¢ it pays on each dollar spent is not enough. This government is largely responsible for the current problems in the health sector, because it has significantly reduced its share of the funding.

Given that the Prime Minister has admitted that the federal government must reinvest in health, why did it not take the opportunity provided by the recent budget to put more money on the table?

[Petitions, May 5th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to table this important petition, which is part of the Beads of Hope Campaign of the United Church of Canada.

The petitioners call upon the government to: (1) cancel the burden of debt owed by developing countries that undermines their capacity to respond to the HIV-AIDS pandemic; (2) increase foreign aid and support for the United Nations' Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; (3) ensure that patents or trade-related intellectual property rights do not block access to life-saving medicines; and (4) double funding to the Canadian Strategy on HIV-AIDS.

[Criminal Code, May 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, of course, it is a great pleasure to speak to Bill C-32. It is somewhat the child of Bill C-10 and of Bill C-38, which was later called Bill C-10.

The House will remember that several witnesses who appeared before the committee pointed out the problem of driving while impaired by drugs. They raised this point to encourage us to oppose Bill C-10.

Following these presentations, I moved in committee an amendment aimed at doing almost what Bill C-32 does now. At the time, the committee chair rejected my amendment, because it was irrelevant to Bill C-10.

However, and I succeeded in getting the unanimous support of the committee on this, we tabled two reports on Bill C-10 in the House. The first report suggested some amendments to Bill C-10 and the other called on the government to move quickly to pass legislation to resolve the problem of driving while impaired by drugs.

So, Bill C-32, which is now before us, is in response to a request by the committee that reviewed Bill C-10.

As regards the bill per se, we have good news and bad news. The good news is that we support Bill C-32 at this stage and believe that it should be reviewed in committee as quickly as possible.

Now, let us turn to the bad news. The introduction of the bill at this stage of our proceedings, with an election campaign looming on the horizon, is a cheap election ploy on the part of the Liberals. They are trying to counter the attacks that they are anticipating from the Conservative Party of Canada and its right wing forces, which want a return to a more prohibitionist approach regarding the possession of marijuana.

When a measure as important as Bill C-32 is introduced in the House, an announcement is usually made regarding moneys that will be made available to implement the legislation. In this case, no money was earmarked, announced or set aside to implement Bill C-32. What is the point of tabling, and even voting on a measure such as Bill C-32 if the means to implement it are not there?

As we know, there are some 52,000 police officers in Canada. If my memory serves me correctly, we need to train about 40% of them so that they can conduct the standardized breath test announced in Bill C-32.

How does the government expect to train these 20,000 to 25,000 police officers if it does have the means to do so? How will these men and women, these police officers, be able to conduct standardized sobriety tests on people who are inebriated or under the influence of drugs, if they are not trained to do so?

I will conclude by saying that although we support Bill C-32, I think this is a cheap election ploy. I think the government is not sincere in its commitment to passing Bill C-32. If it were, it would have provided the means to implement it.

Unfortunately, nothing surprises me anymore with this government. I am beyond cynical about it. This government has no direction and does not know what it wants except to be re-elected. It thinks that by tabling Bill C-32 on the eve of an election, it is arming itself against possible attacks that might occur during an election campaign. For the public, it is very disappointing to see the government treat such an important issue this way.

I repeat, and I will conclude on this, I demand that the government table a concrete plan in the few days remaining before the federal election is called. The government has to tell us exactly how much money it will provide and put aside in order to train police officers to conduct standardized sobriety tests; otherwise this is all a sham.

[Cinar, May 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Minister of Justice received the RCMP report on the CINAR production company on December 23, 2003. We know it is the responsibility of the Attorney General of Quebec or of Canada to initiate legal proceedings based on charges filed under the Criminal Code or a particular federal statute, in this case the Copyright Act.

Can the Minister of Justice tell us whether legal proceedings will soon begin in the CINAR case?

[Quebec Mining Week, April 29th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, this is Quebec mining week. It should be a proud moment and a time to commemorate the hard work of thousands of miners, but it has become, in the Thetford Mines region, a real nightmare for over 450 workers.

Chrysotile fibre is not like the asbestos of the past. What explanation then is there for the Liberal government's failure to adequately defend the responsible and safe use of this mineral.

The most serious consequence of this inaction is the indeterminate closure of the Lake Asbestos Mine in Black Lake and its disastrous effects on the regional economy.

In order not to upset certain trading partners, the Liberals chose to ignore a region unlike any other in the world and reneged on their commitments in favour of chrysotile.

On behalf of the Bloc Quebecois, I want to tell the workers at LAB Chrysotile, their families and everyone in the Thetford Mines region that we are on their side.

I also want to take this opportunity to highlight the outstanding work of the president of the PROAmiant Chrysotile movement, Rénald Paré, whose dedication to the region is well known to all.

[First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management Act, April 26th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary gave us a quick chronology of the events. Unfortunately, he did not answer my basic question as to whether his government is prepared to settle this deteriorating dispute by doing something other than appointing a conciliation officer.

I am putting the question to the hon. member. I hope that the imminent federal election will not stop his government from assuming its responsibilities and that the parliamentary secretary will not only call for conciliation, but also arbitration to settle as quickly as possible this dispute which, unfortunately, is deteriorating and affecting workers who deserve better than that.

So, I am asking the government to take its head out of the sand and to settle this issue as quickly as possible. Let us not forget that the Quebec City airport is a fundamental tool for the Quebc City area.