James Moore

[Committees of the House, September 23rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in the very brief time I have on this issue, I want to take a personal perspective on this. This is one of those issues that is very near and dear to everybody's heart, all of us who have come into contact with those who have been challenged by this issue and the tragedy associated with it.

In 1998, when I was a journalist in British Columbia and Prince George, I remember covering this issue. It has been around for a very long time. I say this as a way of de-politicizing this issue and trying to get to the point where we can move forward and talk about solutions to the great diversity of challenges that affect this issue.

The NDP government was in power in the province of British Columbia, and it put great effort into trying to tackle the issue of the Highway of Tears in the province. At the time, the federal Liberal government was in office, and it put in great efforts. Our government has been in office as well. This is an issue that actually crosses partisan lines.

We have the responsibility as a majority government to move forward to put in place programs and investments and to have a responsible approach to dealing with the challenges right now.

I want to remind all members that having further studies and inquiries, without at the same time coming before Parliament and to the Canadian people and being specific about approaches to deal with the challenges we are facing right now, is just elongating more and more discussion without concrete solutions to some of these challenges.

I appreciate what the member opposite said about some of the issues in Toronto and what he would like to see move forward. I know it is not always easy, but if we could, let us find a way to move past the immediate partisan trigger-finger pointing, because all parties in this country have been in government and have wrestled with and tried to tackle this issue and deal with it responsibly.

We owe it to the maturity, the substance, and the challenges of this issue to deal with it in a non-partisan and thoughtful way.

[Business of Supply, September 23rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I thought I would give everybody's ears a break.

[Industry, September 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Macleod on getting elected. I also want to congratulate him on his very first intervention on his first day in this place, raising an issue of great concern to his constituents, and that is moving forward with digital connectivity.

We as a government have invested record amounts of money on infrastructure across this country. Part of that infrastructure is digital infrastructure to make sure that we take full advantage of the academic, economic, and social opportunities that are the fact of the digital age moving forward.

In this year's budget we have put forward a $305-million investment to connect 280,000 households to make sure that Canada, the second-largest country in the world, has Internet connectivity in all of its communities. We are uniting Canada as we move forward to our 150th.

[Copyright, June 17th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, of course our government has taken the lead with our Copyright Modernization Act. In fact, just today we put in place the notice and notice regime to further modernize our copyright regime in this country.

With regard to those who are perceptually disabled, my colleague should know very well that when we put together the Copyright Modernization Act, we worked with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and others. Of course, we are more than willing to look at ways to improve our copyright legislation to ensure that all Canadians recognize that their needs are met in Canadian law.

[Questions on the Order Paper, June 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a) and (b), the National Building Code of Canada is developed through an independent consensus-based committee process that undergoes extensive public review. Consultations for the 2015 National Building Code are currently ongoing.

With regard to (c), in terms of consultations, the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, or CCBFC, and staff at the Canadian Codes Centre have been and continue to be in communication with the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, CAFC; the International Association of Fire Fighters, IAFF; the Canadian Fire Marshals and Fire Commissioners, CFMFC; the Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association, CASA; and the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA. In addition, provincial and municipal fire services are represented on the commission and its various standing committees.

[Industry, June 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as part of our Digital Canada 150 policy, we want to make sure that all Canadians have access to all the economic and educational opportunities of the digital age.

The computers for schools program refurbishes 280,000 computers and gives them to schools all across the country, but also does better than that. We hire 1,000 students to refurbish the computers, and we put them into schools. We also put them into communities that do not have access to this kind of technology.

We also partner with organizations like the Neil Squire Society, which helps Canadians with physical disabilities have access to the basic technologies so they can fully participate in Canadian society.

It is a small investment with a great consequence that will help connect Canadians for the future.

[Privacy, June 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there are certainly some times when—for example, to prevent elder abuse, to prevent the abuse of kids who are online, who often go onto websites where they are not aware of being abused online or their personal information is being stolen and credit card information can be stolen—there are circumstances, with the voluntary compliance of consumers, where this information can be shared with security organizations.

Of course warrants are required if there are investigations. We dealt with this issue at the Senate. We adopted an amendment at the Senate committee and it will come to the House of Commons where we will move forward. If the opposition has anything other than noise to offer, we will certainly consider amendments, if the members have something reasonable to say.

[Privacy, June 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, these are effective and responsible measures that we adopted and included in a bill after numerous consultations with the private sector, the wireless sector and consumer advocacy groups. This morning or yesterday, the Senate studied three amendments and adopted one of them. This bill will come to the House. The hon. member and her colleagues will have the opportunity to examine the bill and propose amendments if they want.

[Privacy, June 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that is simply not the case. We are talking about Bill S-4.

Again, if my colleague is opposed to the bill, she ought to tell her colleague who is responsible for telecommunications policy, her colleague from Terrebonne—Blainville, who said, “We have been pushing for these measures and I am happy to see them introduced.... Overall, these are good first steps.”

That was the NDP position when we tabled the bill, because the digital privacy act does exactly, in substance, what the NDP asks for us to do rhetorically, which is to protect the privacy of Canadians online and protect their transactions, so that when their information is violated or if their information has been stolen, they are immediately notified, and if they are not, there is punishment. The Privacy Commissioner is empowered.

Bill S-4 goes a great way to protect Canadians online, and the NDP should know that.

[Privacy, June 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we have empowered the Privacy Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner's office. As I said, we have gone further in Bill S-4.

The ethic behind the member's question is frankly a sound one. That is why we have acted as a government and moved forward both in the Copyright Modernization Act and in this Parliament with Bill S-4.

The Privacy Commissioner has welcomed these changes. Because we recognize that as Canadians are migrating their businesses and their personal lives online, we want to ensure that Canadians are protected online and that the Privacy Commissioner's office is empowered to investigate abuses of Canadian citizens online. That is why we are taking action.