Lynne Yelich

[Serious Time for the Most Serious Crime Act, October 5th, 2010]

moved that Bill S-6, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and another Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Business of Supply, September 28th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, because it has been suggested that people do not feel threatened if they do not fill out the long census form, I am wondering how many court cases there are. I know there is one in Saskatchewan that is going before the courts again this fall. The lady did not fill out the form, and for the benefit of the opposition, who claim that this is a political move we are making, she has made it quite clear that she does not vote Conservative. It is the only policy of the Conservatives she has ever agreed with. She has to fight this in the courts.

I would like the minister to comment on that.

[Fairness for Military Families (Employment Insurance) Act, June 16th, 2010]

moved that Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act, be read the third time and passed.

[Multiple Sclerosis, June 14th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, I come from a province that has one of the highest instances of MS in the country. At least at one time we were awarded that title. I think it probably still holds true because in my own community there is a high incidence of it.

Referring to the point the member had made about the fact that he was in government and in cabinet, he would understand why the minister would want to work with the provinces a little more closely.

In my province of Saskatchewan, where the incidence is high, there will be a lot of pressure on our minister of health to address this issue. The minister, Don McMorris, said that this treatment had created a lot of excitement but added that more work needed to be done to prove its efficacy.

Many of the experts, scientists and provincial ministers of health have testified that although the experimental treatment offers much hope, more research and technique needs to be done.

The minister is working as quickly as she can with the provincial ministers, but I think the member would want to advise us to work closely with the provincial ministers and not circumvent what might be necessary as far as more research and identifying whether this research works. Would the member agree with that?

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2010, May 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I want to go back to one of the comments the member made. He stated that the Liberals did not raise any taxes and when they took office they had a huge deficit. The Liberals were elected on their promise to get rid of the GST. They also said that they were going to tear up the free trade deal with the United States. Those two things alone are probably why they got out of deficit. They also took $25 billion from the provinces, and that is how they balanced the budget.

When the member goes on about his government not really raising taxes, I just want to correct the record. In a way they did because they were going to get rid of the GST. That was a promise they were elected on. They also were elected on a red book that said they were going to have a child care program, which they never did have.

I am just wondering if the member recalls any of that.

[Regional Development, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his question and his renewed interest in the west. It has been over 11 months since he has asked about the west.

In that 11 months we have invested in over 718 RInC projects and 241 CAP projects. Over 7,700 jobs have been created in the west through our economic action plan.

While the member gets up to speed, we are delivering results for the west.

[Criminal Code, May 3rd, 2010]

moved that Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Keeping Canadians Safe (International Transfer of Offenders) Act, April 22nd, 2010]

Madam Speaker, the member said this was all about a whim. Bill C-5 is about ensuring the Minister of Public Safety may consider public safety as part of the decision making process for the transfer of offenders. The bill includes a factor that in the opinion of the Minister of Public Safety the offender's return to Canada would endanger public safety. It would allow the minister to consider, among other things, the safety of victims, the safety of the child and the safety of members in the offender's family, factors such as whether the offender was likely to continue criminal activity in Canada.

These are the principles on which the minister would base his opinion. It is far from being a whim, opinions such as an offender in poor health, or has co-operated with law officials or has acknowledged harm done to victims and communities. Those are the factors not whims that the minister would use in his discretionary power. These are sensible changes and they are about their commitment to protect the rights of victims or commitment to increase the responsibility of offenders.

There is nothing wrong with increasing the responsibility of the offenders. It is a part that the member does not speak to at all. When he speaks about the whim of a minister, it is not about the strength the minister has, it is about strengthening our commitment for the rights of victims.

I would like to know where he thinks that there is a not a responsibility of offenders. What about making our communities safer as a whole?

[Ending Conditional Sentences for Property and Other Serious Crimes Act, October 20th, 2009]

moved that Bill C-42, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Business of Supply, October 1st, 2009]

Madam Speaker, the chair of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary said that it is federal government funding that makes projects possible for small communities, otherwise they would not be able to carry out these programs. The lights in the town of Vauxhall's community complex will burn brighter and more effectively in the near future.

They want to thank the federal government for what we have done with the stimulus package, which allows small rural communities across the country to access funds to make their communities more viable.