Jody Wilson-Raybould

[Ethics, April 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, to the member's question, I attended this fundraising event as all members of Parliament attend fundraising events. I was accompanied, on a voluntary basis, by my policy adviser. She paid her own way, having been a long-standing resident of the Toronto area. The subject matter of which I spoke in terms of the fundraising or what we talked about was Canadian politics, being involved in politics, and ensuring that everybody has the ability to have their voices heard, which is what I talked about.

[Ethics, April 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I attended this event as a member of Parliament, as all members of Parliament do. My policy adviser attended as a volunteer, paid her own way, and she lives in and has—

[Ethics, April 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I take my ethical responsibilities incredibly seriously. Fundraising, as I said, is an activity that every member of the House engages in. Another reality, in terms of fundraising, is to broadly engage with the public and have discussions. I would never place myself in a conflict of interest, and that is why I proactively engaged with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner prior to attending this event.

[Ethics, April 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, fundraising is an activity that every member of this House engages in. Thankfully, on a federal level there are strict rules in place that determine how fundraising activities occur. We do not take donations from corporations and we do not take donations from unions.

In advance, I proactively sought the opinion of the Ethics Commissioner, to whom there was no conflict.

[Justice, March 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, in terms of our approach, we are undertaking a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system. That includes sentencing reform to determine efficiencies and effectiveness in the process and I will ensure that I work with my colleagues, including the Minister of Public Safety, to look at bail reform and other matters with respect to how we can proceed and ensure fairness, equality, compliance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and that the accused's rights are respected.

[Indigenous Affairs, March 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated, this matter is before the courts. What I instructed my officials to do was to seek an adjournment. Per my mandate letter from the Prime Minister, we are looking at our litigation strategy and doing a comprehensive review.

In terms of specific cases, that will potentially change our approach. But with respect to particular mandates, I will be working and supporting my colleague, the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs in this regard.

[Indigenous Affairs, March 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as the member across knows, this is a matter that is before the courts, and so I will not speak to the particular circumstances with respect to that.

However, I will say that with the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, we will work collaboratively in terms of the mandates and approaches that are being put forward in negotiating and settling the land question in British Columbia. The member can rest assured that this settlement will be based on a nation-to-nation relationship that is based on recognition.

[Indigenous Affairs, March 8th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question.

Our government is committed to developing a substantive nation-to-nation relationship with indigenous peoples in this country, sitting down and working jointly, based on recognition and moving forward in order to ensure that indigenous communities can have an improved quality of life, can settle, ultimately, the land question, and do it based on respect and based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

[Justice, February 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, our government has committed to legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana. We will be proceeding on that matter in an orderly fashion and will take the time necessary in order to do it right.

Until Parliament has enacted new legislation to ensure that marijuana is carefully regulated, current laws remain in force and should be obeyed.

I will be working with my parliamentary secretary, the Minister of Health, and the Minister of Public Safety to ensure that we put in place a process that keeps marijuana out of the hands of children and the proceeds out of the hands of criminals.

[Ethics, February 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a member of Parliament, and I am also proud to be the Minister of Justice. I have been an advocate for good governance my entire life. I take my ethical responsibilities incredibly seriously, and I am doing everything to ensure that I am not found in a conflict. That is why my husband and I have met with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and are following and abiding by the measures that are required to ensure that we are in compliance. We will be in compliance with respect to what the conflict commissioner has said.