Lost his last election, in 2000, with 22% of the vote.
Supply November 22nd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I posed the question. He is a busy man. Maybe he is going out to fix up our victims rights. Maybe he is going to do something about the bill.
Getting back to the point I was making about the two prisons where Bernardo and Homolka are held, a tunnel connects the two. According to the charter of rights and freedoms, he is going to be able to have conjugal visits with members on the female prison side. This is not punishment.
Supply November 22nd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed listening to the speech of the justice minister.
A year ago Reformers brought up the same issue, asking the government to be a little more active in trying to protect victims and their rights. For years, the criminal justice system-as a lawyer, he would know this-has been geared toward the rights of the criminal. From the moment the offender is arrested to the moment of the expiration of the sentence, our system is built around the criminal. The victim has been generally ignored.
We brought this to the attention of the House. There has been some movement and very little improvement. We want to make more improvement.
If Parliament is intent on protecting society, it should and will have to recognize and codify victims' rights. As a party we have pushed four issues: official standing in court cases and parole hearings, which the minister has not invoked; mandatory victim impact statements and victim compensation, where there is an opportunity to draw from the criminal himself or herself some compensation, and to recognize that the rights of the victim outweigh the rights of the criminal.
Our charter of rights and freedoms in some ways give criminals privileges that are unheard of. We talked a year ago about the 46-year old woman, mother of three children, who was raped by a convict on day parole. The victim tried to get a Quebec court to compel her attacker to take a blood test for HIV but the court ruled against her, saying that the blood test would compromise the rights of the accused rapist.
Protecting the rights of the accused at the expense of the victim of a crime is a crime in itself. Today, we have the Bernardo and the Homolka situation. We have two prisons that are connected by a tunnel-
Supply November 22nd, 1995
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Where is the relevance at this point? We are debating victims rights.
Fisheries November 22nd, 1995
It is your rule.
The Economy November 10th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, for the good of the country and for the good of the financial community, will the finance minister quit playing politics with the deficit, come clean with Canadians and present a balanced budget before he goes to the electorate in the next election?
The Economy November 10th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the finance minister talks about making things better for Canada. He talks about how he will improve things for Canada. From when he came into power until when he leaves power overall spending will be the same, if not higher. He is not solving the problem. He is adding to the problem.
The problem is the debt. The solution is to get to a zero deficit so that we do not add to it. Whether it is over three years, two years or whatever, that is the objective.
The Economy November 10th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the problem is the debt. That is this country's major problem. The soft targets this finance minister has set are not solving the problem. He should get serious and set some targets that really mean something, such as a zero deficit within the time frame of his mandate.
I know the finance minister has heard what many of the economists said yesterday when they were looking at forecasts into the future. If the minister were to listen to the advice of these leading economists he would recognize that the track he is taking this country down is not good enough. There is a demand by taxpayers to solve our problem quicker. It is better to err on the side of quickness than to err on the side of slowness.
Why does this finance minister not commit his department and his government to a clearly defined program of when we will get to see a zero deficit?
The Economy November 10th, 1995
In the meantime, this week we have been busy meeting with the governor of the Bank of Canada and with 10 of this country's leading economists which prompts my first question.
I believe that the size of our federal debt is $567,902,132,500.57. Would the finance minister please confirm to this House what the size of our federal debt is?
The Economy November 10th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I will withdraw the word disloyal. It has been a heck of a week. We have had members of the official opposition acting like spoiled brats in not recognizing the results of the referendum which they lost. Now we have the government members who do not know why they won striking up the divine nine committee. We have a Prime Minister who wants Copps out of the House.
The Economy November 10th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, it has been a heck of a week. We have had the official disloyal opposition acting-