Françoise Boivin

[Public Safety, December 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's intimate club of firearms lobbyists seems to be more important than the safety of the people, particularly women.

The government's stubborn spending of public funds to fight in court for the right to destroy the data that Quebec's taxpayers paid for does nothing for public safety.

Quite the opposite, in fact: it only slows down the Quebec government's efforts in this matter. This ideological stubbornness must stop.

Will the minister drop this case against Quebec with regard to the firearms data and, for once, stand on the side of prudence and public safety?

[Public Safety, December 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the changes that Conservatives are considering to weaken gun control are dangerous. This could reduce mental health checks for those renewing gun licences.

The tragic events of December 6 teach us that public safety, not divisive politics, must be our guide when it comes to gun control.

Will the minister now reassure Canadians that he will reject these reckless and dangerous changes proposed by his firearms advisory committee?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 30th, 2012]

With regard to Bill C-10, An Act to enact the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act and to amend the State Immunity Act, the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and other Acts: (a) what has the Department of Justice identified as the policy objectives or desired outcomes of Bill C-10 and what indicator has been identified to measure progress; (b) what has the Department identified as the overall legal costs for defending Bill C-10 from legal challenges; (c) when assessing the compliance of Bill C-10 with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms under section 4 of the Department of Justice Act, what measures were used to assess whether delays in trial processes and prison overcrowding would violate Charter-guaranteed rights; (d) what is the measure of post-sentence recidivism rates used now by the Department of Public Safety, and how is the success of Bill C-10 to be defined and measured; (e) what are the numbers of Aboriginal, women, addicted, cognitively-impaired or mentally-ill offenders in remand or federal custody facilities that are being used as a base against which to assess whether Bill C-10 increases or decreases those numbers; and (f) how is the government assessing benefits to victims of crime resulting from Bill C-10?

[Outaouais Region, November 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, last weekend, the Gatineau Chamber of Commerce held a gala of excellence to recognize the hard work and vision of local companies. Line Charette of Chabitat Construction, La Relance Outaouais, the Château Cartier hotel, Garage du Parc, Nordik Spa-Nature, Rossignol, Bolec, Glatfelter and the Centre cardio-respiratoire Outaouais all made a name for themselves over the past year.

They were given the Excelor award in recognition of their important contribution to our region's entrepreneurial culture. I would like to commend them for their tireless efforts and perseverance in these difficult economic times.

I would also like to mark the passing of the great Marcel Beaudry, a man who played a key role in Gatineau's development during the many years that he chaired the National Capital Commission. He did a great deal for the development of the Outaouais region and its people.

He gave me my first job when I was a young law student. He was a great visionary.

I would therefore like to pay tribute to the memory of this pillar of my community and express my sincere condolences to Marcel Beaudry's family and friends.

[Petitions, November 28th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour to present a petition signed by many people from Gatineau and the Outaouais region. They are calling for a national strategy on dementia and health care for people with Alzheimer's and other types of dementia. I want to commend the exceptional work being done in my region by Maison Fleur-Ange and the people of the Société Alzheimer de l'Outaouais.

[Justice, November 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, just because the hon. member is yelling his answer does necessarily mean people are going to take him more seriously. Either the minister did not listen to my question or he decided to deliberately disregard it. This type of defence does not stand up in court.

The Conservatives are introducing bills without taking into account their consequences. They are not even aware of the consequences because they are imposing gag orders left and right and they are not examining these bills properly. Then, when it comes time to do damage control, they stick their heads in the sand. Our courtrooms are overburdened and underfunded, and the situation is growing worse every day.

Why is the Minister of Justice opposed to providing adequate funding to our justice system so that it can run properly?

[Justice, November 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are not tough on crime, they are cheap on crime.

Our justice system is crumbling under the weight of the Conservatives' inaction. Our courts are full to the brim, we do not have enough judges, wait times are growing longer and longer, and legal aid is underfunded. The provinces and territories already spoke out about these cuts at the last meeting of the ministers of justice.

Will the Conservatives finally commit to solving these urgent problems by ensuring the sustainability of our justice system?

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I will be brief because I know I am running out of time. Indeed, this is more double-talk. As far as red tape is concerned, it is a joke.

When I read the bill, when I looked at the notes and listened to the speeches, I thought to myself, there is no way that billions of dollars are being sent to help the first nations serve their members and people who stay on reserve, without any accountability. Agreements and audits are already in place.

All the government is doing is adding layers in order to create obstacles. The truth is that the government does not want more transparency. It wants to humiliate the first nations by introducing this type of bill without consultation, without giving them a chance to say a word about it.

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 20th, 2012]

That is an excellent question, Mr. Speaker. Usually I am an optimist, but after that conference, I was not that optimistic because there were too many generalities.

I think the first nations hoped, in good faith, that the government would stick with what it seemed to look like it would do, but the way government members have acted on this legislation toward first nations just proves my point.

There is not an ounce of serious will to definitely respect, and respect is more a question of delivering the real goods than being here and apologizing. The Conservatives can apologize all they want, but if they do not mean that apology and go outside of these doors and do the opposite of what they have apologized for, there is a problem of credibility.

I humbly submit that fundamentally it is the problem of credibility with the government. Government members speak, say words, utter sentences, but nobody believes them.

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the government certainly has nothing to teach us. Consider the budget and the volume of information released.

Indeed, lack of transparency, information and consultation also includes releasing a huge volume of documents, then giving people about two hours to read them. That is not exactly transparency. That is not a genuine exchange of views or a consultation process, and it does not reflect any interest in other people's opinions.

We constantly see this pattern with international treaties, for example, because we do not know which criteria are used. Everything is always done and decided behind closed doors, particularly the Prime Minister's doors. His ministers are even told what to say in front of the cameras, even though they know they are about to spread falsehoods.

There is something unhealthy here. Therefore, to have the nerve to introduce a bill known as the “First Nations Financial Transparency Act” is simply ridiculous.