House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 54% of the vote.
Canadian Advisory Council On The Status Of Women March 17th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member wants to be logical, but where is the logic in his questions when he complains about our merging women's programs and at the same time criticizes duplication and overlap?
Once again, if the hon. member wants to be logical, I would ask him to support our decision, so that women receive the kind of support they need.
Canadian Advisory Council On The Status Of Women March 17th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, as part of our effort to have a government that is efficient and effective and very conscious of expense, the government has decided to merge these various programs under the very capable leadership of the Secretary of State for the Status of Women. I think this will turn out to be a very effective use of the necessary resources.
The hon. member is always talking about the need to avoid overlapping and duplication. I am surprised he is not praising this initiative because it is exactly along the lines he is calling for, the avoiding of overlapping and duplication.
Business Of The House March 16th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, as announced earlier, we will have an opposition day.
On Monday the House will consider Bill C-73 respecting borrowing authority followed by Bill C-68 respecting firearms. Tuesday will be an opposition day again.
On Wednesday the House will consider second reading of Bill C-72 regarding intoxication and when this is completed we will return to the business of Monday at the point it was left off.
Thursday will be another opposition day, the last in the present supply period, which means the House will be asked at the end of the day to vote on final supplementary estimates and interim supply.
On Friday we will begin the second reading stage of the budget implementation bill which we had intended to introduce today but whose introduction has been delayed for technical reasons.
I would like to express thanks to the opposition parties for their co-operation in facilitating discussion and decision last night on the bill to enable work to resume at the port of Vancouver. This attitude on their part is certainly appreciated.
West Coast Ports Operations Act, 1995 March 15th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I think a formal motion of adjournment is required pursuant to the order of the House earlier this day. Therefore, I move:
That this House do now adjourn.
Business Of The House March 15th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 78(1), I wish to inform the House that there is an agreement among the representatives of all three officially recognized parties to the allocation of time to Bill C-74, an act respecting the supervision of longshoring and related operations at west coast ports, described in the following motion.
I therefore move:
That Bill C-74, an act respecting the supervision of longshoring and related operations at west coast ports, be disposed of at all stages during the present sitting as follows:
Debate at second reading shall be limited to no more than 80 minutes;
Upon being read a second time, the bill shall be referred to a committee of the whole, which shall report the bill after no more than 60 minutes' consideration;
Immediately upon being concurred in at the report stage, the said bill shall be considered at the third reading stage wherein debate shall be limited to no more than 40 minutes.
At the end of the time periods described in this Order, the Speaker or the Chair of the committee of the whole, as the case may be, shall interrupt debate and forthwith put all questions necessary to dispose of the stage then under consideration.
No recorded division may be deferred and, when any recorded division is requested, the bells shall be sounded for not more than 15 minutes.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service March 15th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the overall conclusion of the inspector general at that time, some two years ago, was that the use of informants by CSIS was professional, of an appropriate professional level.
As I have said, work is ongoing to deal with the concerns raised by the inspector general at that time.
Finally, I remind my hon. friend that he has once again stated something that is not correct. The file referred to by the acting chair of the security intelligence review committee was not about an investigation of a political party but rather about the possibility that a foreign government had made contributions in a way that was not appropriate.
Therefore, I hope my hon. friend, if he raises the subject again, will describe the matter correctly. It is about time he did so.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service March 15th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the report is for a period of more than two years before this government took office. Since that time work has been
ongoing to deal with the problems and concerns raised in it. This is something to which we are paying close attention.
Justice March 13th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, we look forward to this system being used by crown attorneys across the country. It will enable them to have all relevant information about potential high risk dangerous offenders at the time of prosecution.
Therefore it will help them to develop appropriate strategy for charging and prosecution, particularly for bringing dangerous offender applications at the time of prosecution. If the court accepts such an application the offender will be incarcerated indefinitely.
I believe this will certainly add to the protection of our communities.
Questions On The Order Paper March 1st, 1995
In so far as the Correctional Service of Canada is concerned, the answer is as follows:
All federal inmates entering the Correctional Service of Canada's jurisdiction, including those coming from the courts as well as those who have violated a conditional release and whose release has been suspended, are admitted to a maximum security institution for assessment. In Ontario, all new federal inmates are admitted to the assessment unit at Millhaven maximum security institution.
All new inmates undergo a comprehensive assessment to identify those issues which have contributed to criminal behaviour and which must be addressed. Violent offenders receive psychological assessments and sexual offenders are offered a comprehensive assessment aimed at establishing appropriate treatment interventions and level of risk to public safety. The results of these assessments, and case specific information (such as documents from the police, courts, family, etc.) are examined and analysed to determine the level of security required for the management of the case. As well, a correctional plan for the inmate is produced which becomes the blueprint for the sentence, against which progress toward correctional goals are measured. At the end of the process, which may take up to eight weeks, a placement decision is made which reflects both the security and program needs of the offender.
Inmates are assigned a minimum, medium or maximum security classification. Part of the overall assessment is the custody rating scale, a tool which was developed to provide a statistically based placement opinion. The elements included in this tool are considered to be effective predictors of behaviour. On the basis of the entire assessment, including the custody rating scale, a placement decision is made by assessment staff, and the inmate is sent to a receiving institution classified at his/her level of security.
Three critical factors are taken into consideration in determining the security level of the inmate; namely, institutional adjustment, escape risk, and risk to public safety. Each factor is given a rating of low, moderate or high, and each is significant to the overall assessment of the inmate.
Once an inmate has been placed at an institution, the inmate's security classification is reviewed at least once a year. Any additional information which was not considered at the previous placement may result in a change in the classification level. New factors which may be considered are the inmate's current attitude, behaviour, motivation and progress in his/her treatment programs. In preparation for any critical decisions concerning transfer, temporary absence, or work release, CSC
policy requires that the inmate's classification be reviewed and confirmed or amended. Case managers must use their professional judgment, in conjunction with available assessment tools, in reaching a final conclusion as to the appropriate security classification.
In addition to the individual inmate's classification, institutions are also classified by security level. Beaver Creek Institution, in Parry Sound-Muskoka, is classified as a minimum security prison. The new institution, to be located on the Beaver Creek reserve near Gravenhurst, Ontario, is expected to be completed in 1997, and will be classified as a medium security prison.
The rationale for placement of all federal inmates is found in section 28.i.(e) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, which states that the Correctional Service of Canada shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the penitentiary in which the person is confined is one that provides the least restrictive environment for that person, taking into account: (a) the degree and kind of custody necessary for (i) the safety of the public, (ii) the safety of that person and other persons in the penitentiary, and (iii) the security of the penitentiary; (b) accessibility to: (i) the person's home community and family, (ii) a compatible cultural environment, and (iii) a compatible linguistic environment; (c) the availability of appropriate programs and services, and the person's willingness to participate in those programs.
When the new institution is opened, only those inmates who have undergone careful assessment and meet the criteria for placement at the medium security level will be transferred there.
Public safety is the paramount factor in any decision relating to the management of inmate cases.
Health February 24th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, this is always something that could be looked into. In Kingston there has been an active testing program. In fact, so far the people who have shown positive in the testing have not been found to have active TB as such. Prison officials are working closely with Health Canada officials to make sure that active TB cases do not occur.
I appreciate the interest of my hon. friend in this important subject.