James Bezan

[Criminal Code, February 14th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. We are debating Bill C-27 today and I encourage the member to focus on that. I know it is tough over there in the Liberal Party these days to be focused and talk about the issues at hand. Today, we are talking about Bill C-27, reverse onus, dangerous offenders. Going into detail about crime prevention, although it is interesting and it is something on which I agree with him, it is not the bill that we are discussing right now. I ask him to address the debate that is taking place in the House today.

[Firefighters, February 13th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to salute two firefighters from my riding of Selkirk--Interlake.

Last week I was honoured to participate in the presentation of the Governor General's Fire Services Exemplary Service Medals to Fire Chief Robert Herda and Deputy Fire Chief Glen Basarowich for their 20-plus years with the St. Clements fire department.

This presentation to two brave and dutiful firefighters comes at a time when Winnipeg and Manitoba are mourning the tragic loss of two fire captains, Captain Tom Nichols and Captain Harold Lessard, who tragically lost their lives while battling a house fire on February 4.

This tragedy reminds all Canadians of the continual courage and service of all our firefighters, both professional and volunteer. They protect our families, our communities and our property.

I gratefully acknowledge Fire Chief Herda and Deputy Fire Chief Basarowich for their years of dedicated service.

As well, let us not forget Captains Nichols and Lessard, who made the ultimate sacrifice.

I thank all firefighters for their quiet heroism.

[Committees of the House, February 13th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his compassion and concern about this issue which is facing the public and this House.

He recently toured the centre with members from all parties. I am wondering if he could elaborate on whether he saw any available food in the facility. I know that the individuals are hunger striking, but have measures been taken so that at least there is food there if they choose to eat it?

[Points of Order, February 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what I did. I am not completely sure what he is mentioning but if I made a rude hand gesture, I apologize. If it was taken offensively by the opposition members, then for sure I will definitely apologize.

[Criminal Code, February 6th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, one thing my friend from West Nova was asking was why we are treating controlled substances differently than open liquor or impaired driving because of alcohol consumption. It is because they are still illegal substances and one can be criminally charged with their possession. It is for that very reason there will be harsher penalties if one is driving under the influence of drugs or is in the possession of drugs while driving. That is the very logic behind it. I think all Canadians get it and want to see this bill move forward.

There is one point the member made on which I kind of agree with him. Some of us represent large rural ridings that have police forces that are fairly scattered and far away from the city centres where some of the experts would be. I am encouraging the government, and I know that Parliament is looking at this, to make sure that any of these people who are trained in drug enforcement and in evaluating whether or not people are under the influence of controlled substances be more readily available in some of the local detachments or in centralized areas where we can have that expertise available to us in a timely fashion.

[Criminal Code, February 6th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I want to add my voice in support of the bill. Impaired driving is a very serious issue facing our roads, our kids and people in the general public.

To share some statistics, in 2003 alcohol and drugs were involved in over 1,257 fatalities, over 43,000 injuries and 61,000 property damage only crashes involving over 245,174 vehicles. The total financial and social cost of these losses are estimated to be almost $1 billion. That is according to a study that was done in 2003. As well, the Ontario drug survey was done in 2003. It showed that close 20% of kids were driving within an hour after smoking cannabis.

Therefore, the intent of the bill is about making our roads safer and about ensuring we have the deterrence in our system so people are not having a few beers then jumping in their cars, heading home and causing accidents.

Countless organizations, MADD being one of them, are supportive of the bill. They want to ensure we make our streets safer and that we have a national perspective. My province of Manitoba is not talking about .08 any more. It is talking about a blood alcohol level of .05. Therefore, some provincial jurisdictions are getting more aggressive.

The member talked about all the charter challenges and the constitutionality of a number of these issues, but we already have a number of safeguards in our system to ensure that charter rights are not violated. We will be looking at putting in place a new way of helping the police forces standardize their whole system of trying to determine if someone is under influence of alcohol or drugs. They are going to standardize the field sobriety test, which is important. They are going to have drug recognition expert evaluations, which will help our police forces. Then there will be the sampling of all bodily fluids when there is consent to do so.

The charter issues that have been brought forward are really a misdirection in trying to tackle the real issue, which is to make our streets safer and to keep the public safe when they are travelling. I support the bill 100%.

[Petitions, February 6th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, my next petition is from constituents in my riding who are concerned about Raza Kausar and his family who have taken refuge in the Crescent Fort Rouge United Church.

The petitioners are asking the government to intervene and provide compassionate intervention so the family can live a normal life here in Canada.

[Petitions, February 6th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today.

I have two petitions from farmers in my area who believe in the Canadian Wheat Board and wanted to ensure their voices were heard in the decision on the future of barley marketing by the Canadian Wheat Board.

The petitioners are asking the government to hold a plebiscite, which I am glad to say the government is doing.

[Homelessness, February 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives believe it is important to help our neighbours when they are struggling. Nowhere is this more important than when it comes to providing housing for the homeless, particularly when it affects our youth.

I know that our government invested money in housing trusts in budget 2006 and we announced a new homelessness partnering strategy in December. Just last week there was a funding announcement in my province of Manitoba.

Could the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development tell this House and Canadians more about this project and our government's plan to help with shelters and homes?

[Sales Tax Amendments Act, 2006, January 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that in the past there was a need to enhance security at airports which is why the security charge was introduced that all travellers pay. That definitely goes to assisting in offsetting the cost related to the increased screening that we must do at airports. The service is provided today by over 4,000 professionals who ensure that we have safe travel across the country.

The bill deals with removing that charge on the tickets that are charitably given to families who are participating in programs like the Children's Wish Foundation and living out their dreams. For that reason, it was only practical that we remove that charge to ensure that the entire cost for these kids to fulfil their fantasies is removed and that they are truly charitable from one end of the system to the other, not just from the airlines but also that it is charitable on behalf of the government.