Martin Cauchon

[Age of Consent, November 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows very well that it is not exactly what was said by the parliamentary secretary. He knows as well that we just had a meeting with my colleagues from across Canada. We have been discussing the question of the age of consent and there is obviously no consensus around the table.

The main goal of all that is to ensure that we will keep offering our children good protection. I guess that by using the Criminal Code differently there are other ways we can achieve that.

[Marriage, November 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like thank my colleague for this excellent question. As hon. members are aware, over the summer I had the opportunity to express, on behalf of the government, our views on this matter and to indicate that, in the current context, this being an issue fundamental to Canadian society, all parliamentarians have a role to play as well. For that reason, I have this very day asked the Standing Committee on Justice to proceed with consultations, in order to allow the public to have a say on this important issue.

At the same time, I have tabled a discussion paper containing a number of options. We are open to others as well, not just to those set out in the document.

[Criminal Code, November 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, that question is not as simple as the member thinks it is. The question of corporate liability is indeed a very complex question. We are facing the Criminal Code as well as the criminal definition and the directing mind doctrine.

We have checked as well what takes place in other countries and other jurisdictions. There is no perfect model. We would like to draft an amendment to the Criminal Code to ensure the best protection possible to employees.

[Criminal Code, November 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, first of all I would like to thank the committee for its wonderful work and report.

The justice department has given the committee its full cooperation. We have prepared a discussion paper and today we have tabled our answer. We are proposing to proceed with amendments to the Criminal Code. We must have a look at the question of corporate liability based on the Criminal Code, as well as the common law definition. We know that maybe we will have to broaden the doctrine of the directing mind. This will be done pretty shortly.

[Justice, November 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that the Solicitor General and I have been involved in a federal-provincial-territorial meeting. The spirit around the table was great and very positive. It was three days of discussion that were positive not only for me in terms of being justice minister but very positive for our Canadian society.

We talked about the question of child pornography. I was able to give them broadly the structure of the reforms that we would like to start before Christmas.

[Committees of the House, November 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 109, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, two copies of the government's response to the report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights pertaining to the liability of corporations.

[Firearms Registry, October 29th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, first, when we look at the previous registration system compared to the existing registration system, the level of cancellation with regard to the refusal of the demand has increased by something like 50%.

Second, we live in a global marketplace and a global economy. We live in a society where we must ensure that we provide people with a safe society. If we compare Canada with the United States, the crime rate--

[Firearms Registry, October 29th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the gun registration system, I disagree strongly with the member of Parliament. We have said many times, on this side of the House, that we will keep fighting for a strong and secure society. The policy that we put in place is all about that.

When we look at the two stages, the licensing process is over and the registration is underway and will end at the beginning of the next year. It is going very well. When we look at the statistics and the polls, they show that we have a safer and more secure society. We will keep working for that.

[Justice, October 23rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the top priority of the government is to protect children in Canada. We have good legislation in place, but I am totally aware of what took place in B.C. with regard to the Sharpe case. We have decided to reform the whole system. I have said many times that before Christmas we will be tabling reform on that side. Apart from that, we have taken some initiatives on that lately with Bill C-15A. We have launched some websites as well in order to better protect children.

We are going to keep working in order to keep protecting the children of our nation and to protect their futures as well.

[Firearms Registry, October 11th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite amazing to hear the question. Obviously, the member's party is against protecting our nation. His party is against values as well.

When we made the decision on this side to proceed with the firearms registration process, it was about values. It was about making sure that we will keep building a safe society. When we look at the statistics, this is exactly what has happened with our society.

Let me report to the House as well that there are two phases: licensing and registration. At this point in time it goes very well with the registration system.