Allan Rock

[Criminal Code, April 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to place before the House a brief document in both official languages regarding the need for a Criminal Code amendment specifically prohibiting female genital mutilation.

[Young Offenders, April 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I want first of all to express my sympathy to the families of those who lost their lives not only in that crime but in a number of savage and senseless crimes in recent weeks.

I also wish to emphasize in response to the hon. member's question that we cannot let our anger and our grief and our concern about these dreadful events lead us to believe there is a simple or quick solution to the underlying problems of which they are tragic symptoms.

Long before the events of recent weeks this government was working intensively on a specific agenda of concrete action to deal with these issues involving specific changes to the criminal laws to make them more effective, including changes to the Young Offenders Act and the Criminal Code, and at the same time initiatives in respect to crime prevention which ultimately will be just as effective if not more so in dealing with the problems.

I assure my hon. friend that in the weeks to come he will see ample concrete steps taken by this government to deal with young offenders and crime in general in this society.

[Justice, March 25th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, may I take the opportunity to say to the hon. member and to the House that in so far as I am concerned the chair of the committee has my full confidence. If controversial positions or views were to disqualify us from holding positions many members would not be in the House.

As I said earlier, the fact of the matter is that the chair of that committee is entitled to express his view. He has done that and I see nothing out of order with that. He has my every confidence and I am sure he will stay on as chair of the committee.

[Justice, March 25th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to the hon. member for his expression of good wishes at this time of the year and I reciprocate them.

I have to respond very quickly to his suggestion about trial balloons. The chair of the justice committee is speaking for himself. The chair of that committee is one voice among that

very disparate group. The chair is perfectly entitled to express his own perspective on issues of the day.

For my own part I have already responded to that suggestion. I do not happen to agree with him, but I think the justice committee is just the place where that kind of discussion should occur. I am sure the justice committee is going to have all manner of controversial matters to deal with in the years to come and I look forward to that kind of discussion.

[Justice, March 22nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has touched on a subject of grave concern to members of the government. I saw those reports last week and was horrified by them as I am sure the hon. member was.

As I said on January 27 when I spoke in the debate on the speech from the throne and outlined the initiatives we have in mind for both strengthening the criminal law of the country and focusing on crime prevention, we will not tolerate conduct that induces children into the commission of crimes.

I said at that time that there are sections now in the Criminal Code that make it a criminal offence to use children in the commission of crimes and I called upon the provincial authorities to enforce those provisions vigilantly. I intend to continue in that effort. Beginning tonight, I am meeting for two and a half days with my provincial and territorial counterparts.

This among many other important justice issues is on the agenda. I can assure the hon. member we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that this does not happen again.

[Human Rights, March 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, in its campaign for office, in its throne speech and in statements made subsequently in the House, the government has committed itself to amendments to the Human Rights Act which will add sexual orientation as a ground on which discrimination is prohibited.

We intend to follow through on that commitment.

[Immigration, March 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, if the member's experience is anything like mine then each day and each passing week brings a wide variety of representations by letter or by telephone on issues that face us. Of course it is no way in which to fashion public policy. What is important in fashioning public policy is meaningful consultation.

In response to the hon. member's question, may I point out that the 1 per cent of population immigration figure, which is used for this year, arose from broad consultations which took place by the last government during 1993 when eight public meetings were held across the country involving hundreds of Canadians from all segments of society.

May I point out as well that the 1 per cent reflects a platform on which this party sought and won election last fall. May I lastly point out that the minister is committed to a process which he announced on February 2 for a review of the 10-year framework for immigration policy in which all Canadians will have an opportunity to participate, including those who may have written and phoned the hon. member's office.

[Hockey Canada, March 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the extradition proceedings provided in the Extradition Act contemplate an application to court which may or may not be made if extradition is sought and ultimately a procedure by which I may be asked to pass upon the application for extradition proper.

I do not think it is appropriate for me to comment, other than to assure the hon. member that I have every confidence the system will work as it should.

[Immigration Act, March 17th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, the Minister of Human Resources Development has asked me to furnish a response on his behalf this evening.

I know the minister would want me to begin by recording his gratitude and admiration for the continued interest of the hon. member for Brant as well as for the thought provoking suggestions which she has put on the record this evening.

I say on the minister's behalf that the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development has been listening to Canadians express their views on social security reform. The minister has also appointed a small task force of Canadians involved in matters of social security and employment reform to help him pull together the elements of the reform process.

In April the minister will be presenting an action plan setting out the options and the choices for the standing committee to consider during the course of the summer, using the widest possible means of public dialogue.

The concept of a guaranteed annual income program to meet all the needs of persons with insufficient income has been considered time and again by previous governments, both federal and provincial.

The broad outlines of a guaranteed annual income are consistent with the department's goal of overhauling and streamlining current programs to make them more effective at addressing the social security needs of people today.

A guaranteed annual income would require major reforms to the structure and financial arrangements underlying several components of the income security network, including unemployment insurance, social assistance, child benefits and taxation.

One guaranteed annual income proposal which has garnered much attention in recent months has been the income supplementation program for Newfoundland and Labrador prepared by that province's economic recovery commission.

Federal and provincial officials are working together to review and assess the Newfoundland proposal to see how it could fit into the government's national social security reform process.

However, this government cannot consider a guaranteed annual income outside the context of the broad social security reform process.

A guaranteed annual income is a very innovative approach to reform that is not constrained by the existing program structure. Such a proposal could be presented as one of the many options available.

Before any such option is considered, careful consideration will have to be given to various government objectives, including job creation, achieving current fiscal objectives and addressing the inequities inherent in the current system of government programs.

The social security reform process is an ambitious plan with a tight timetable that will result in major changes for Canada. The action plan review process will be open to the public. Consideration on all options will require the participation of our partners, the provinces, as well as the Canadian public as a whole.

These are essential programs and this government does not intend to leave any stone unturned in considering how best to reform the social safety net.

[Supply, March 17th, 1994]

I will be brief, Mr. Speaker. The hon. member says that he has been involved in this for 20 years. I respect his experience, but I predict that we are going to be involved in this for a lot longer than 20 years to come. It is part of the human condition.

We are going to do our level best to balance the interest we have been talking about. So far as fear is concerned, I am aware of the fear to which the hon. member refers. One thing we must be careful not to do is feed into or amplify those fears if they are disproportionate to the reality.

The unkindest thing we can do to the senior citizens to whom the hon. member referred is to play on those fears, to make them worse by suggesting that the problem is worse than it really is, that the challenge is greater than it really is.

Of course we have a challenge in front of us, but let us keep it in perspective. As I said earlier concerning high risk offenders in the parole system, we recognize that changes have to be made. We have to take the person at the end of the sentence and examine them to determine whether they are fit to be returned to society. If they are not, we have to find a way of working with the health system to keep them confined for our own protection.

Next week when I meet with my colleagues in the provinces I will be talking about that, among other things. We cannot do it alone. We will do it in concert with them. I am very aware of the problem and we will address it.