Mark Assad

[Remembrance Day, November 6th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, and more specifically on November 11, we have a duty to pay tribute to those who gave their lives and those who came back from war to build the country.

We are the heirs to the courage and determination of all Canadians who defended the values of peace and harmony throughout the world in the Korean War and in the two world wars. It falls to us to honour their memory and to keep alive the memory of their accomplishments.

On Remembrance Day, we tell veterans and their families once again how much we owe them for what they passed on to us.

[Criminal Code, October 22nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-251, introduced by our colleague from Mississauga East, is the result of a lot of hard work on her part to prove the need to amend the Criminal Code.

She proved, through statistics and studies, that people feel let down by parliament's unwillingness to rectify this rather serious flaw. Our colleague had three goals in moving this bill, the first one being to introduce a human element.

Through he work, she had the opportunity to meet the families of victims of the most abominable crimes you can imagine. They talked about the moral anguish suffered by family members and friends alike. This shows the law is flawed. Some of these crimes are so horrible that they have had a tremendous impact on the victims' families. Of course, the victims are dead now, but their families are still suffering.

I believe this human point of view is extremely important and not negligible. Often these people feel that the members of their families who were victims of such horrendous crimes have been forgotten. When a sentence is handed down, it is a concurrent sentence. This means that if a criminal is sentenced to life in prison, it does not go any further; of course we know that legally they can ask for parole. After 15 years, they have the opportunity to recover their freedom.

Of course, this is horrible for the victims' families.

Statistics, and our colleague's study, show that in seven out of ten cases the victims fell prey to criminals who had already served prison terms for such horrible crimes as murder, and had reoffended upon being released after 15 years. Very often the victims were children or women.

When we hear such figures, seven out of ten victims due to the fact that these criminals reoffended, we have every right to be concerned and say that the law should be amended. We cannot afford to let people loose when we know that they are very likely to commit the same kind of crimes.

I believe the least we can do is amend the law so that in the case of such horrible crimes and when there are several victims, we do not take any chances and do not release them. These crimes are often beyond our imagination.

The member for Mississauga East is right to believe that the time has come for parliament and members of this House to take a stand on this issue. We have nothing to lose, but everything to gain, in making sure that in the future the kind of crimes we have seen in recent years do not happen again. There are people who were released who should never have been set free.

There is not much more to be said on this issue. Our colleague did her homework. Many people have voiced their opinion on this matter. It is obvious that an amendment was needed and at long last we will have the opportunity to rectify this serious flaw.

[The Late Normand Racicot, October 20th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the City of Gatineau is mourning the loss of a great citizen and public servant, Normand Racicot. Mr. Racicot was respectively executive assistant under two mayors, director general, secretary-treasurer and clerk of the City of Gatineau.

Normand Racicot was a kind, polite and professional person, as can be attested by all those who knew him. He had an extraordinary sense of community, he kept to his word, he was renowned for his ability to maintain harmony among city staff, and he was always available to anyone.

Normand Racicot was faithful to his friends and he fulfilled his commitments so as to promote the well-being of his fellow citizens. People were proud to say “Normand is a friend of mine”.

I extend my deepest condolences to his family.

[Nav Canada, October 7th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, Nav Canada recommended to the Department of Transport that the Gatineau flight information centre be transferred to Quebec City.

In the interest of transportation safety, could the Minister of Transport tell the House whether Nav Canada can effect such changes without his department's approval?

[Tax Returns, September 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Revenue and concerns information released on September 22, 1998, on Radio-Canada's RDI news network.

It appears that a former journalist from The Gazette has been under surveillance and that information from his personal income tax returns has been obtained from Revenue Quebec.

Could the Minister of National Revenue assure this House that his department protects confidential information through specific mechanisms to prevent the leaking of information contained in individual tax returns?

[55Th Anniversary Of The Battle Of The Atlantic, May 4th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, Parliament Hill, Halifax and Esquimalt, British Columbia were the sites yesterday of ceremonies commemorating the 55th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. This is an event we must not forget, because Canadians played a major role during the course of this battle.

The war was over once the Germans could no longer threaten the Atlantic link between Europe and America, which permitted the transport of troops and equipment in preparation for the landing.

The battle is commemorated to honour those who gave their life and those who survived the war. We have learned powerful lessons, which will help us, we hope, to maintain peace around the world.

[Privilege, April 30th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, during Oral Question Period, the leader of the official opposition referred to comments I had made a month ago on the Radio-Canada program Enjeux . He put my remarks of a month ago in a completely different context and inferred that they were made with respect to the hepatitis C controversy.

I would like the leader of the official opposition to recognize, for the record, that his comments were out of context and therefore inappropriate under the circumstances.

[Supply, April 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the NDP's convictions are as strong as its shouting is loud.

It is very simple. We need a consensus among all governments on this issue. If the provinces take the initiative, I am convinced that the Minister of Health will agree to reconsider the whole issue of compensation.

So I am asking my colleague if she agrees.

[Supply, April 23rd, 1998]

All this shouting is absolutely useless. What is needed is a consensus between all governments on this issue. We have a bunch of whiners on the other side, the NDP—

[Supply, April 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, if provincial health ministers took the initiative, I am convinced that the federal health minister could open the door and reconsider the whole issue.

It was rather difficult to get the provinces to approve the agreement that was signed. If the Minister of Health rose in the House and said he would consider the possibility of compensating the other victims, the provinces would most certainly say that he should foot the entire bill. This is a fundamental issue for everyone concerned.