David Wilks

[Justice, October 31st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about crime and gave our Conservative government a strong mandate to keep our streets and communities safe. That is why in the last election we promised to introduce lawful access legislation in due course.

Our approach to this issue has always struck an appropriate balance between police powers needed to protect public safety and the necessity to safeguard the privacy of Canadians. However, there have been exaggerated concerns presented by the opposition.

Could the minister tell the House what our proposed approach to the lawful access legislation will do?

[Ending the Long-gun Registry Act, October 27th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, being a former member of the RCMP, I know that most of those records are found on CPIC, the Canadian Police Information Centre. If guns are stolen and used in a crime, they are entered on CPIC. With regard to the registry, most of those guns are not found there because they are not utilized through that process. They are used through CPIC.

I wonder if the member could respond to the use of CPIC as opposed to the gun registry.

[Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, October 24th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, my father-in-law switched from grain to beef in the 1990s because he could not make a living on grain.

Once wheat is able to be marketed on the open system, does the member believe there will be an opportunity for families to hand the farms down? I have seen that some people just cannot afford to keep their farm, so they sell it because they are not able to hand it down. Is there an opportunity here for someone like the member to hand that farm down if he or she should choose to do so?

[Municipal and Regional Governance, October 21st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, last month at UBCM, which was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, two politicians from my riding were recognized for their contributions to municipal and regional governance.

Jim Ogilvie has been serving the city of Kimberley for 43 years. He was the mayor from 1965 to 2002 and 2005 to present. He has served on the Regional District of East Kootenay for countless years in a number of capacities. His knowledge of policy and procedure at the municipal and regional levels is outstanding.

Sharon Fraser is a councillor for the District of Sparwood and has served her community for 25 years. As mayor, I had the pleasure of working with Sharon for six years. Her no-nonsense approach and colourful language always kept me on my toes.

I would like to especially congratulate these two individuals, as well as all municipal politicians, for their contributions to grassroots politics municipal government.

[Kootenay--Columbia, October 18th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give thanks to the people who elected me to represent the great riding of Kootenay—Columbia.

Although I was blessed with a number of volunteers, I would especially like to thank Wilma Croisdale, my campaign manager; Sheryl Stephenson, my official agent; and John Kettle, who was instrumental in fundraising.

The Kootenay—Columbia riding is nestled in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and is blessed to have a diverse economy which includes Teck coal, the world's second-largest exporter of metallurgical coal, and a number of logging companies which create a vast number of jobs.

My riding boasts four national parks: Kootenay, Yoho, Glacier and Mount Revelstoke. We have world-class ski resorts in Revelstoke, Golden, Invermere and Fernie. Our tourism sector is one of the strongest in Canada.

The Kootenay—Columbia riding is a great example of balancing big industry with nature and recognizing the importance of protecting the environment. I invite everyone to come and visit what we in the Kootenay—Columbia riding believe is one of the greatest places on earth.

[Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act, October 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member mentioned in her speech that the RCMP would have more powers with regard to these types of incidents. I would like her to explain and elaborate on that because I do not believe that the RCMP would have more powers. They only act as immigration officers when there is no immigration officer available.

[Criminal Code, September 29th, 2011]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-299, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (kidnapping of young person).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce my private member's bill to recognize the severity of kidnapping a child under the age of 16 by a stranger.

As most members know, earlier this month Kienan Hiebert was kidnapped from his residence in Sparwood. He was safely returned.

We must send a message to those who do these crimes that these crimes will not be tolerated in Canada.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, September 27th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, since 2007, a number of these bills have come before the House and they have all been debated at great length. We believe it is time now, with Bill C-10, to push these forward.

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, September 27th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to what will assist in this, certainly the sex offender registry data bank will help. Police officers across Canada would be able to follow where those people are if they should move. The DNA bank will also be very helpful for investigations should an offender commit a crime that needs to be determined at a later date. With DNA evidence, they can do that.

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, September 27th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as I said at the beginning of my speech, this legislation has already spent 79 full hours of debate in this place, not including today. It has been studied at committee for 123 hours for a total of 8 days. I believe that we have studied the bill long enough.