Allan Rock

[Victims Of Crime, September 26th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, let me just say that had the hon. member been aware of the provisions of Bill C-41 before speaking and voting against it, he would have seen-

[Parole And Sentencing, September 26th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, there is not a Canadian who was not touched and indeed angered by the tragic death of Melanie Carpenter and by the other tragic deaths in recent months.

I met this morning with Melanie Carpenter's father. I had the opportunity to speak directly to him to express my own anger and as a parent of young children to identify with the sorrow he feels.

This government has been working steadily in its term in office to strengthen the criminal justice system, to introduce DNA testing, to strengthen the Young Offenders Act, and to provide mandatory penitentiary terms for those using guns in the commission of a crime.

When we introduced Bill C-41, which would encourage uniform sentences in criminal courts in Canada and send the message that violent crime must be punished harshly, the Reform Party voted against it.

Let me simply say that if the hon. member and the members of his party were genuinely interested in public safety instead of exploiting personal tragedy for political gain in the short term, they would work with us on the changes we intend, including changes to deal with the high risk offenders in this country.

[Gun Control, September 25th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, it seems to me symptomatic of the very tired and lifeless condition of the hon. member's crusade against this legislation that he is trying to revive an issue that was fully debated last year and put to rest with the facts. The facts are that there was consultation. There has been consultation throughout this process, both with provincial governments and with aboriginal organizations. If the results are not pleasing to the hon. member that is too bad, but it does not mean that meaningful consultation did not occur.

[Gun Control, September 25th, 1995]

Of course I do, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, let me say that I do not accept the premise of the hon. member's question. I do not agree that all of the governments he has referred to are against the bill. Second, as I said last December, we engaged in continuous consultation with the officials of provincial governments as we went about preparing that legislation. The mere fact that some of them, for their own reasons, have found parts of the bill they do not agree with is no proof that consultation did not occur. It certainly did.

[Criminal Code, September 25th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member in his question is not fair to the facts. There are already in the Criminal Code penalties, including life imprisonment for the kind of crime to which he has referred.

The Forget case on its own facts involves indeed an issue having to do with the calculation of sentences. As the hon. member well knows, Bill C-45, which is already before the House, the Solicitor General's bill, deals with many of the issues presented by that case.

[Capital Punishment, September 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we believe that the way to work toward increased public safety is through proposals that have substance and that rely on real analysis and get results.

We do not believe that the answer is simply to rely on bluff and bluster or mean-spirited personal attacks or to exploit tragedies.

We are interested in real public safety. I invite the hon. member to work with us on the proposals the solicitor general and I are bringing forward to deal with high risk offenders and strengthen the criminal justice system instead of going to what looks like the simple answers to exploit the public mood.

[Capital Punishment, September 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder as a matter of logic if I can deduce from the hon. member's question that he is now prepared to support the gun control proposals put forward by this government. Would he do that?

The fundamental objective of this government as we said in the election campaign of 1993 is safe homes and safe streets. Everything we have done in the justice agenda and through the Solicitor General since we have been in this Parliament has been to achieve safer communities in this country.

If the hon. member and the members of that party are truly concerned about the safety of Canadians and their communities, he will work with us on the proposals we are bringing forward to deal with high risk offenders and to strengthen the criminal justice system of this country.

[Criminal Code, September 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, we are quite aware that there is a problem at this time, just as there was last week and as there will be next week. It is not only in Montreal but also in Toronto and Vancouver. It is the problem of organized crime.

There is no simple solution. When I met with the hon. member a few months ago, I asked him: "What do you suggest?" He had a suggestion, which we discussed, but it is not a real solution.

This is not an easy question of just passing another law.

In fact, the Quebec Minister of Public Security, Mr. Ménard, clearly said: "We do not need new laws. We need the police forces to work on collecting evidence against organized crime". So let us work together to find a solution to this problem, this tragic matter. As I said, I am confident that we will find a solution in the coming weeks.

[Criminal Code, September 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, we are concerned about the tragedy of little Daniel Desrochers's death a few weeks ago in Montreal. The problem of gang wars and organized crime is a very difficult one and a major challenge for Montreal police forces.

This past summer, I had a meeting with the solicitor general, Mr. Sangollo, Denis Asselin of the CUM, and the Commissioner of the RCMP. We discussed in detail all the various strategies we could use to deal with this problem. We decided to work together and set up a joint committee that will go through the Criminal Code to look for answers.

This is a very serious, very important matter to us. We are now working in a very constructive and positive fashion and I am very confident that we will find a solution to the problem.

[Juvenile Prostitution, September 19th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things I did during the summer was to visit and travel with police officers in seven Canadian cities, spending evenings with the police, learning something about the criminal justice system from their perspective.

Among other things, I saw for myself the nuisance of street prostitution and the tragedy of juvenile prostitution for the children who are exploited. It served only to deepen the commitment I have to doing something about juvenile prostitution.

I can tell the hon. member that Edmonton was one of the cities I visited. The Edmonton police was one of the forces that was kind enough to take me with them in their work.

I want to tell the hon. member the government is now preparing legislation. We expect to introduce proposals later this year to amend the Criminal Code to deal particularly with juvenile prostitution.

The hon. member should also know we have distributed an options paper to the provinces with respect to other measures and we are awaiting the completion by at least three of those provinces of their own internal consultations before taking further steps.