The Tories were defeated for many other reasons and not for their gun laws, let's face it. If you think they were defeated for their gun laws you are really dreaming in Technicolor.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 1993, with 71% of the vote.
Firearms Act March 13th, 1995
The Tories were defeated for many other reasons and not for their gun laws, let's face it. If you think they were defeated for their gun laws you are really dreaming in Technicolor.
Firearms Act March 13th, 1995
The level of debate from the Reform Party is the kind of thing we are listening to now. I listened to the hon. member make his speech. I would appreciate the opportunity of having the same chance.
When we make it more difficult to obtain guns crimes by these people are reduced because of strict gun laws. They do not have strict gun laws in most states in the U.S. They have a much higher rate of crime with guns. Some cases are completely ridiculous to read about.
I remember reading recently about a case in a certain American city where two automobiles collided at an intersection. The drivers involved in the collision lost their cool and became angry. Both of them pulled guns from their glove compartments, got out of their cars and shot each other.
In Canada we would be just as angry and lose our cool just as quickly, but because we would not have guns in our glove compartments we would probably get out and punch each other out or hit each other in the nose. The same excessive damage would not be done because guns would not be as easily available to people in that state of mind.
Contrary to what many have said in opposition to the bill, it will not stop legitimate hunting by responsible hunters. Nor will it stop competitive shooting by responsible sportsmen. These allegations are scare tactics. Whenever we have a bill to strengthen our gun laws we hear the same old rhetoric by the gun lobby and those who blindly follow the gun lobby.
I have been through four gun bills in the House during my period in Parliament. Each time we have set about to make the gun laws more restrictive to protect the public by preventing crimes with guns, we have heard the same old myths put forward by the gun lobby.
It can be demonstrated that despite the rhetoric after each gun law has passed there has been an increase in hunting licences available to responsible hunters. This gun law will not stop responsible sportsmen, hunters and shooters who belong to gun clubs and are competitive shooters from practising their sports.
I ask my colleagues in the House not to be freaked out by members of the gun lobby. They are not as important as they believes they are. They are not as numerous as they believe they are. They do not have the power they think they have.
They have threatened many members in the House before against voting for the strengthening of gun laws. They have threatened them during election time and have failed. I have been threatened, as I say, four times by members of that lobby. They have had no effect on me whatsoever. They have also threatened colleagues of mine from rural areas and have no effect on them whatsoever. They should be disregarded. They talk nonsense for the most part.
Firearms Act March 13th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise on behalf of my constituents to give my full support to Bill C-68. It is a bill to restrict the availability of guns and thereby reduce the number of crimes with guns.
It is an undeniable fact that where guns and ammunition are less available there are less crimes with guns. Where guns and ammunition are more difficult to obtain, there are less crimes with guns. It is not no crimes with guns but less crime with guns.
Nobody on this side has made the suggestion that strict gun control will eliminate all crime with guns. It is true that professional criminals and gangsters will always get their guns, but the overwhelming majority of crime with guns is not committed by professional gangsters. It is committed by ordinary people who under stress or with some other problem strike out at another person. If a gun is available they use it.
Mark Lepine, before he killed 13 young women at École polytechnique had no criminal record. He was not a criminal. However, because the gun laws were loose he was able to get a semi-automatic military assault rifle and kill 13 women. He was not a criminal.
Valery Fabrikant, who killed four professors at Concordia University in Montreal, had no criminal record before he committed that crime. However, because he was able through looseness in the gun laws to get a gun he killed four other people.
In the context of family violence, quarrels, tensions, abuse of liquor and drugs, some mentally unbalanced people who lose control will strike out and, if guns are easily available, they will use them. In the legislation we are trying to make sure they are not easily available and to make it much more strict in being sold to the public.
Access To Information Act March 13th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Justice.
Recently on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Access to Information Act, the information commissioner identified serious problems with the act, recommended a full review and made recommendations for amendment. In 1987 the justice committee recommended 87 amendments to the act which were never acted upon by the previous government.
I want to ask the minister if he agrees with the commissioner's recommendation and will he order a full review and update of the act?
Grain Export Protection Act March 2nd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, on February 21 I asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs if Canada would support the 20:20 vision proposal and action plan to be considered at the World Summit for Social Development which will take place in Copenhagen later this month.
The goal of the summit is to attack global instability due to third world poverty and social injustice. The challenge is enormous. At this time 1.3 billion people in the world live in debilitating poverty; 550 million people end each day hungry; 1.5 billion people lack safe water and sanitation; and 800 million living in developing countries and 335 million in industrial countries are unemployed or underemployed.
As I said at that time these conditions threaten world stability and peace. It is in the interest of all countries to take action against them. The 20:20 vision proposal and action plan must be supported by Canada and all countries at the summit.
Will the minister or the parliamentary secretary state clearly that Canada will support these proposals and that the overall goals of the summit will be supported as well? I would also like to know that Canada would give the work of this summit and its goals the highest priority.
Members And Pages Hockey Game March 2nd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, last Wednesday we held the annual pages versus MPs hockey game. On this occasion the MPs won back the Challenge trophy which they had lost to the pages in 1993. Some Reform members suggested this was due to the fact that there were no longer any Conservatives with the team.
The game was notable in that this was a rare occasion when Liberals and Reformers co-operated in a winning effort. I must say it was also notable for the good spirit between the pages and the members.
The pages are to be congratulated for their great effort and for their accomplishments at gender balance. Several women played for the pages while none played for the MPs, although invited to do so.
Our thanks go to the members from Kindersley, Prince George, Macleod, Nickel Belt, Prince Albert, Halifax West and Algoma who all played an active role in the victory.
The Budget March 1st, 1995
Mr. Speaker, on February 10, I asked the Minister of Justice if he would ban two new hyper-destructive handgun bullets developed in the United States. One of these bullets was designed to do maximum damage to human tissue, while the second could penetrate body armour. We are told this rhino ammunition, as it is called, is designed to break into thousands of razor-like fragments when it hits flesh. The creator of these bullets stated that: "These fragments become lethal shrapnel as they are hurled into vital organs, lungs, circulatory system components, the heart and other tissues. The wound channel becomes catastrophic and death is nearly instantaneous".
I was pleased with the answer given to me by the Minister of Justice when he told the House that these two new types of ammunition had been banned in Canada. However this incident reminded us that if we are serious about gun control, we must also control ammunition. Without ammunition, you cannot do too much damage with guns.
It is especially important when you consider that 65,000 guns have been lost or stolen since 1974. The RCMP report that about 3,000 are lost or stolen each year. If you cannot get the ammunition with which to use a stolen gun, then you might be preventing a crime from taking place. That is why it is so important to control ammunition.
I would like to ask the government tonight whether in the new legislation which is before the House-I have examined the said legislation-it is correct that in order to buy ammunition in the future, a person will require a firearms possession certificate or a firearms registration certificate.
I ask this because in some of the publicity material accompanying the bill, there was a suggestion that a person might be able to buy ammunition simply with a driver's licence. I could not accept that but since it will be necessary to obtain a firearms possession certificate or require one to own, use or purchase a gun then I do not see why it could not be presented as well when purchasing ammunition.
I would like to have some clarification on that.
Justice February 27th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Justice.
Recently the government announced that the war crimes unit in the justice department would be cut from 24 to 11 employees. In January the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Justice announced a strategy to deport war criminals currently in Canada. The minister stated that Canada would not become a safe haven for such criminals.
Would the minister say how the government can maintain these policy goals when the war crimes unit will be so drastically reduced?
World Summit For Social Development February 21st, 1995
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Next month the World Summit for Social Development will take place in Copenhagen to address the problems of global instability due to poverty and social injustice.
Will the minister say if the Canadian government has decided to support the 20:20 vision proposal and action plan at the summit? What will the government do to ensure the success of this important world meeting?
Young Offenders Act February 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the statistics I referred to come from the Canadian Centre for Justice. We had the Victims of Violence group before us in the committee. I do not know from where it got its figures.
There is no doubt there are still some serious crimes in the country. I deny that there has been an increase in violent crime among youth over the years. When we look at the statistics from the police and from the Centre for Justice statistics they show that is not the case.
Despite that I sympathize with the public that is seriously concerned with youth crime, whatever there is. He asked if it was not better, once they crossed the line and committed serious offences, to have tougher measures.
I do not agree with that and I will tell the member why. I do not agree with it because it does not work. They are doing it in the southern United States: three strikes out and you are an outlaw. They have a much higher rate of crime than we have in Canada.
The southeastern state of the United States have brought back capital punishment and have mandatory sentencing. They execute somebody in the morning and they have three or four murders in the afternoon. The countries doing exactly what the member is suggesting have the worst rates of violent crime in the western world.
What the member is suggesting has led to no improvement in the situation. That is why I am not for it. A much better approach is the approach being used in western Europe in countries like Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, France, Germany, Italy, et cetera, and in Canada to a certain extent. It is to concentrate on the causes of crime, to concentrate on rehabilitation and correction, and not simply on harsh, hard, long penalties that do not protect the public. If they did protect the public we would be able to walk the streets freely in Miami, Dallas, New Orleans
and many other cities which we cannot do simply because they are doing what the member suggests.