Allan Rock

[Human Rights, December 2nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should understand that the human rights commission is an independent body which is not under the control or direction of the government or any minister thereof.

The commission is obligated by law to make up its own mind based on its own investigation and the exercise of its own independent judgment with respect to those matters to refer to tribunals for hearing. We would not want it any other way. There must be independence.

While she may ask me as the minister responsible to the House for the Human Rights Act and its administration to speak to matters of structure or of the human rights system, I do not direct the commission in what decisions to make or what matters to undertake in terms of hearings.

[Violence Against Women, December 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we are doing a great deal but it is not enough.

We must renew our commitment and focus our energies to do more, but what we have started to date is considerable. I can refer to the initiatives of yesterday with respect to firearms. I can remind the House that one woman every six days is shot to death in this country, that most of the time it occurs in her own home at the hands of someone she knows, and that person is using a rifle or a shotgun. The steps we took yesterday I believe will help in some way to deal with that issue.

I should refer as well to the creation of a national crime prevention council and the attention it will devote to violence against women. I can speak about Bill C-42 and the efforts to change the peace bound provisions to make them more effective to protect victims of domestic violence, and Bill C-41, the matters it deals with in terms of breaches of positions of trust, including relationships between physicians and female patients.

[Gun Control, December 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, in connection with the AK-47s, those firearms will be prohibited. Future sales will be prohibited. Those who have them can keep them but not transfer them.

In connection with the banned handguns the position is, once again, future sales are prohibited. Those who have them may keep them but may not use them. They can keep them and store them safely, surrender them to the police or disable them.

[Gun Control, December 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the question put by the hon. member echoes the pale and oblique commentary she gave yesterday following my speech in the House. It disappointments me, as much as her speech did yesterday, that instead of dealing with the substance of the matter, instead of expressing her position with respect to the substance of the decisions and the proposals, she seizes upon the form of the matter and comments caustically upon that.

This government has made its position clear. We shall introduce legislation in February to implement the decisions in the paper I tabled yesterday.

[Gun Control, December 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I most certainly will not. The categories of handguns which were identified for ban were worked through with the RCMP, with expert advisers. They were identified precisely for the reasons we gave the House when we announced these decisions yesterday and they will remain on the list.

[Gun Control, December 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the category of handguns that this government proposes to ban is not broadly used in legitimate sporting activities. Instead, these small handguns we propose to ban are cheaply made, easily concealed and commonly used in crime. That is why we are banning them.

[Gun Control, December 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, there is a reason why the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police wants universal registration of firearms. There is a reason why the Canada Safety Council has been urging the government to introduce universal registration of firearms, quite apart from common sense.

As we announced yesterday, there is a direct link between the registration of firearms, the reduction of crime, the reduction in the number of lost and stolen firearms in the hands of criminals and public safety and safety in the home.

[Gun Control, December 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the only reason this government is proposing a registration system for rifles and shotguns is our firm belief that it will have exactly that result.

[Gun Control, December 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious the support among members of the Canadian public for these proposals is very high. We are making proposals that have the support of the vast majority of Canadians.

In terms of the consultation process, I spent almost five months consulting with over 150 national and regional organizations of firearms owners and users. I dealt with them at close quarters on the details of the proposals. Our consultations leading to the formation of government policy are at an end. Naturally when I put the bill before the House it will be referred to committee, witnesses will be heard, and the usual parliamentary process will be followed.

[Gun Control, December 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I meant yesterday exactly what I said. The process of consultation leading to the proposals in the legislation the government will put forward is at an end. We have reached the government's policy on firearms.

Naturally the bill will be put before the House of Commons in February when we resume. It will then be referred to committee in the ordinary course. It will go through the regular parliamentary procedure in which we hope to have the involvement of all members of the House.