Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Kootenay—Columbia for sharing his time on this very important matter.
I am not going to stand here and presume that Canadians who are listening and that members in the House do not know there is organized crime in this country, not like some government members who seem to think that this is just not the case and that this does not happen in Canada. We know full well that it happens.
When the government says that it transbounds borders and boundaries with regard to provincial jurisdiction, in some cases it does and in some cases it does not. We know for a fact that we have organized criminals who have been linked to criminal organizations that have been charged. They are not Canadian citizens.
What do we do? We do not deport them. No, they go up before different boards. They have different appeal systems which cost the Canadian taxpayer bundles of money. That is federal. They know that. Yet we keep on doing it.
We know it in our federal penitentiaries. If we want to talk about gangs and gang affiliations, our prisons are loaded with them. We have prison gangs in just about every prison. They bring drugs into the prisons. The government knows that and the members on the other side know that. Yet they say it is not really a big problem.
It is a major problem particularly in the prisons. It creates threats to prison guards, police officers and parole officers. To give an example, let us take a look at the National Parole Board which has been threatened. This candid memo by recently retired chairman, Willie Gibbs, represents the latest evidence of attempts by criminals to intimidate players in the justice system.
The retired chairman of the parole board stated this. He also went on to state that it appeared to be most common in Quebec, a pattern that may have something to do with inmate population in Quebec, including the larger number of inmates with organized crime connections. Gibbs stepped down as board chairman in July and his replacement is yet to be named.
Let us look at what else was said. This was recently obtained under the Access to Information Act and submitted to the federal justice department last January in response to a consultation paper. It said “Fear affects the decisions you make. The process could lead to new laws or procedures to protect parole officials, lawyers, jurors, witnesses, police and prison guards”. We are talking about a number of people who put their lives on the line to protect us so that we feel safe. They have stated this in report after report and the federal government does absolutely nothing in this regard. We have to wonder.
Correct me if I am wrong, as I know the hon. member for Waterloo—Wellington surely will, but as I grew up I was always led to believe, as I think most people in Canada were, that a government's first and foremost priority was for the safety and well-being of its law-abiding citizens. I heard this as I grew up and I was led to believe that. Yet since I have come to the House and before that time, I have done nothing but read papers and listened to victims' groups. They all say the same thing. They cannot seem to get protection from the Government of Canada. The sentencing is not there. The criminal justice system likes to talk a good fight yet it absolutely does nothing. It supplies money to the lawyers. It keeps the appeal systems ongoing. It has a turnstile system that allows criminals back out on the streets just as fast as they can be charged and in many cases before the paperwork is done. This is Canadian justice.
They think I am fearmongering. Let us look at this report that said that police were also targets of intimidation ranging from simple warnings to open threats. David Griffin, the executive officer of the Canadian Police Association said “that is a concern for police officers”. He said “Organized crime will not hesitate to resort to bullying, threats and violence”. We are talking about a breed of people that has chosen to live outside the law. Let us say that David Griffin is fearmongering. He is only the executive officer of the police association. This association represents 30,000 officers. It expressed frustration yesterday that organized criminals operate with virtual immunity in this country while police are hampered by weak laws, a lack of tools and inadequate resources.
These are our people who are trained to fight crime. They warned the government and the government still has done nothing. We have members on the other side saying there is no such thing as organized crime in this country. When we mention the Asian gangs, the Indian gangs and the white gangs we are fearmongering. That is all the members can say. Yet ask the victims and talk to the their families. Talk to the guards in the federal penitentiary who are too afraid sometimes to go to work. Talk to them and not this bunch. They would rather sit here where it is nice and safe and have a cup of coffee. Talk to the guards and talk to their families.
