House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 69% of the vote.
Firearms Registry February 5th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, on Monday the justice minister tabled the 27 page version of the Hession report in Parliament. Then I found out that the media received an additional 65 page report containing all the financial information Mr. Hession used to prepare his report and recommendations.
Why does the justice minister persist in hiding key information and keeping Parliament in the dark? Why?
Firearms Registry February 4th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the minister says that with a straight face. I cannot believe it.
The issue is still that this is not about gun control. This is about government out of control.
Parliament has been waiting two months for answers. Now the justice minister says we have to wait a few more weeks for his action plan. He will not have a final total of the program's costs until fall now, he tells us. At this rate we will be into an election before taxpayers know the truth about this billion and a half dollar boondoggle.
My question is, where in these reports does it show that the gun registration is effective in reducing violent crime--
Firearms Registry February 4th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, it is becoming obvious that gun registration is not gun control.
Yesterday the justice minister tabled two reports that failed to tell Parliament how much it was going to cost to fix the big problems with the gun registry, and there are many. Even the minister's own reports indicate that it will cost another half a billion dollars. Past estimates were so out of whack that Canadians want to know, how much will it really cost? Another half a billion? Or one billion? Or two billion?
Gun Control February 3rd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, none of us has had a chance to read the two consultants' reports that have just been released. They seem to indicate an attempt to whitewash a billion dollar boondoggle and absolve the minister and his senior bureaucrats for their incompetence. All the minister confirms today is that they really did waste a billion dollars.
On January 8 the minister's news release stated the review by KPMG was:
...to verify the adequacy and appropriate application of the CFC's financial systems and controls. This will also assist in confirming the validity of the Program's financial statements
Today the minister reports that KPMG found exactly what he told them to find. With respect to Mr. Hession's report, the minister says Parliament now has to wait another few weeks while the minister prepares an action plan.
Why does Parliament have to wait a few more weeks? Have the minister's bureaucrats been doing absolutely nothing for the last several months? The minister tabled estimates in March 2002 saying, “Everything in the gun registry is fine. Give us another $113.5 million”. Why did he not know the program was in trouble then?
The minister tabled supplementary estimates in October saying “Everything in the gun registry is fine. Just give us another $72 million”. Why did he not know the program was in trouble then?
The minister had the Auditor General's report for weeks before it was released on December 3. Why did he wait for the media to make a big story out of it before he acted? Why did the minister wait for eight provinces and three territories to demand the review of the program before he acted?
The minister demands that Parliament pass Bill C-10A and that these two year old amendments are needed to fix the problem, when even his own user group on firearms admits they fall far short of fixing the myriad of problems in the gun registry. If Parliament is going to amend the Firearms Act, let us do it all at once.
Finally, the two reports that the minister tabled today still keep Parliament in the dark. They do not say how long it would take to fully implement the registry or how much it would cost. Worst of all, Parliament and the public would have to wait years before the Auditor General confirms that the program is totally ineffective at controlling the criminal use of firearms.
This is no longer a gun control issue. This is a government out of control issue.
Firearms Registry February 3rd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, this is not a gun control issue. This is a government out of control issue.
The justice minister has been banking his future and the future of the billion dollar gun registry on two consultants' reports to help him answer questions he has not been able to answer for the last two months.
The Auditor General said the gun registry will not be fully implemented for three or four years. Is the minister prepared to tell us today how long it is going to take to fully implement the gun registry and how much is it really going to cost?
Firearms Registry February 3rd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, on January 8 the justice minister said that KPMG was “contracted to...verify the adequacy” of the gun registry's “financial systems” and confirm “the validity of the Program's financial statements”.
The minister's comments seemed to leave little room for KPMG to find any mistakes with his billion dollar boondoggle. Will he please explain to Parliament how the consultants were able to find financial records that the Auditor General could not, or is this just an elaborate spin job?
Petitions January 31st, 2003
Mr. Speaker, this petition is signed by many people from in and around Ontario. The petitioners support ethical stem cell research, which has shown encouraging potential, and that non-embryonic stem cells, which are known as adult stem cells, show significant research progress.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to focus its legislative support on adult stem cell research to find cures and therapies necessary to treat the illnesses and diseases of suffering Canadians.
Petitions January 31st, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of petitions that I would like to present today.
The first petition deals with the creation and use of child pornography which is condemned by a clear majority of Canadians. The petition has been signed by residents of my riding.
The petitioners feel that the courts have not applied the current child pornography law in such a way that makes it clear that such exploitation of children will always be met with swift punishment.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to protect our children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that all materials which promote or glorify pedophilia or sado-masochistic activities involving children are outlawed.
Firearms Registry January 31st, 2003
Mr. Speaker, this week the RCMP sent me documents that show five million guns in the billion dollar registry still have not been verified; that is most of the guns. This has become one of the most expensive garbage collection systems in the country.
I remind the justice minister that accuracy was one of the conditions of support for the Canadian Police Association. Would the minister tell Parliament how much it will cost to go back and verify these five million firearms? Will this be the second billion that will be flushed?
Firearms Registry January 29th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, Parliament continues to be kept in the dark about the costs of the gun registry. Maybe the public accounts committee will shed some much needed light on the subject.
Could the chairman of the public accounts committee provide Parliament and Canadians with a status report of its upcoming review of the federal firearms fiasco?