Charmaine Borg

[Incorporation by Reference in Regulations Act, June 18th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague on her analysis of this extremely technical bill. She painted a very good picture of the problems we might face if we pass this bill hastily, particularly since no amendments were agreed to in committee.

I would also like to point out that this bill will be retroactive. It seems to me that we are seeing things that we have never seen before. The government seems to be setting a precedent with Bill C-59, which retroactively authorizes the destruction of the gun registry so that it will not be subject to the Access to Information Act. I am very concerned about the fact that the government realized something was illegal and chose to fix things by retroactively amending legislation. Consider a criminal who commits an offence: he cannot go back in time and change the law to make what he did legal.

I would like the member to comment on that.

[Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, June 16th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government claims that this bill will help victims, but there are measures in the bill that will make the situation even more difficult for victims.

For example, it will criminalize everyone who participates in a forced marriage. People who might report such a marriage would therefore have to ask themselves whether they really want the entire family to be treated like criminals.

A number of similar questions arise. That is why it is important to listen to the victims and find ways of helping them without requiring that they swallow something that is not going to solve the problem.

I would like to hear my colleague’s comments on that.

[Questions on the Order Paper, June 16th, 2015]

With regard to property No. 06872 in the Directory of Federal Real Property (DFRP), also known as the Old St-Maurice Firing Range, what is the decontamination plan for this site, which is located in Terrebonne, Quebec?

[Questions on the Order Paper, June 15th, 2015]

With regard to affordable housing: (a) what is the total federal investment in Terrebonne, Quebec; (b) what projects benefitted from the investment identified in (a); and (c) the investment identified in (a) represents what percentage of funding allocated by the federal government under Investment in Affordable Housing?

[Petitions, June 11th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to rise today to present a petition signed by many residents of the city of Terrebonne, in my riding. They are calling on the government to guarantee stable, adequate, multi-year funding for our public broadcaster so that it can live up to its mandate from coast to coast to coast. Cuts to the CBC have taken a serious toll on the broadcaster's ability to deliver services in French, and the people of Terrebonne are very concerned about that.

[Petitions, June 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition from Canadians across the country who are calling on the government to ban fruit-flavoured cigarettes because they encourage young people to start smoking.

[The Environment, June 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to fighting climate change, Canada is being increasingly singled out by its international partners because of its failure to act. A UN report published by the Africa Progress Panel highlights Canada's disengagement when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Canada will not be proposing any concrete measures at the upcoming G7 summit.

When will the government stop lagging behind on this issue, which is so crucial to our future generations?

[Digital Privacy Act, June 2nd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech.

I would also like to talk about the process this bill would establish. The government could have taken this opportunity to fix the flaws in the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, in order to ensure that Internet service providers and government agencies could no longer voluntarily share information without a warrant. There were at least 1.2 million requests in a single year. We have no details about why or about the circumstances surrounding these requests. The one thing we do know is that there was no warrant.

Could my colleague talk more about this missed opportunity?

[Digital Privacy Act, June 2nd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I simply want to respond to the hon. member's answer. My proposal ensured that the Privacy Commissioner was the one who determined whether the data breach was significant enough to report. What the Conservatives are proposing will put the burden on companies because, regardless of how big they are, this law applies to them. There are larger companies that have departments responsible for ensuring that people's privacy is respected and our country's laws are complied with. However, it is more difficult for small companies to determine whether that is the case. Some have no idea what to do, not because they do not want to co-operate, but because they simply do not have the people to do it. Why not help them out a little by giving them access to the Privacy Commissioner's resources and expertise?

I would like to reiterate that the Conservatives' bill provides far less help to small and medium-sized businesses.

[Digital Privacy Act, June 2nd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, this bill establishes a mechanism to be used by organizations to report data breaches, data thefts, and so forth, which is very important. I called for such a mechanism in the House and proposed one in my Bill C-475.

However, the model proposed by the government in this bill is extremely subjective. The organization itself determines whether or not the data breach is serious and whether or not to notify the people concerned. Some data breaches may not be reported to the commissioner or the individuals in question. The individuals would not have the opportunity to take the necessary steps to properly protect themselves.

Instead of implementing a subjective measure, why not implement an objective measure that would put more power in the hands of the individuals whose identity or personal information has been stolen or breached?