Marc Lemay

[Telecommunications Act, October 19th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I listened very closely to my colleague from the government side. He must know what I want to ask him.

We were told that the gun registry would cost only $2 million, but then the cost went up to $20 million, and now it is $200 million shy of $2 billion. It is at $1.8 billion.

In my riding, there is a telemarking company called Proximédia. This company is not against the goals and objectives proposed in the bill. However, through me, it would like to know from the government what guarantees we have that the costs will not escalate, given the fact that the first year of application will be handled by the CRTC. Then it will be at the expense of the companies.

After the excesses in the gun registry and other excesses that are too many to mention, what guarantees can I give Proximédia, a company in my riding, that there will not be such an excess during the two, three, four, five or six years it might take to implement this program?

[Telecommunications Act, October 19th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, allow me to congratulate my colleague on the excellent work that he has done in committee, particularly on this telemarketing bill.

In my riding of Abitibi—Témiscamingue, mainly in Rouyn-Noranda, there is a telemarketing firm called Proximédia. It hires many casual employees. I was asked to pose a question concerning a business such as Proximédia, which is just a few years old. What rules will this bill impose on a regional business to allow it to grow? Is there a risk that the regulations provided for in this bill will be so strict that a small business, which still has 130 employees, will be forced to close because it will no longer be able to compete with businesses elsewhere?

I wonder if my colleague can answer this question. What rules will be imposed? Does this bill propose to implement specific regulations that will allow businesses such as Proximédia, in my riding, to continue to grow?

[Criminal Code, October 17th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his very interesting question. It may not be a cure-all, but it is a good part of the solution. Bill C-49 is a good step in the right direction. But we must also give quick passage to Bill C-53, providing for the reversal of onus. This bill will be debated in this House very shortly.

If we want to fight organized crime, this bill will enable us to go after those who traffic white slaves or workers, or those currently involved in modern day slavery, as I said earlier.

This kind of slavery is a lucrative business, the proceeds of which are often used to buy big mansions, snowmobiles and what not. When the time comes to convict the offenders, we will need the last piece of the puzzle, namely Bill C-53, to reverse the onus of proof. It will require offenders who have been convicted to prove that the money is not the proceeds of the crime they committed, more specifically trafficking in persons.

I hasten to conclude by answering the second question. Indeed, police protection could be provided to witnesses. What is commonly known as witness protection, more specifically in connection with organized crime, will be available.

[Criminal Code, October 17th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague. I was not expecting this question, which makes me think about one of the matters for which I am responsible. I do not have it with me, but I know it by heart.

It is true that people operate now using all these chat rooms on the Internet. You go to these sites and you chat, as it is called, by typing messages with someone on the Internet.

One of my clients was victimized by this kind of thing. She found herself in one of the countries of the Maghreb, which I will not name in order to avoid any possibility of her being recognized, washing dishes when she had been promised that she would be a hostess for a so-called prince or oil minister. To get her out of that country took us more than two years of activity. What she told us after getting out was truly incredible.

We hope that this bill will make it possible for victims to complain, for their complaints to be heard and analyzed, and most importantly, for victims to be protected.

Organized crime today uses many systems, especially the Internet. People from Australia, Denmark, Finland, the former eastern bloc countries, people from all over the world, can chat in the space of a minute. Dates are arranged that way. The government has to find ways to intercept these wrongdoers or, at the very least, when a complaint is filed, trace the steps back to the person who set the trap. There is no other word for it; it is a trap set for victims.

I personally doubt very much that Internet dates are so productive. Even though it has been confirmed that extraordinary encounters have taken place over the Internet, unfortunately many bad encounters have ended in the death or serious injury of one of the participants.

I will touch briefly on an incident that occurred in New York. A man ended up in a hotel room at a wild party with some people. Three days later, he was missing a kidney. He does not know who took it. This all came about because he responded to an invitation on the Internet to go to a party at a certain location.

We have to be extremely careful. I want to thank the hon. member for Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel for this question. By all accounts, having legislation in place will not resolve the problem. However, we are going to provide the tools for attacking this problem, but we still must be careful and pay attention to meetings that may be arranged over the Internet.

[Criminal Code, October 17th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. Minister of Justice. When I was one of his students, I would have liked to have seen my marks reflect the kind of praise he has just given me. I was not that bad, but there were others better than me, or so it seems.

That said, I want to pay tribute to the hon. Minister of Justice. He was, in my opinion, one of the best law professors his university ever had. I hope that the university will waste no time in acknowledging that. We are, nevertheless, on opposite sides politically, but we both believe in one thing: organized crime has been rampant for far too long in Quebec. In fact, it has made a lot of money for a certain category of publication.

People must not assume that we will just sit on our hands and wait, once this bill is passed. We will be demanding, insisting—the minister can count on it—that the government come up with the means for putting it into application and thus ensuring that organized crime will find obstacles in its path for what I call modern day slavery.

[Criminal Code, October 17th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who spoke before me on this issue. Let me begin by thanking the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, who introduced this bill that we debated and passed unanimously at the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

I am pleased to rise in this House for the first time to speak to a bill that was referred to the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, where I began to sit only a few weeks ago. We studied this bill very carefully.

I knew the hon. Minister of Justice in another life when he was a law professor at a famous university in Quebec, since he was one of my professors. The hon. minister could not possibly remember that, as it was a few decades ago.

His great sense of justice allows us to debate today a very important bill that will end modern-day slavery. This type of slavery is practised throughout the world, but in Canada in particular. This bill could provide us with arguments, elements and possibilities to at least deter this modern-day slavery.

I do not want to rehash the debate on whether we should impose minimum sentences or not, or what type of sentence the courts will hand down in light of the bill before us, that I hope will be passed very quickly. No, I do not want to do that.

I have a 30-year career in criminal law behind me. I worked as a defence lawyer over the past 20 years or so. It is now known that minimum sentences have not resolved anything. The minimum sentence for importing narcotics was seven years. That never stopped narcotics trafficking whatsoever.

Traffickers formed groups and we saw the arrival of the Hells Angels and other such criminal gangs. I do not have any statistics before me, but in my career, five or six of my clients were charged, but never sentenced to seven-year minimal sentences. Every possibility was explored, bargaining was used, cases were argued and nothing was resolved.

Under the bill before us, we will be eliminating modern-day slavery by creating “an offence of trafficking in persons that prohibits a person from engaging in specified acts for the purpose of exploiting or facilitating the exploitation of another person”. This bill will put an end to all of that.

This bill will “create an offence that prohibits a person from receiving a financial or other material benefit that they know results from the commission of the offence of trafficking in persons”.

It will “create an offence that prohibits concealing, removing, withholding or destroying travel documents or documents that establish or purport to establish another person’s identity or immigration status for the purpose of committing or facilitating the offence of trafficking in persons”.

Then, as if that were not enough, it will create an offence of causing another person “to provide, or offer to provide, labour or a service by engaging in conduct that, in all the circumstances, could reasonably be expected to cause the other person to believe that their safety or the safety of a person known to them would be threatened if they failed to provide, or offer to provide, the labour or service; or cause them, by means of deception or the use or threat of force or of any other form of coercion, to have an organ or tissue removed.”

To paraphrase that, which is not complicated, from this evening on—it is the hope of us all—anyone who causes another person from any country whatsoever to believe she can come to Canada and work as a babysitter or something else, and then takes away that person's passport and other papers and forces her into prostitution, will be punished. Those who do such things will have to realize that, starting this very night, the game is all over. Unless they take their business elsewhere, they are at risk of some serious jail time. We will make sure that their offences are heavily punished.

I think it is important to underscore this point: forcing someone to work or to provide services, sexual services for example, through behaviour that leads the victim to fear for his or her personal safety, or that of a loved one, if the demands are not met, is the definition of exploitation as far as human trafficking is concerned.

The legal roadblock over the years consisted in defining what constituted exploitation as far as human trafficking is concerned. That is exactly what it is.

This bill contains an important clause dealing with causing a person “by means of deception or the use or threat of force or of any other form of coercion, to have an organ or tissue removed”. It is not true that, in the future, someone who comes to our country can have a kidney removed for any reason. With this bill, this falls under human exploitation. I think it is important to emphasize that. It is one of the key points of this bill, which, as I said, will put an end to modern day slavery.

The victims are often deceived into or forced to work in the sex industry or to perform other kinds of forced labour. That will stop. It is unacceptable that, in Canada alone, more than 800 people are the victims of this new kind of slavery every year. This bill will put an end to that, starting tonight. We believe that it is essential that it be passed, and passed as soon as possible.

There have been reports and studies. The first report, the UN report on trafficking in women published in 2000, indicates that Canada is among the top 30 destination countries for human trafficking. Starting tonight, Canada, Quebec and the other provinces could be taken off that list. It sends a chill up my spine to think that Canada could be one of the top 30 destination countries for human trafficking in recent years. We do hope that this bill will be given quick passage.

Among the issues raised in this 2000 report was the fact that, more often than not, the victims do not expose their employers because, for one thing, once identified by the authorities, they will not be allowed to remain in their country of adoption in order to seek protection or demand redress.

Based on the information provided to us in committee, we believe that this bill will ensure that steps are taken so that the victims of trafficking—and I am addressing my remarks to them—are no longer afraid to expose those who have been holding them hostage or maintaining them in forced slavery for far too long.

As if this were not enough, the International Labour Organization produced a report in which it was estimated that there are at least 2,450,000 people in the world who are kept in situations of forced labour. These people are forced under physical and psychological threats to prostitute themselves or to work for little or no pay in the construction or agricultural sectors.

As of this evening, this will be a thing of the past in Canada. We hope this bill will be passed at the earliest opportunity, and we feel there is a consensus among members of the House to put an end to this exploitation, to this modern day slavery.

Indeed, the United States did pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which created new offences, but it was time for us to do the same. This is very important legislation. Bill C-49 is a major piece in the puzzle to fight organized crime. It is a good start and it has the great merit of adding to the tools needed to prosecute individuals involved in the trafficking in persons.

However, since this human trafficking is often run by criminal organizations, it becomes just as urgent to amend the Criminal Code so as to create a reversal of the burden of proof as regards proceeds of crime. This will be another issue, another piece of the puzzle. The House will deal again with this issue very soon. I am referring to Bill C-53, which we also want to be passed at the earliest opportunity. Once it is passed—and here it is the defence lawyer who is speaking—it will give police officers other means to fight organized crime, which has made too many victims in this country, particularly in Quebec.

If I may, I would like to pay tribute to the hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, who is the Bloc Québécois critic on justice, human rights and public safety. My colleague has done a tremendous job regarding the two issues relating to Bill C-49 and Bill C-53. He has been working on these two issues for close to two years. At last, we will begin to move forward, one step at a time. This evening we will be making a step forward with Bill C-49.

Bill C-49, which is before us, will say three things when it is passed by the Senate and ratified by the Governor General. We know that there are two bills currently on the Prime Minister's desk that have yet to come into force. It is probably because there is a shortage of funds somewhere. However, I think that this is a false pretext. Given the budgetary surpluses of this government, the hon. Minister of Justice will be able to argue that the fight against organized crime is essential and important. We must give our police forces the means to implement the fight against organized crime.

As a result of amendments to the bill, human trafficking or profiting from human trafficking will be illegal. This affects all those involved directly or indirectly in such trafficking.

I am thinking of agricultural workers who are brought over and exploited on farms. This would carry a prison sentence. We will punish and launch legal proceedings against anyone who destroys or conceals identity documents in order to facilitate human trafficking.

In conclusion, I was extremely pleased to have taken part in the debate on this bill. The Bloc Québécois will support it without reservation. However, it will ask the Minister of Justice to ensure that this bill comes into force as soon as possible, so that we have the means to effectively and radically fight this crime.

I come from a region called Abitibi—Témiscamingue, where admittedly there is little to no human trafficking. In any case, I have not heard a great deal about it in the last 50 years. However, this phenomenon exists not only in mid-size and large urban centres in Quebec and Canada, but throughout the world.

Canada must be a leader and a model in this area. This evening, we have the opportunity to adopt a bill that will put Canada in the position to call upon other nations to follow our lead and put a stop to this unacceptable form of modern slavery in our world today. So I am calling on the House to pass this bill as soon as possible.

[Mélanie Turgeon, October 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, Mélanie Turgeon, that outstanding athlete and native of Alma, in the Lac St-Jean region, has just confirmed her retirement from alpine ski competition.

This determined sportswoman has shown remarkable courage throughout her career, as she has achieved the goals she set for herself.

In a field traditionally dominated by Europeans, Mélanie has managed, with her rare determination, not only to get a foot on the medal podium, but to return there event after event.

Mélanie Turgeon has done a great deal for alpine skiing, in Quebec, in Canada and internationally. The Bloc Québécois salutes this remarkable athlete and her remarkable career. We know she will continue to guide young Quebec skiers as they fulfil their own dreams.

Thank you, Mélanie, for all the high points and excitement you have shared with us over the years.

[Wage Earner Protection Program Act, October 5th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, I listened intently to my learned colleague. I have a question for my colleague from Chambly—Borduas, who made a very good speech. I want to pay tribute to him. I saw him work on several files, among others, the Program for Older Worker Adjustment, which we want to re-establish. The Bloc will put enormous pressure on the House to have it restored, because it is necessary.

I have a question to ask my colleague concerning the bill before us. I would like him to tell us about student bankruptcy. After receiving loans and grants or following other arrangements with the federal government, they quite often cannot pay the government back. I would like my colleague to tell the House about this. I would like to know what his position is about this to see whether it goes as far as that of the Bloc Québécois.

[Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, October 3rd, 2005]

Madam Speaker, I have a question for my colleague. I have listened to the debate and I am interested in what will happen after the fact. When a public service employee decides to use this legislation and files a complaint against someone within his or her own department, someone close to him or her, I am wondering if it would not be appropriate for that person to benefit from what we would call precautionary cessation of work. That person could be kept away from the workplace until the complaint is examined and settled, with full compensation of course so that he or she can live a decent life in the meantime. That was my first question. I do not know if there are such provisions in the bill; I have not seen anything like that. Perhaps my colleague could clarify this for me.

My second question is even more important. One of our colleagues mentioned this earlier: what happens if the complaint is settled, if the person comes back to work, whether or not blame was assigned to his or her immediate employer, and a few months later, the immediate employer takes revenge on that person by subjecting him or her to psychological harassment or by other means? Should this possibility not be provided for in the legislation? My colleague will introduce a private member's bill, but should there not be some kind of protection against that in the bill?

[41st Quebec Summer Games, September 28th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to inform the House that the finals of the 41st Quebec summer games, held in Amos, in the heart of my riding, from August 5 to 13, were a resounding success.

The Amos region, which boasts a population of approximately 25,000, hosted nearly 4,000 athletes, 800 attendants, 400 officials, 250 heads of delegations, approximately 250 missionaries and over 12,000 visitors. This celebration of sports participation for our young athletes was made possible thanks to 3,900 volunteers who devoted their skills, know-how and time to ensuring the success of each competition and cultural event.

On behalf of my Bloc Québécois colleagues, I want to congratulate the athletes and send a special thank you to the organizing committee, which mobilized everyone in our community and proved that success is possible in the regions.