Marlene Jennings

[Firearms Registry, September 19th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we are very pleased to say that the gun registry has been working really well.

The Canadian Firearms Centre has met the standards that it set for processing licence applications in 45 days and registration applications in 30 days. The Internet registration, which is free of charge, has had a major uptake by Canadians.

I think we can safely say that it is working and that Canadians support it.

[Foreign Affairs, September 19th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I find it amazing that the member across the way would cast aspersions on a police force, a law enforcement agency like the RCMP which is well respected here in Canada by ordinary Canadians and across the world.

This country, this government and our national law enforcement agency takes seriously any threats to national security and our force properly investigates when there is reason to believe that there is a threat to national security.

[Foreign Affairs, September 19th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as the member across the way knows very well, our RCMP is well respected in this country. There is an ongoing internal disciplinary hearing. We will not comment in order to ensure that it is fair.

In terms of foreign affairs, we work closely through the RCMP to ensure that any threat to national security is properly investigated.

[Jewish War Veterans, September 18th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, last Sunday, in a ceremony attended by several hundred people, the Montreal Jewish community unveiled a monument to Canadian Jews who fought in the two world wars.

Members of the Jewish War Veterans of Canada, Branch 97 of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Combined Jewish Appeal, presented the memorial located outside Cummings House in Montreal. It is the first such monument open to the public in Canada. As a symbol of the important role of Jews in our Canadian Montreal history, the monument is engraved in French, English and Hebrew.

Some 17,000 Jews fought in World War II alone; 430 of them died for this country. Always we shall remember all Canadians, including our Jewish Canadians, who fought protecting our country's interests overseas.

[Terrorism, September 15th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, last week marked the second anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

On that tragic day two years ago Canadians displayed their generosity of spirit, sense of community and the strong bonds of friendship we share with our American neighbours.

Fighting terrorism means protecting Canadians at home and abroad and confronting the disparities that exist between rich and poor nations. That is why our Canadian Forces are leading the way in the global fight against terrorism.

Canada is a society based on diversity, tolerance and respect where all citizens from all backgrounds live in harmony. Never, in recent history, has that been more apparent than after September 11.

We will always remember the lives of the 24 Canadians who perished on that terrible day.

[Millennium Scholarships, June 13th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the Millennium Scholarship Foundation has recently announced the names of 120 young Quebeckers who are Millennium Excellence Award recipients for the 2003-04 academic year.

It is with great pleasure that I inform this House that two recipients of the millennium excellence awards are students at Lower Canada College, an institution located in my riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine.

Congratulations to Akil Alleyne and Alypervaez Harji for winning this award which attests to their dedication and enthusiasm for all forms of excellence.

These awards, created by the federal government, are given out to students who have excelled in high school, who have been active in their communities and who have demonstrated an interest for innovation.

In short, these young Canadians are our leaders for tomorrow.

[Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre Museum, June 9th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to the attention of all my colleagues the inauguration of the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre Museum. I had the privilege to attend this solemn, yet hopeful, ceremony last night.

The Holocaust is perhaps the darkest and most horrific moment of humanity's long history. Millions of Jews were mercilessly sent to concentration camps to be brutally murdered for the sole crime of being Jewish. The museum will show the Holocaust through the eyes of those who have lived and experienced it.

If I consider this event to be a source of hope, it is because the Holocaust museum will remind future generations of the terrible cost of intolerance and hate toward others.

Here in Canada, the sad lessons of the Holocaust will not be soon forgotten. I want to congratulate all the organizers of this event and wish them the best of success for the future.

[National Fight Against Homophobia Day, June 4th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that the City of Montreal has declared June 4, 2003, National Fight Against Homophobia Day.

I am proud to say that gay rights have made much progress within Quebec and indeed within all of Canada, yet homophobia is still quite present in our society and even at times in this very House. Mark my words, one day homophobia will be considered much like racism and sexism: a hateful expression of one's own prejudices.

Canada has a deserved reputation for its appreciation of diversity and difference. That is why I invite all Canadians to join together in celebrating National Fight Against Homophobia Day.

Finally, I would like to congratulate Fondation Émergence, which has worked hard for recognition of this important day. Your work is important and this House appreciates it.

[Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, May 28th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the member that when I talked about the $513 million which was allocated in the 2001 budget, the government in that amount committed $59 million in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear training for first responders over six years as well as $12 million ongoing. In addition, the government committed $10 million for the purchase of equipment that first responders need in order to deal with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies. As I mentioned, over the past two years firefighters have received $5 million to purchase that kind of counterterrorism related equipment.

As well, I mentioned that the government is working with the provinces to develop a long term chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear training program for first responders based on the training needs and priorities first responders themselves have identified at the local level, and the first pilot project of training has actually taken place.

[Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, May 28th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I wish thank the member for Burnaby--Douglas for raising the issue of government funding to train Canadian firefighters to respond effectively to acts of terrorism on Canadian soil.

I am happy to inform him that the government does indeed recognize the critical role of firefighters in responding to terrorism, particularly acts of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorism, otherwise known as CBRN terrorism.

In a terrorist incident firefighters, together with the police, emergency medical services and hospitals, are on the frontlines working to ensure public safety and security. Our government agrees with the member for Burnaby--Douglas that in order for these first responders, including firefighters, to do their job effectively they need adequate training.

Before the 2001 budget was brought down, the federal government held consultations with almost all the provinces to discuss how we could combine our efforts to strengthen the ability of our country to fight terrorism. Many people attended these meetings, including a large number of firefighters.

The results of these consultations were fed directly into the preparatory work that went into the 2001 budget which, and I ask the member for Burnaby—Douglas to listen carefully, allocated $513 million over five years to strengthen national response capability for CBRN terrorism, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism. This included funding for equipment and training for first responders, including firefighters.

As well, the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness, OCIPEP, has responsibility for overseeing the allocation of the funding and has in place a federal-provincial program to cost share the purchase of CBRN related equipment. To date firefighters have received $5 million over the past two years to purchase CBRN related counterterrorism equipment.

OCIPEP was also given the responsibility for developing a national training strategy in collaboration with other departments. The training program, which is being developed in close consultation with experts from the participating federal departments as well as first responder subject matter experts, will include four levels: introductory, basic, intermediate and advanced.

Pilot presentations of both the introductory and basic courses have already been held, with the intermediate courses to follow. Feedback from first responders on the pilot courses has been extremely positive.

Training will be harmonized in order to ensure the effectiveness of the programs, including interoperability and avoiding overlaps.

When the training program was being developed, an in-depth review was done of the current chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism training programs in Canada and the United States. I can also assure the hon. member for Burnaby—Douglas that firefighter training needs were taken into consideration in the development of the course.