Pam Damoff

[Indigenous Affairs, May 13th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I commend the hon. member for her work on this issue. It is indeed a pleasure to work with her to ensure that all the calls for justice are implemented, in particular when it comes to the RCMP.

I want to thank the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action for the report it put out reaffirming gender-based violence within the RCMP.

We are calling for accelerated programs, with a more autonomous Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution. We are also investing in first nations policing and taking steps that will ensure indigenous women are safe in our country.

[Health, May 13th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, we have gone to a question that included misinformation, and I really am concerned about that.

ArriveCAN is an essential and intuitive tool to protect Canadians. We have streamlined the reopening process.

As the hon. member knows, travel is up. It takes only a few minutes for vaccinated travellers to complete this. To conflate it with privacy issues is really troubling.

[Public Safety, May 13th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, it obviously is an issue, and that is why we have been taking action on it. I have had the pleasure of working with this colleague on the public safety committee to table a report on guns and gangs. It includes a comprehensive approach, which is what our government is taking.

We are investing in communities to reduce gun crime. We are working closely with municipalities, like Laval, to provide funding over five years to bolster gang prevention and intervention programming. We are also investing in CBSA to stop firearms from crossing at the border.

[Public Safety, May 13th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, this is the fourth time I have stood up here and been accused of doing nothing. I take great offence, due to the fact that this government is taking concrete steps that will actually make a difference to keeping Canadians safe, rather than playing politics on the issue of guns and just parroting the lines from the gun lobby.

[Public Safety, May 13th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, rather than playing political games around gun violence, we are taking concrete action to keep communities safe and keep the citizens of Canada safe, and we are taking a comprehensive approach to firearms. It is one that includes investing in communities, investing in housing, and investing in ensuring that guns are not crossing the border by investing in CBSA. When the Conservatives were in government, they cut CBSA. We have reinvested to keep the guns from coming into Canada.

[Public Safety, May 13th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, our government is firmly committed to building safer communities. To reduce gun crime, we must address the social conditions that lead youth to join gangs. That is why we are working closely with municipalities in Quebec and across the country, and with indigenous communities, to provide $250 million over five years to bolster gang prevention and intervention programs.

I would remind Conservatives that when we studied Bill C-71, they put forward amendments that would have removed punishment for making a false statement to provide a licence, tampering with licences, unauthorized possession of ammunition and more.

[Public Safety, May 13th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, we are always disturbed when we hear of people who have lost their lives to gun violence. In fact, the burden of injury from gun violence is something that is of a concern. It is a public health concern to all Canadians.

Our approach to firearms is one of common-sense safety measures, and these measures that were introduced this week would keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, codify businesses' due diligence practices and support law enforcement in tracing efforts. It is another tool in our arsenal to keep communities safe.

[Age-Related Macular Degeneration, May 13th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, my dad developed age-related macular degeneration, and I saw what a life-changing development that was.

Age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is an incurable disease that affects close to 2.5 million Canadians over the age of 50. It causes damage to the central part of the retina responsible for central vision, robbing Canadian seniors of their expected quality of life. However, there is hope that a new, non-invasive treatment currently awaiting Health Canada approval could positively impact the millions of Canadians who live with AMD and could result in Canada playing an important role in managing the disease globally.

Please join me in raising awareness of AMD and supporting the close to 2.5 million Canadian seniors living with this cruel disease.

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 11th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP databases do not capture the number of people “arrested” but rather the charges laid. That said, the information is manually entered by police officers into our systems using a free-text field, resulting in wording discrepancies, including the omission of drug/substance-related charges and/or the use of alternate wording, for example, the use of “distribution” rather than “trafficking”. In order to respond to this question, an extensive manual search of all RCMP databases would have to be conducted, which could not be completed within the established timelines.

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 9th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to bringing forward a buyback program in early 2023 that offers fair compensation to affected owners and businesses while making sure implementation and management are done in a safe and cost-effective manner. This commitment was reaffirmed in the November 2021 Speech from the Throne and the most recent mandate letter for the Minister of Public Safety. Government officials are currently in the process of refining requirements and developing program and implementation options for cabinet consideration.

The government is equally committed to providing parliamentarians and Canadians with information on the design of the buyback program, including collection and transportation, processing facility, compensation, and destruction or deactivation, as it becomes available.