Chris Warkentin

[Grande Prairie, October 28th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House to pay a special tribute to the city of Grande Prairie.

This past week the city was recognized as the second best city in all of Canada for small business to succeed.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses lauded the city's pro business environment in its annual survey of best places in the country to do business.

We all know that small businesses are the engine of our economy and we know that our economic recovery is conditional on the speed by which our small businesses grow, hire people and succeed.

I want to congratulate all the small business owners in Grande Prairie who have proven to be innovative, focused and resilient in the face of our economic uncertainty. I also want to pay a special tribute to the city of Grande Prairie for fostering the conditions for entrepreneurs to succeed.

Grande Prairie, and the whole Peace country, really is a great place to work, play and raise a family.

[Kenya, October 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this summer, I travelled to Kenya, Africa with a group from Grande Prairie to witness the devastating effects that a worsening drought was having on the population.

It was clear that the most vulnerable people in these dry conditions were the children, especially those children who have been orphaned as a result of HIV-AIDS. The only hope for many of these children is to find a place of refuge and a place like the Mully's Children's Home.

There is no water anywhere and, as we all know, without water things die, the crops die, animals die, trees die and eventually the people die.

In response to the need for water, a group of 12 volunteers from my community have set out to raise $300,000. The city of Grande Prairie and area have been tremendously supportive. We have over 26 schools, 8 churches and 3 restaurants involved in the “Milk it for Mully” fundraising campaign. We also have countless other people involved in three other fundraising events.

I want to thank all of the volunteers of the schools, the churches, the businesses, the kids, the local media and the donors for their ongoing support. Together we can restore hope for the orphans of Kenya.

[Economic Recovery Act (stimulus), October 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member's speech from across the way. I want to commend her on her voice in the House. I appreciate the fact that we have been able to work on other things and have conversations about things that matter to our respective constituents.

I am concerned that we as members of Parliament come to the House in order to debate policy and do what is in the best interests of our constituents. The hon. member discussed at great length the necessity to create jobs immediately, to get people employed and hungry kids fed. I share those concerns with the hon. member.

We come here to discuss these kinds of policies. Our constituents do not want us to come here to debate politics. It seems like the hon. member's leader has engaged in a political debate over the last little while as to whether the government should survive or not.

What I can guarantee is that the jobs she is talking about will not be created by forcing an unnecessary and very costly election. Our constituents demand that we come here to debate the things that she was talking about.

We understand that this bill will pass, so I wonder why the hon. member will not stand, in the interests of her constituents, and support the measures that will ensure that hungry kids get fed, that her constituents do have jobs and that stimulus money does flow into her community. Why will she not support this bill so that we get on with the real work that our constituents—

[Economic Recovery Act (stimulus), October 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I want to tie into the final comments made by the member opposite.

I listened with interest to his speech. He made some interesting points. I would first like to address his comment with regard to judging a government based upon what it doing during the bad times.

It is newsworthy, and maybe the hon. member has not heard, but today the Canadian finance minister will receive yet another international award. He is going to be in Istanbul to receive an award being presented to him by Euromoney magazine. He will be accepting this on behalf of the Canadian government. They are recognizing him as the finance minister of the year, recognizing what this government has done during tough times.

The World Economic Forum has indicated that Canada will lead other countries out of this downturn. We see the same type of analysis from the IMF.

I appreciate that the hon. member will judge a government by what it does during the hard times. Clearly he will join the ranks of the international community in recognizing that Canada is leading on this front.

However, in answering the last question, he went after home renovators. He said that there were some nasty people out there. I would give the member the opportunity, because I know he has plenty in his own riding, to withdraw that comment.

[Criminal Code, September 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I know my time is short this evening but I want to take a few moments, first and foremost, to congratulate and thank the hon. member for Kitchener—Conestoga for bringing forward this motion. This motion speaks to an issue that has, unfortunately, impacted too many people.

When the hon. member brought forward this motion in September of this year, I believe he said that suicide has caused the tragic deaths of far too many Canadians and tonight I have to concur and I think all members in the House would agree.

I would like to go through a number of things. As I said, my time is limited, but I felt it was necessary for us to contemplate the merits of this bill as well as its place in terms of the current Criminal Code provisions.

Section 241 of the Criminal Code makes it an indictable offence to counsel a person to commit suicide. It also provides that it is an offence to assist or encourage someone to commit suicide. It is important to note that it is so, regardless of the means chosen to counsel, encourage or provide assistance, and regardless of whether the person attempts to commit suicide. The maximum penalty provided for this specific offence is 14 years imprisonment.

It is interesting to note that the assisted suicide offence provision in our Criminal Code is very similar to the provisions in force today in England. On September 23 of this year, and it is interesting that this is so timely, the British director of public prosecutions issued an interim policy for prosecutors in respect of cases of assisted suicide.

I would like to mention a few of the relevant points that are in the public interest in Canada as we are contemplating what we need to do to ensure that provisions within our own section are keeping up with the current technologies. The director of public prosecutions outlined a number of points. The first point reads:

The suspect persuaded, pressured or maliciously encouraged the victim to commit suicide, or exercised improper influence in the victim's decision to do so; and did not take reasonable steps to ensure that any other person did not do so.

That, obviously, means suicide.

The second point reads:

The suspect was unknown to the victim and assisted by providing specific information via, for example, a website or publication, to the victim to assist him or her in committing suicide.

The third point in making clarification reads:

The suspect gave assistance to more than one victim who were not known to each other.

The fourth clarification made reads:

The suspect was a member of an organisation or group, the principal purpose of which is to provide a physical environment (whether for payment or not) in which to allow another to commit suicide.

I mention those specific factors that were found in favour of prosecution on the charge of assisted suicide under legislation that is very similar to ours. As my colleague from the NDP pointed out, there are many ways that we could bring clarification to our current legislation.

However, it is important that our laws be broad and that we not try to name all the different ways in which a person might assist or counsel someone to commit suicide but that we allow for the legislation to be broad enough that it encapsulates any changing technology. I am certain the government will take that into consideration when this bill, hopefully, passes.

Section 241 of our Criminal Code is currently very broad. If charges are laid under this section for actions to be carried out over the Internet, I imagine there will be a number of challenges that the investigators will find problematic, specifically as to how they will collect evidence and the evidentiary burdens of the investigation. However, let this not be a deterrent to pursuing this initiative. For example, we have heard it noted already this evening that in cases of child pornography, which is the same challenge, we are seeing some success on that front.

Let us continue to work together to ensure that the opportunities are limited for those people who counsel and maliciously attack others over the Internet and who use the Internet to perpetrate this crime. I am pleased that my colleague has introduced this motion and has sought to clarify that the assisted suicide offence in section 241 of the Criminal Code needs to include those people who would use the Internet to perpetrate this crime.

As I mentioned at the beginning, it is very important that we as Canadians ensure that our laws keep up with the advanced technologies to ensure that we are protecting the most vulnerable in our society.

As members of Parliament, our number one responsibility is to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Tonight, as I have listened to the different life stories of people who have been affected by perpetrators, I have come to believe that we have an obligation to act. We have a responsibility to do what we can to protect those most vulnerable in our society.

We must stand with the victims' families, those families that bear the pain of suicide, who have lost family members. We must stand with those families that have been victims of a perpetrator who came into their loved one's life and encouraged their loved one to commit suicide. We have to stand with those people who might be victimized by a perpetrator in the future.

This motion is the first step in moving forward on this issue. We must continue to work toward the preservation of life. We must continue to protect those who are most vulnerable in our society.

[Peace River, June 18th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as this parliamentary session draws to a close, I am pleased to stand in the House to pay tribute to the hard-working men and women of the Peace country.

Like many regions in this country, the global economic downturn has had a significant impact on the communities, businesses and families in our communities. Our forestry sector, our oil and gas industry, and our farming families have all been affected by the reduction in the international demand for our goods.

In spite of these challenges, I am inspired again and again by the many people who are meeting the challenges head on. Local business owners are streamlining their operations, cutting waste, embracing new technologies, and increasing their efficiencies to position themselves for the future.

I am shameless in my praise, but it really is the only way that I can convey the strength, the resilience, the dedication, and the resolve of my constituents to have made the remarkable changes that are necessary and to meet the challenges of the future. As a result, I know that they will be well--

[The Environment, June 10th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in August 2007 the Prime Minister referred to Nahanni Park expansion as arguably one of the most important environmental protection acts in a generation.

After a generation of Liberal neglect, as far as conservation and the protection of Canada's environment is concerned, could the Minister of the Environment share with the House some of this government's most recent successes on this file?

[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, June 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader said Canada has become a laughing stock of the world. How dare he?

How dare he come back to Canada after being away for 34 years, after calling himself an American, after accusing his fellow Canadians of living in a fantasyland, after calling our flag a pale imitation of a beer label, and call Canada a laughing stock?

This is a country with the best managed economy in the G7, that is weathering the global economic storm far better than others, a country that is rebuilding its military, defending its Arctic sovereignty and asserting itself on the world stage, a country that has welcomed hundreds of thousands of new Canadians just last year. We are one of the most peaceful and prosperous nations the world has ever known.

The Liberal leader should know that Canada is no laughing stock. Canada is strong. Canada is proud. Canada--

[Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, June 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, could we see the clock as 6:30 p.m.?

[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, June 4th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague across the way. I have a great deal of respect for the hon. member. However, what I heard was a lot of information on issues outside of the bill. Let us just remind members what we are exactly looking at.

There are a number of provisions within the bill that Canadians across the country, from coast to coast, have called for over the last number of years. Finally they have a government that has acted, and it seems like enough members of Parliament support the efforts that so many Canadians want.

First, there is a one year mandatory prison sentence for those people who deal drugs on the street when they do it combined with the efforts of an organized criminal organization or they carry a gun or some type of a weapon in the process of trying to traffic those drugs.

Second, there is a two year mandatory minimum sentence for dealing drugs such as cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine to our young people. I am certain, Madam Speaker, you have followed with interest the epidemic of our young people who become addicted to drugs and in some cases have their lives destroyed as a result of drug addiction. It concerns me that we would not, as parliamentarians, believe a two year sentence is not an appropriate sentence for somebody who would give a substance that would destroy the lives of young people.

There are three other provisions and I will get through them quickly. We have a provision that involves people who have more than 500 plants of marijuana in a grow op, so those are organized crime events. Also there is the date rape drug. We are going after those people who are trafficking the date rape drug. I cannot imagine that any parliamentarian would stand in this place and say that we should not protect our young men and women from this drug, which only has one purpose. What would the hon. member have to say about that?