Lost his last election, in 2008, with 29% of the vote.
Supply March 25th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, it was brought forward that the member looked at his certificate, noticed that there was no name on the certificate and he was critical of that point.
The hon. member and his party have always talked about seeking support and consideration from grassroots organizations. I wonder if he would comment on the fact that the reason there is no name on that certificate is that the stakeholder groups did not want their guns to be identified by having their names on the certificates.
Child Pornography March 21st, 2003
Mr. Speaker, on the issue of child pornography, clearly we have brought forward a bill that we believe will be very effective in dealing with the concerns that were raised by the Sharpe case. We believe that eliminating the artistic merit defence will in fact be in the best interests of the children of our community. We are very interested in maintaining the priority of children as part of the government's process of making sure that children are safe within our community.
Black History Month February 28th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, February is Black History Month. It is a time for all Canadians to experience a part of their history and explore role models that they might not have recognized before.
Molly Killingbeck is an athlete, a coach, a leader and just one of many shining examples of female black Canadian role models.
Killingbeck began her love of sports at a young age with her love of running. Through dedication and hard work, she trained to become one of Canada's top female athletes in track and field. Her love of sport propelled her to many heights, from coaching the gold medal winning men's relay team in 1996 to her current position as an athlete services manager with the National Sport Centre of Ontario.
Following her experiences, she was inspired to campaign for a tighter anti-drug program.
Dedication and a healthy dose of fun keep Killingbeck strongly connected to the world of sport. As a coach, Killingbeck works to instill qualities in athletes that they can use on and off the track. For her, it is important to see all athletes as people first before viewing them as performers.
I ask all members to please join me in saluting Molly Killingbeck and all black Canadians who are role models for Canadian youth.
Vimy Ridge Day Act February 20th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I understand the hyperbole of the hon. member, but the reality is the minister has stated clearly in the House that he was going to take the KPMG plan, take the Hession report and in fact build an action plan that he can present to Parliament.
In the process of doing this he is going through a review process that deals with the cost efficiencies and operations. The fact is all of these are being reviewed. They are dealing with the matter in terms of cash management within the context of the moneys that are available within the departmental budget.
Major expenditures have been stopped and frozen. Some hiring that was to take place is not taking place and some people are being laid off.
The reality is that everything possible is being done to run this program without in any way adversely affecting the most important part of this program, which is the government's continuing commitment to public safety.
Vimy Ridge Day Act February 20th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Yorkton--Melville for the opportunity to answer his question.
I must begin by reiterating that the firearms programs is more than a firearms registry. The program has been designed to improve public safety by controlling access to firearms and ammunition, deterring their misuse and controlling specific types of firearms.
The Firearms Act called for the licensing of all gun owners by January 1, 2001 and the registration of all firearms by January 1, 2003. Licensing ensures that firearms owners meet high public safety standards while registration links owners to their firearms, leading to greater accountability.
I am pleased to report that we have now passed the two major deadlines associated with this program and that the majority of firearms owners have complied. Over 1.9 million Canadians are licensed and over 6.1 million firearms have been registered.
With extensive and continuous background checks on applicants and licence holders, about 9,000 firearms licences have been refused or revoked by public safety officials. That is over 70 times more revocations from potentially dangerous individuals since December 1, 1998 compared to the total for the last five years under the old program.
As for registration, it provides the link between the firearm and its rightful owner. It works to enhance accountability for one's firearms, for example by encouraging safe storage, which helps reduce gun theft and accidents. The ability to trace firearms back to their owner also facilitates police investigations and helps crack down on illegal smuggling. This information also facilitates the enforcement of prohibition orders and allows the police to take preventive action such as removing firearms from situations of domestic violence.
Already law enforcement agencies across the country are making use of this valuable tool in conducting investigations and responding to incidents such as domestic violence situations. Police are accessing information from the registry on average about 2,000 times every day.
As I mentioned before, the government remains committed to this sound public safety policy, but it has been complex and expensive to implement.
The recommendations of the Auditor General have been fully accepted and we are already acting on those recommendations. We have committed to providing Parliament annually with more complete, accurate and up to date financial and management information regarding the program. The costs of the firearms program have come down and we are determined that they will continue to decline.
Measures are being taken to address all of the Auditor General's recent recommendations regarding the gun control program. On February 3, 2003 reports from independent experts regarding the Canada firearms program were tabled in Parliament. The report by the consulting firm KPMG examined a sample of the past transactions to determine if certain internal controls were followed.
Independent management consultant Mr. Raymond Hession examined the licensing and registration processes and made 16 recommendations for improving the management and operations of the firearms program. The recommendations contained in these reports are now being considered carefully in the development of an action plan which will set out how in the future we will reduce the costs of the firearms program and improve its efficiency, service and accountability.
During the review period, the minister directed that the program be run at minimum cost, which includes operating at essential service levels only. The withdrawal of supplementary estimates for the firearms program has been compensated for on an interim basis only.
At the same time, the Firearms Act imposes legal obligations on the Department of Justice to implement Canada's firearms program. While the program will continue to operate at minimum levels until the current program review is complete, there is no question that the minister has an obligation to ensure that the requirements of the act are met.
Operating the firearms program on a short term, cash management basis has not affected other programs in the Department of Justice. We are looking at the budget of the Department of Justice to manage the shortfalls. Expenditures such as advertising, contracting and travel have been reduced. This exercise is being done to bridge the gap between the withdrawal of the supplementary estimates on December 5 and the vote of supplementary estimates B.
As the minister has said before, implementing the program has always been a challenge and it is still a challenge. However, when we look at the positive impact it has had on our society, it represents values that are highly supported by the Canadian people.
Justice February 14th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, in this particular instance we do have a very effective way of dealing with wrongful convictions but it does take time and a great deal of investigation to properly bring a case up to the point where a minister can make a decision.
The minister obviously is seized of the matter and I can make no further comment.
Justice February 14th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, from the examples that are being presented, our heart has to go out to the victims in those cases.
However the overall reality is that we must look at the system in its entirety. We are doing that at the present time through the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. We will await its report and we will see if it recommends any changes to the existing legislation.
Child Pornography February 14th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, it is quite clear that within our justice system we like to have the judges, who understand and know all the facts and circumstances of the case, weigh those in each individual case.
One of the problems with minimum sentencing is that many times there are unintended consequences. We do not wish to go there unless it is absolutely necessary. All the law reform commissions have recommended that we should not have much in the way of minimum sentencing and therefore we try to minimize them.
We are waiting for the committee to make its decision and bring forward its report. The minister will assess it and see where he may go.
Justice February 14th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, all types of criminal offences over the course of time are reviewed and the sentencing that is applicable to them is reviewed.
As I have mentioned earlier in the House, on conditional sentencing, the matter has been referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. It is conducting a full and complete review and will report to the minister. We will see if any assessments or revisions are needed at that point.
Bill C-10 February 14th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the process of gun control, it is very important that we start to reduce the costs. Bill C-10A is an excellent way of starting that process.
When dealing with Bill C-10A, it also deals with efficiencies and the efficiencies are simplifying the licensing process in terms of renewals, staggering renewals, more use of the Internet, establishing pre-clearance processes for those who want to come over to this country to use our outfitters and hunting establishments, and streamlining transfers from one to another. It is an excellent--