John Cannis

[The Budget, March 14th, 1995]

Nothing is perfect.

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, one of the most distressing responses that came out pursuant to our budget was the intellectual dishonesty which emanated from the premier of Ontario and his finance minister. Their answer to the budget was to inform the citizens of Ontario that it will result in fewer health benefits and fewer hospital beds, even though Mr. Laughren admits the hit means a meagre 2 per cent cut in provincial spending.

I was dismayed to hear this, but not surprised. It reveals the NDP mentality whose knee-jerk reaction is to punish the people of Ontario for electing a federal Liberal government, a government which has a post-budget approval rate of 63 per cent, an all-time high.

This does not have to be. We are giving the provinces the power to develop and apply solutions to their regional problems as they see fit. If they are not content with the amount of dollars given, let them tighten their belts as we are doing ours. However Premier Rae wants to tighten other people's belts. He would prefer to cut down on hospital beds but gives no thought to cutting his own government's waste and especially so-

[The Budget, March 1st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, last Monday the Minister of Finance brought forth a trustworthy budget that will put our country in a new era of financial responsibility.

Not only do we feel this is a good budget for Canada, even the international community approved. Within two hours of the budget the dollar began to rise and the interest rates began to fall. These are signs of recognition that we are indeed on the right track. I am happy to add that most reasonable citizens have

come to realize this and have accepted the budget as truly a progressive budget.

One reasonable citizen, I am pleased to note, is the Reform Party's financial critic who was so approving he led the applause in the House. In fact at one time he gave the finance minister a standing ovation, an act earning him reproval from his Reform Party colleagues.

Reform Party members accused us of smoke and mirrors during our prebudget consultations while they spread false information throughout the country. Yet the budget shows Canadian citizens that we were listening.

[Young Offenders Act, February 20th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his warm comments about my presentation. I campaigned on family values. I tried to reflect that in my presentation.

I personally do not approve of pornography, especially child pornography, and I certainly would like to see the elimination of child pornography and see people who engage in that type of pornography harshly penalized.

This legislation is not one that addresses this specific concern. I know there are proposals to address these concerns. I hope that the quicker we bring them forth the cleaner and safer our society will be.

There are so many justice issues that we have to address it would be unfair to spread ourselves too thin. We are attacking one specific issue and that is the Young Offenders Act in this debate.

I certainly hope that the other issues, as the member has stated, come forth as soon as possible so that we can address them with the thrust with which we are addressing this Young Offenders Act. As I stated earlier, I think this is a step in the right direction. I believe there is room in the future, but again, let us not prejudge our youth. Let us give them the benefit of the doubt.

In the future I would be very happy to work in the area of eliminating pornography.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

[Young Offenders Act, February 20th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. As much as I would like to agree with him, I cannot. In any civilized society we need to have a basis to function around. We need a charter. We need rules and regulations. Sometimes we do not agree with them. We need obviously rules and regulations to protect us.

There have been times when people abuse these rights. I am not disagreeing with that. This is why the Minister of Justice is taking the initiative to bring forth changes. I am not saying that these changes are going to solve our problem. As we know there is ongoing consultation. The justice committee has not finished its work. It will continue.

We have often heard the saying that Rome was not built overnight. The minister cannot bring forth an amendment that will solve every one of our problems. This is a step in the right direction.

I certainly would hope that the justice committee would continue to look at the situation, monitor it and make continuous recommendations. Hopefully as time goes on we will make new changes, new amendments that will hopefully improve the system and make it safer for ourselves and our children.

[Young Offenders Act, February 20th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. In our red book commitment when we looked at this issue we did not try to look at B.C.'s, Quebec's or Ontario's interest. We tried to look after Canada's interest because it is Canada's youth. It is not Quebec's youth, not Ontario's youth, not B.C.'s youth.

It is an overall picture that we are looking at here. I believe the members from the Bloc Quebecois and the members from the Reform Party should learn to put our differences aside for a moment and work on streamlining these amendments together collectively to bring forward the proper amendments, to send the right kind of message as a united force that violence will no longer be tolerated whether it be youth in Quebec, Ontario or anywhere in the country.

[Young Offenders Act, February 20th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, let me say how pleased I am to have the opportunity to join in this debate on such an important issue as the well thought out and timely amendments to the Young Offenders Act that have been proposed by the Minister of Justice.

The issue of youth crime and youth in general has been a part of the Canadian political scene since the passage of the Juvenile Delinquency Act in 1908. It was completely overhauled in the mid-1980s and replaced by the current Young Offenders Act which has gone unamended since its initial passage.

The government made certain commitments and promises during the election campaign. It promised to move on this specific issue. As a matter of fact it was a promise instrumental in my election to Parliament. Once again we have delivered as we have on so many other issues. Even the media has praised us for our efforts and I admire them for doing so.

Let me quote an article by an Ottawa reporter. "The Tories talked tough on law and order, but the Liberals have acted" says Sean Dirkan of the Ottawa Sun . ``Jean Chrétien's red book brigade have introduced more tough law and order legislation in a little under nine months in office than the Tories did during nine years in power''.

He points to measures introduced by the Minister of Justice and by the Solicitor General, measures such as amendments to the Young Offenders Act, sentencing reform, a crackdown on child sex offenders and reform to the correctional and parole systems. It goes on and on.

This legislation does not stand alone, nor should it stand alone. It will no doubt have an important impact on various other portfolios. Not unlike a car engine, all cylinders must work together, one province co-operating with the other, all levels of government and political parties working together in harmony to achieve this very important goal.

The most important player is the family unit. That is where it all begins.

Several months ago my family had a frightening experience with a group of youths at the exhibition grounds in Toronto. Since that time I have urged the Minister of Justice to act swiftly to bring forward changes to the Young Offenders Act so that we can once again make our streets safe for ourselves and for our children.

Since my election to the House I have had the opportunity to speak with many of my constituents regarding this legislation. One common theme that has consistently been raised is that the crime situation has grown out of control in general and among youths in particular.

Although the crime rate has not increased according to Statistics Canada, it is the seriousness of youth crime which has been amplified both in the media and by the Reform Party specifically.

A recent article in the Globe and Mail stated:

No longer are students simply breaking windows and stealing from corner stores, rather they are breaking into cars and carrying weapons to school.

In the city of Scarborough, school board officials have recently noted that prior to the implementation of the board's zero tolerance policy they were finding 25 weapons a month, of which half were strictly possession for self-defence and the other 50 per cent were used to intimidate, scare and assault. I

find that very disturbing. Our children attend schools for educational and intellectual stimulation, not to intimidate or assault. They should be taking pens, pencils, books and calculators to classrooms, not guns and knives.

The government's real interest is in attacking the roots of youth crime, getting at the circumstances that breed crime, learning why youths have committed those crimes and ensuring that they do not happen again so as to stop the next generation of potential criminals. These circumstances include child poverty, youth unemployment, inadequate day care and insufficient counselling for high risk families and children before they fall into a criminal pattern. We must attack those roots and prevent criminal behaviour before it starts.

The 12th report of the standing committee on justice released in 1993 stated that we must attack the roots of crime, including unemployment, physical and sexual abuse and neglect, illiteracy, low self-esteem, substance abuse, glorification of violence in film, video and television, school failure, dysfunctional families and inequality.

This is not to say that we should ignore or simply pardon crimes committed by youth, who unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond their control, have violated. Youth must be held accountable. They must learn to be accountable for their actions. If they violate societal rules they should be punished. They must learn at an early age to be respectful, responsible and accountable. It is at this stage that the family plays a vital role.

We must go beyond punishment. We must rehabilitate those who break the law and that is what this legislation also does. It provides for the punishment of violators while recognizing that the most successful treatment for young offenders is not only punishment, but rather to both punish and rehabilitate so that the offender will learn that it is wrong to commit a crime, know why it is wrong and will not reoffend.

The onus to reduce crime is not just on the government to bring in and amend legislation. The onus is also on the participants of society. The family is paramount in helping to alleviate the problem of youth crime. This is the first line of defence. It is here that youth receive their earliest level of socialization and they are taught right from wrong.

The onus also falls on our educational system and our educators. They must step forward and show leadership and compassionate guidance, become once again role models for their students and motivate and encourage them to become nothing but the best. But the school system must also have the opportunity to function in an environment that is free from fear.

The onus also falls on our police forces to properly carry out the law. If we are going to ask them to provide and improve their performance, to take a leading role in crime prevention without seriously jeopardizing their lives, we have an obligation to provide the proper resources so they may be able to serve and protect the public.

The onus also falls greatly on the CRTC in the type of programs that are easily and readily available which so much influence our youth of today. I have an article here from the Toronto Sun about Jamie Taylor and Mark Williams who became murderers at age 17.

It states here how Jamie Taylor grew up as an abused and neglected child. When he was three Jamie was rushed to hospital after his step father severely beat him with a curtain rod. Since the age of 12 he had no supervision. He did whatever he wanted. His mother often disappeared for a month at a time without checking in on him. Jamie grew up watching macho man destructo movies, playing war games, embracing the very tough image. That was his way of having a leading role.

We also know of a case in the U.K. in which a youth watching a video took an axe and seriously injured the child he was baby sitting. We can see here how constant bombardment of this nature not only can but does influence people's minds and behaviours.

When we do apprehend, convict and incarcerate these people, let us ask ourselves is the problem solved? I do not think so. This is what I mean. Mark Williams has had virtually no treatment in six years. He has seen his case worker four times, less than once a year. Mark also states how he has had to rehabilitate himself. Is the system helping in any way to prepare this person to re-enter society? I do not think so. I am very worried because his parole comes up in 1998.

I have stated in the past that I would make the parole request contingent upon successful completion of a rehabilitation program so that the risk of reoffending can be if not eliminated, greatly minimized.

It has been said many times by many people and deserves repeating once again that our youth are Canada's future. However, it has been said recently this is the first generation that will not have a higher standard of living than its parents. For me that is truly a tragedy.

Youth should be a time of bright optimism. Today our youth find themselves facing problems that are not of their own making. Unemployment for youth is at an all time high. We are in an economy grown weak by constant tinkering, a political situation that to many seems to defy solutions, an economy weakened by constant talk of separation which has brought nothing but instability. We hear of investors in companies hesitating to expand and invest because they do not know if Quebec will be in or out tomorrow.

It is no wonder that our youth live in a perpetual sense of pessimism. I think it is time to move away from political rhetoric to concentrate on economic renewal, development and job creation for our youth.

We must work together to turn this sense of hopelessness around. We must encourage our youth to stay in school, complete their studies and become valuable members of our community. We as a government have initiated programs to do just that. However, our government or any government cannot do it alone.

In partnership with the other players in society, the businesses, the educators, the community groups as well as members of the opposition parties, we must work together to achieve this goal of eliminating youth crime.

Some of the proposed amendments to the Young Offenders Act such as doubling the sentences for those convicted of first and second degree murder go a long way in doing so. Also, victim impact statements would be allowed where victims, should they wish, would now have the opportunity to make a statement about how a young offender's crime has affected them. I believe this will certainly go a long way in helping the courts to see the broader picture in imposing proper sentences.

With respect to medical and psychological assessments, we will with these amendments give the courts the authority to request assessments be done on chronic and serious young offenders without having to request consent from the offender.

Through these amendments we have also established an information sharing system which I believe is very important. Records and information would be shared and would also allow the release of information of young offenders to affected members of the public where there might be a risk to them in the entire community. This information would be shared among professionals, for example between the police, school officials, child welfare agencies, day care centres, et cetera.

Again, we can see here that this will help minimize the risk and we will add more protection for all. Most important, with these new amendments the young offender who was charged with murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, aggravated and sexual assault will now automatically be transferred to adult court.

This is a very important step because the onus here will now be on the youth to prove that they should be tried in the youth court as opposed to adult court. We can see therefore that all these amendments go a long way in sending a strong message that crime at any level will and can no longer be tolerated.

In conclusion, we can clearly see that these changes, some of which I have mentioned, are a step in the right direct so as to help our youth get started in the right direction and send a strong message that violence will no longer be tolerated.

[Citizenship And Immigration, December 8th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, last week I had the pleasure of joining the hon. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration at a special citizenship and reaffirmation ceremony presided over by Dr. John Brooks, a member of the Order of Canada.

I congratulate the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, the Queen Victoria Public School Children's Choir and all the volunteers for putting on such a splendid, well-organized event.

As I was congratulating the new citizens, one individual thanked me for coming and whispered to me: "God bless Canada and please do whatever you can to keep it together".

I was deeply moved by his words. As the son of an immigrant I would like today to echo his words in this honourable House. God bless Canada. I would also like to assure this new Canadian and all Canadians that this government, this party, will work relentlessly to make our country proud, prosperous and above all, united.

[Budgetary Policy, November 28th, 1994]

Maybe it came from a different fax machine, I do not know. The other question I have is this.

He indicated chopping, chopping, chopping and this government is not coming forth with any proposals. Often the Minister of Finance is asked these questions. As custom has it in this House at the appropriate time the minister will come forth with those answers. Right now, as we all know, we are going through the consultation process to hear what the people are saying so that we can collect this information and come forth with the proposals. I would like clarification on the RRSPs.

[Budgetary Policy, November 28th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like the member for Red Deer to clarify something for me. During his presentation he indicated that taxing RRSPs was not the answer. Earlier today one of the members from the Reform Party indicated that RRSPs should be taxed. I am a little bit confused. Maybe he could clarify.