Allan Rock

[Justice, November 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, like all Canadians I was appalled to learn that adolescent or juvenile girls might be exploited in these strip clubs. It has to stop. All levels of government have to collaborate in making it stop.

As the hon. member knows, there are provisions in the Criminal Code which make it criminal conduct to present an obscene performance. The participation of a juvenile girl in such a show might itself be sufficient to render that performance obscene.

I would hope that those sections already in the criminal law would be enforced vigilantly by the province through prosecutions.

As the hon. member pointed out there are also provincial steps that can be taken in relation to licensing. Last, there are municipal zoning that steps can be taken. Working together all levels of government must bring an end to this deplorable practice.

[Criminal Code, November 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, may I make it clear that the Prime Minister has already said that this is a government bill and it will be presented to the House on that basis.

[Human Rights, November 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has made clear that this is a government commitment and that it will be proceeded with on that basis.

I should say, in response to the member's reference to dissent or discussion on the government side, that whatever goes on in the caucus of this party is a private matter for us alone. I should say as well that in this party we listen with care and respect to different points of view, but at the end of the day we decide and present legislation on behalf of the government.

[Human Rights, November 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, our intention remains exactly the same, to introduce legislation in that regard before the Christmas break.

[Justice, November 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the process of developing sections of the code that will introduce accountability while respecting constitutional rights and judicial realities is not one that can be achieved overnight.

The process of discussion which we have undertaken will last for a reasonable period and enable us to develop proposals and solutions that will last.

[Justice, November 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to comment on the particular case to which the member has referred, but I will be happy to respond to his broader point. I do so as follows.

The cases in the Supreme Court of Canada in recent years, including Daviault as recently as a month ago and Bernard in 1988, identified the difficulty in dealing with intoxication from the perspective of the criminal law, primarily because intoxication, depending on the degree, goes to the ability of the accused person to form the intent which is an integral part of the offence as the law is written at present.

In each of those cases the court expressed the invitation to Parliament to consider alternative ways of expressing the law to overcome that impediment. On Saturday last the government accepted that invitation. We published a paper expressly for the purpose of examining alternatives in that regard. We are solicit-

ing during a decent period the opinions of Canadians including experts on the subject. We will reformulate as necessary the criminal law in order to ensure that people are accountable for their conduct.

[Gun Control, November 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I can say that the proposals will deal with those issues. We will make every effort to simplify. I well understand that the challenge we face is to make Canadians understand and comply with safe storage requirements.

A very important inquest is going on in Quebec right now in which a coroner is examining, I think, a dozen deaths to find out the connection between the safe storage of firearms and suicide, among other things.

I am aware of that need. We will make every effort in the proposals to make those requirements better understood and more readily enforced.

[Gun Control, November 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, should the government commit itself to a universal registration system, the second thing I will do after announcing it in the House would be to mail to that person at Simon Fraser a copy of the analysis we have of cost.

We would never undertake a registration system that cost anything like those amounts of money.

In any event, if the government decides on a registration system it will be because our fundamental purpose is to enhance public safety in the country.

[Gun Control, November 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, yes, but if I may say so, I do not believe that response leads logically to the conclusion there is not a good case for registering all firearms in Canada.

May I point out that the increased use of hand guns for criminal purposes in recent years has for the most part first, been in urban centres, and second, been because of smuggled illegal hand guns.

The proposal we will bring forward will deal, among other things, with preventing illegal firearms from coming into Canada. We will never do it perfectly but we can improve what we are doing.

Second and very briefly on the subject of registering long guns, it should be borne in mind that in rural areas the fatality rate for firearms is higher than in urban areas and primarily derives from the use of long guns, not hand guns.

[Gun Control, November 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows, we are even now preparing proposals to bring before the House within the coming weeks in relation to firearms.

Should the decision be to proceed with a system of registration it will only be on the basis that such a system can be established through a reasonable outlay of capital costs, that such a system will be reliable in terms of storing and retrieving information and that such a system would involve an expense to the firearm owner that was reasonable. My friend used the word minimal and that is precisely what we would aim to achieve.