Peter MacKay

[Justice, June 18th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, like my friend from Calgary, I have spoken to many victims and heard their concerns. It is why we have passed over 30 justice bills in this place, including the victims bill of rights. Our proposed bill would help ensure that the worst of the worst offenders, those who kill police officers, prison guards, who kill during a sexual assault, kidnapping or act of terrorism face severe consequences, including the potential of imprisonment for life without parole.

Only this Conservative government can be counted on to give victims a voice and to protect our families and communities from violent criminals.

To you, Mr. Speaker, and all of my colleagues, I say goodbye, Godspeed, and enjoy the summer.

[Public Safety, June 18th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. gentleman will know, the Canadian Human Rights Act and several of its provincial counterparts, as well as the Criminal Code itself already recognize that discrimination on the basis of transsexualism, gender identity or expression is a form of sex discrimination. Section 718 of the Criminal Code specifically provides a non-exhaustive list of aggravating factors used to increase sentences, which includes sex, sexual orientation and/or any other similar factors.

Therefore, sufficient protection exists, as it should. I respect what the hon. member is attempting to do, but the reality is that the protections are there now.

[Justice, June 18th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, my question for the hon. lady is this. What does she have against facts and what does she have against keeping Canadians safe?

We have passed some 30 justice bills in the life of this Parliament and since we have taken office designed specifically to keep Canadians safe and to ensure that Canadians can have confidence in their justice system and security forces. Every step of the way, my hon. friend and her colleagues have chosen to oppose those efforts.

[Justice, June 18th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

The reality is that in fact a full 70% of the cases that are litigated in the country involving the federal government are won by the federal government, and 85% of those cases originate outside of the federal government.

With respect to their constitutionality, we have very talented people at the Department of Justice. I have full confidence in their assessments. We never bring bills before the House that do not meet that constitutional charter test.

[Justice, June 17th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the member has been an outspoken advocate on this issue for many years.

Impaired drivers pose a significant risk to Canadians. It is the number one criminal cause of death in Canada.

To make offenders more accountable for their crimes, we have introduced legislation to increase mandatory minimum penalties for many transportation offences, including impaired driving involving bodily harm or death. This would also increase efficiency for police officers to investigate impaired driving and for the prosecution to go forward with these serious cases.

I encourage all members of this House to support this important bill, which targets the scourge of impaired driving that is causing carnage on Canadian highways.

[Justice, June 16th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we intended to launch a consultation process in Canada. We made that promise.

This is a very important issue, an issue that touches lives in communities across this great country. We intend to have a very inclusive consultation. We expect to say more about this in the very near future.

I thank the hon. member for his interest in this important issue.

[Justice, June 16th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, again, we are very proud of what we have presented in this session. We have continued to work hard every day for Canadians.

We have had many bills with respect to public safety and justice that are aimed specifically at protecting Canadians' interests, and we will continue to do so. The members opposite may work hard to prevent those measures coming before Parliament, but we are going to continue to work.

The hon. member may be anxious to get out of here. He is going to have a hard time getting a job at Yuk Yuk's the way he has been acting.

[Justice, June 16th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I would simply ask the hon. member this. Does he just want to go back to his constituency early? Does he not want to work on the legislation that is currently before the House?

We intend to continue to work, whether it is presenting legislation, whether it is working in committees, whether it is showing up here to discuss the issues that matter. For us, what matters is protecting Canadians, their security, their economic security, working to protect and advance the rights of victims, ensuring that Canadians are feeling safe in their homes, that their incomes are protected, that they are paying less tax. We are building a better Canada. Show up for work.

[Justice, June 16th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said to the member's colleague, we have presented legislation throughout the life of this Parliament, presenting bills to protect victims, a victims bill of rights, cyber legislation under the justice department, bills that were presented to protect children from sexual predators, and now legislation that is designed specifically to protect Canadians from the carnage that occurs on our highways because of impaired drivers.

We intend to work until the very last day of Parliament. That is what Canadians expect. I encourage the hon. member to do the same thing.

[Justice, June 16th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague very much for her question.

We are very proud to introduce bills before Parliament to protect Canadians. We are especially proud of our efforts to protect victims in Canada. That is always a priority for our government.

We will continue to work even harder until the very last day of this Parliament. I encourage all of my colleagues to do the same.