House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2011, with 58% of the vote.
Petitions May 12th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I have many petitions from people all across Canada calling upon the House to stop the issuing of child pornography over the Internet. Many Canadians are aware of the human trafficking issue and the sexual exploitation of minors. Hundreds of people are calling upon the government and all parliamentarians to take a stand against that.
Human Trafficking May 5th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, this weekend Canadians will have an opportunity to make Mother's Day extra meaningful.
On Saturday, May 8, the day before Mother's Day, in Winnipeg hundreds of individuals representing many different ethnic and religious communities will gather at high noon at the steps of the Manitoba legislature to participate in the Walk to Stop Human Trafficking and raise awareness about this terrible abuse of human rights.
Today, men, women and children are trafficked throughout our communities. The average age of a Canadian youth sold into the sex trade is 12 years. This must stop.
I am extremely pleased that I will be joined by Grand Chief Ron Evans and many of Manitoba's first nations communities. As many hon. members know, first nations youth are especially vulnerable to human traffickers.
I invite all hon. members and all Canadians to attend the Walk to Stop Human Trafficking in Winnipeg on Saturday, May 8, and be a voice for the voiceless. We will send a message to traffickers that Canada will not tolerate the sale of our children.
Committees of the House April 26th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Health in relation to a motion adopted at the committee on Thursday, April 22, 2010 regarding the cancellation of the HIV vaccine manufacturing facility under the Canadian HIV vaccine initiative.
Petitions April 14th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I also have petitions here from my riding on Bill C-391, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act (repeal of long-gun registry). Many people in my riding want to see that happen.
Petitions April 14th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I also have a petition here on Bill C-384 calling upon the House of Commons to reject this bill that deals with euthanasia. Many people in my riding do not want to support this bill and I feel the same way.
Petitions April 14th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I have with me 1,500 signatures or more regarding my Bill C-268. People are encouraging the bill to become a law very soon. Many people are waiting for it so they have sent those petitions in.
CONTROLLED DRUGS AND SUBSTANCES ACT April 13th, 2010
Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking my hon. friend, the member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country. I am fully aware of his deep concern for the problems that methamphetamine and ecstasy inflict on Canadians. I commend him for drawing the attention of the House through his private member's bill to the complex difficulty caused by these drugs.
Unlike other better known drugs of abuse, such as heroin, cocaine or marijuana, crystal meth and ecstasy present some unique challenges. Both are synthetic drugs. They are not dependent on the cultivation of a crop. Their production requires no specialized skill or training. The precursor chemicals needed to produce these drugs are relatively easy to obtain and inexpensive to purchase. These factors make their production attractive to both the criminal trafficker and to the addicted user.
I will focus most of my comments on methamphetamine, but many of my observations also apply to ecstasy.
Crystal meth presents a threat to law enforcement authorities. Peace officers must combat both small toxic labs as well as super labs, which are primarily controlled by drug trafficking organizations.
The small labs produce relatively small amounts of methamphetamine and are generally not affiliated with major trafficking organizations. A number of factors have served as catalysts for the spread of small labs, including the presence of recipes easily accessible over the Internet. Indeed, widespread use of the Internet has facilitated the dissemination of technology used to manufacture methamphetamine in small labs. This form of information sharing allows wide dissemination of these techniques to anyone with Internet access.
Aside from marijuana, crystal meth is the only widely abused illegal drug that is capable of easily being produced by the abuser. Given the relative ease with which manufacturer cooks are able to acquire recipes and ingredients, and the unsophisticated nature of the production process, it is easy to see why this highly addictive drug is spreading.
Other factors which serve to spread the use of small labs include the availability of the ingredients needed to produce crystal meth. The ingredients are available in many over-the-counter cold medications and common household products found at retail stores. These items include rock salt, battery acid, red phosphorus road flares, pool acid and iodine crystals which can be used as sources of the necessary chemicals. They also include relatively common items such as mason jars, coffee filters, hot plates, pressure cookers, pillowcases, plastic tubing, gas cans and the like, which a clandestine lab operator can use in the manufacturing process for crystal meth.
Crystal meth use, production and distribution is regulated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, CDSA. Production, possession, trafficking for the purpose of trafficking and/or exportation, and importation and/or exportation, with certain exceptions, are illegal in Canada.
Law enforcement efforts to combat the methamphetamine phenomenon have been aided by two recent initiatives. Until 2005, crystal meth was listed under schedule III of the CDSA, a schedule that carries a lower level of maximum penalties for possession, trafficking, production, importing and exporting, from three to seven years. In August 2005, crystal meth was moved to schedule I of the CDSA. Under this schedule the maximum penalty for possession is seven years, while life imprisonment could be sought for trafficking, producing, importing and/or exporting, or possession for the purpose of export.
Precursors used in the manufacture of crystal meth are also controlled by the CDSA and the precursor control regulations. These regulations, which came into effect in 2003, gave tools to monitor and control the sale and/or provision, import, export, production and packaging of precursors frequently used in the production of illicit drugs.
As it currently exists, only licensed dealers may sell class A precursors, such as ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, except in small amounts in pharmaceutical products. A person found guilty of importing, exporting, or possession for the purpose of export without the proper authorization is liable to 10 years' imprisonment for an indictable offence, or 18 months' imprisonment upon summary conviction.
More recently, the precursor control regulations were amended to list red and white phosphorus along with other substances as class A precursors. As a result of this change, a licence is required to sell or produce red phosphorus with permits required to import the precursor into the country.
Crystal meth can cause serious health problems because it is powerfully addictive to those who use it and because it can cause harm even to those who are not involved in its use or distribution. Crystal meth both changes and damages the brain. Meth abuse can result in serious behavioural troubles, psychotic symptoms and dangerous medical complications, such as cardiovascular problems, strokes and even death. Crystal meth addiction is a chronic relapsing disease that is notoriously difficult to treat.
Dangers to health are not limited to those who use the drug. Those who suffer from the second-hand effects of crystal meth include victims of methamphetamine-related crimes: innocent children whose homes have been turned into clandestine lab sites; law enforcement officers and other first responders who work with the hazardous materials found at lab sites; and the environment, from the five to six pounds of toxic waste produced for every pound of crystal meth cooked.
The manufacture and use of crystal meth are not problems confined to Canada but ones that have spread to many regions of the world. In fact, the International Narcotics Control Board, INCB, noted in its 2005 report, “Precursors and Chemicals Frequently Used in the Illicit Manufacture of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances”, that the illicit manufacture of crystal meth is spreading throughout the world at an alarming rate.
Globally, the number of users of amphetamine-type stimulants, a majority of which use crystal meth, outnumber cocaine and heroin users combined. There is an estimated 26.2 million amphetamine-type stimulant users in the world compared to an estimated 13.7 million cocaine users and 10.6 million heroin users.
Specifically, the INCB indicated that the illicit manufacture of amphetamine-type stimulants and crystal meth in particular is spreading in North America and Southeast Asia, but also increasingly to other areas such as Africa, eastern Europe and Oceania. The report further stated that the spread of crystal meth is due to the simple manufacturing process and the availability of the required precursors.
I believe that international co-operation is an important element in combatting methamphetamine or what we know as crystal meth. Some of the most significant and successful international efforts to combat crystal meth have involved a series of enforcement initiatives worked jointly between law enforcement in Canada and the U.S. from the late 1990s to 2003. These enforcement initiatives were principally responsible for the significant reduction in the amount of pseudoephedrine entering the United States for use in Mexican-controlled super labs.
The hon. member has proposed a bill which extends the operation of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. This bill would prohibit the production, possession and sale of any substance, equipment or other material that is intended for use in production of or trafficking in methamphetamine and ecstasy.
I want to conclude by stating that I commend the intentions of the member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country and support the bill's principle of curbing the production and trafficking of crystal meth and ecstasy. These are very dangerous drugs and something drastic has to be done to prevent their sale and the second-hand effects on innocent people.
Jobs and Economic Growth Act April 12th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I want to clarify something. Perhaps I heard wrong, and I will double-check Hansard afterwards. I heard the member say that our government was using the EI fund for things other than what it was set up for. I might be mistaken because I have not looked at the blues but I want to clarify whether that is what was said in this House. In actual fact, the EI fund is used for what it is supposed to be used for, which is helping people who need it.
In 2011, the CEIFB, which is an independent, arm's length commission, will be dealing solely with this fund.
Did I hear that the EI fund was being misused by our government? If that is what I heard, it is totally untrue. Perhaps the member was referring to what happened under the previous government.
Pay Equity Task Force Recommendations Act April 12th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, in his speech today the Leader of the Opposition said that our government has done nothing for aboriginal women. I work very closely with Grand Chief Ron Evans and the aboriginal women and men across this country.
Earlier this year our government gave $100,000 for a conference that was held in Winnipeg on missing women. In addition to that, this money was also used for education materials to help people understand what happens when predators target children.
I am wondering whether the opposition leader knew of this initiative that was so important and why he would not be a bit more careful in his comments instead of being so partisan because our government has done a lot of work.
Jobs and Economic Growth Act April 1st, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I listened very carefully to what the member opposite said and I was very disappointed in her speech.
First, I heard a lot of criticism of the crime bills that have gone through Parliament. The Bloc has voted against virtually every crime bill, yet she talks about trying to make Canada safe.
On top of that, she talks about my city of Winnipeg. I know all those people and they told me, after she came back from the justice committee, that she spent 90% of her time on her BlackBerry, not listening. I know what goes on in Winnipeg and I know the many different programs that are there for these children. I also know we have the largest number of women who have disappeared or who are abused.
The people wonder why she did not support the human trafficking bill, which they supported and told her that at committee. After this so-called emotional speech in Parliament, how does she square that with what the public has told me in Winnipeg?