Leon Benoit

[Immigration, November 18th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the minister simply did not answer the question.

The situation in British Columbia with the Honduran drug dealers proves that this is a serious situation. These people file refugee claims and then start selling drugs days after arriving in the country. They are caught, charged, convicted and, eventually, deportation orders are issued. However, by that time the immigration minister has no idea where to find them.

When will the immigration minister ever learn? Why is the Liberal government letting convicted foreigners, who are criminals and who have been ordered deported, just walk free?

[Immigration, November 18th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the federal court has ruled that foreigners serving sentences in Canadian prisons are entitled to the same rights as Canadians. This means that even if criminals are under orders to be deported they can apply for unescorted day parole.

There is only one way to prevent these criminals from being released. Immigration officials must convince the IRB that they are likely to disappear.

Will the immigration minister promise today that she will fight every single request for parole, or will she just let them all walk free?

[Farm Income Protection Act, November 18th, 1999]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-327, an act to amend the Farm Income Protection Act (crop damage by gophers).

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to introduce this bill regarding an issue which costs western farmers millions of dollars a year. The bill requires the federal government to compensate farmers where they have losses to crops due to harm done by such rodents as gophers because the poison which they normally use to control these pests has been removed for reasons such as environmental protection and so on. Gopher damage costs western farmers millions of dollars a year. It is a serious issue.

I look forward to having the bill drawn and for this protection to be given to farmers. They have had their tools removed from them which has caused this damage and this clearly should not have been done.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Petitions, November 5th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to present a petition on behalf of constituents who believe that the reference to God should remain in the preamble of the charter of rights and freedoms because the preamble acts as a foundation to the charter and subsequent sections are based on facts set forth in the preamble.

The petitioners therefore petition and pray that parliament oppose any amendments to the charter of rights and freedoms or any other legislation which would provide for the exclusion of the reference to the supremacy of God in our constitution or in legislation.

[Immigration, November 5th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of immigration.

“Canada's revolving door refugee system is a charade, puts an undue strain on Canadian taxpayers and constitutes a scandalous abuse of our border”. These are not my words but the words of federal court judge Donna McGillis. This judge is only telling the minister exactly what she has been told before by many Canadians. Why will she not listen?

[Immigration, November 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the minister knows about this case. I am not talking about what is going on in the hearing. I am talking about the minister's department ignoring the IRB's request in this case. Her own official, Dale Lewis, broke the law. He deliberately ignored a summons to appear before the IRB and others have now indicated that they will not appear either. The minister's own department does not respect the process.

Will the minister instruct all individuals who have been ordered to appear to be at the IRB hearing tomorrow, or will she continue to allow her department to operate outside the law?

[Immigration, November 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, last November immigration official Dale Lewis ripped Adnan Khan's four year old child from him at gunpoint even though Adnan had legal custody of the child. Lewis did this after only one hour of investigation based on information from only one source, the estranged wife. He has since admitted under oath that he should not have done it and that he had not done a proper investigation.

Why is the minister allowing her department to continue with hearings months after her own official has said there is no case?

[Immigration, November 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, last November, immigration enforcement officer Dale Lewis took a man's four year old son from him at gun point. This followed a one hour of investigation into allegations made by one source; the man's estranged wife.

Adnan Khan had legal custody of his son but Dale Lewis refused to even look at the evidence. The child has not been seen since and the father has no idea where his child is.

At a subsequent hearing, Lewis admitted under oath that if he had done his job properly he would never have taken the child in the first place. To avoid further embarrassment, Lewis disobeyed a summons to appear at a hearing on October 21. Furious, the adjudicator then ordered summonses for all the top managers involved in this case who have since indicated that they will not appear.

The department is clearly determined to see that justice is not done in this case.

I challenge the minister to attend tomorrow's hearings so that she can see how unfairly Mr. Khan is being treated by her department.

[Justice, October 28th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday a British judge ordered seven jail terms ranging between seven and fourteen years for the crime of people smuggling which has been likened to the new day slave trade.

Since 1995 out of 12 convictions for the crime of people smuggling in Canada, not one jail term was handed out. I repeat that of the 12 convicted of people smuggling, not one of them was sentenced to a single day in jail.

England got tough. The United States got tough. Australia got tough. This government by its lack of action has made Canada a primary target for people smugglers. Why?

[Petitions, October 27th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my constituents and others I am happy to present a petition which expresses concern over the court decision in British Columbia which has made the possession of child pornography legal and concern that it is spreading across Canada. The petitioners are calling for the notwithstanding clause of the charter to be invoked. As the notwithstanding clause exists, it should be used to strike down this decision until the issue can be dealt with by the Parliament of Canada.