Christian Paradis

[Justice, October 21st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we know what the Bloc's opposition to conditional sentences means. It means that when a serious crime such as theft or fraud over $5,000 is committed, the criminal can serve his sentence at home, in the comfort of his living room. That is the Bloc's approach to crime.

We now have a bill that tackles white-collar crime. Victims called on us to take action so that this never happens again. That is what we are doing. I hope that finally, for once, the Bloc will walk the talk and support us.

As for release after one-sixth of a sentence has been served, we will not propose an ad hoc, ill-considered reform.

[Justice, October 21st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the crimes committed by white-collar criminals are outrageous. People have had enough. This is very serious. As a government, we decided to finally tackle this issue, and we hope that the Bloc will support us. There is nothing outrageous about the legislator deciding to draw a line, show leadership and say that enough is enough.

If the opposition members go out and talk to the victims, they will see that everyone has had enough. We are going to face the situation and deal with the problem.

[Justice, October 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, during the last session, we introduced a bill to target major crimes of fraud and theft exceeding $5,000. These are serious crimes and many people have told us that we need to crack down on such offences. However, what did the opposition do? It gutted our amendments to the act. That is shameful.

This means that these criminals, these white-collar bandits and others can serve their time at home, on their couch. People no longer want this to be the case.

A bill will be introduced and will provide mandatory jail sentences for serious crimes. I hope that the opposition will support us at last.

[Infrastructure, October 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Outremont should be pleased because, yes, the government made the political decision in its budget to allocate $220 million to repair the Champlain bridge. That is what I said.

The money was then managed by an independent crown corporation, namely Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated. The process was followed openly and transparently. If the opposition has evidence to the contrary, then let it say so outside the House.

[Infrastructure, October 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. We know that renovations on the Champlain Bridge had become necessary, and this government has finally provided some political direction.

We voted for a parliamentary appropriation to repair the bridge, and after that, a corporation that operates independently of the government, Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated, took over.

Once again, that party is trying to confuse everyone, because it will never manage anything. All it ever does is complain in this House.

[Infrastructure, October 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, those are very serious allegations. My colleague is talking about influence peddling; that is a serious charge. He must know that the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges corporation is independent of the government.

The contract was awarded in an open and transparent manner.

[Justice, October 8th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his excellent question.

As we know, the Liberal Party has always been soft on criminals. We saw this yesterday, as Liberal senators gutted our truth in sentencing bill.

This is a bill of great importance to all Canadians, yet it was taken hostage by the Liberals because of their own infighting.

It makes no sense, and I hope the Leader of the Opposition will see reason. When will he start defending victims?

They deserve better.

[Cinar, October 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, once again, it is important to emphasize that intellectual property rights must be respected in this country. The government is addressing the issue. One thing is for sure: justice will be done, and Justice Canada will see what it can do in this case.

[Cinar, October 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we are taking this matter seriously. Clearly, intellectual property rights in this country must be respected. One thing is for sure: we are encouraging the Bloc to support our getting tough on crime agenda.

There is a lot to do and many issues to address when it comes to justice reforms. The problem is that the Bloc Québécois does not seem to want to help us help victims.

[Employment Insurance, October 2nd, 2009]

They are against everything.

The opposition should support this measure to help long-tenured workers. That is what they need to do.