Peter MacKay

[Aboriginal Affairs, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there has been no government more firmly committed to taking action on violence against women and girls, against women on reserve, against those who have suffered violence, including young women like Loretta Saunders. What we do not need is any pause in the ongoing efforts of the government to attack violence at its core. That means tougher laws and sanctions for those who commit offences. It means more programming, more education, more opportunities on reserve. It does not necessitate more study. We have had over 40 now, including the one just completed by Parliament. So I say to the hon. member, while talk and advocating for more studies is one thing, taking action, what this government is doing—

[Aboriginal Affairs, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I said no such thing, nothing even remotely resembling what she has put forward in her question. What I have said is that we have some 40 reports already tabled. In fact, what we have now, as referenced by the member for St. Paul's, is a 41st report dealing with these issues, all of which direct and call upon all levels of government to do more about violence and to do more in programming, which is exactly what our government is doing.

Rather than having more talks and studies and inquiries, we need action. That is what the government is doing. That is what her party is opposing.

[Aboriginal Affairs, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to stop the action and the forward-looking policies of this government to stop and have an inquiry. I want to say that we will keep doing what we have been doing.

We will continue with policies like ending house arrest for sexual assault, strengthening sentences for child sex offences, toughening the penalties for those who import, produce, and traffic in date rape drugs, and the list goes on.

We have tabled some 30 bills in the House of Commons and have taken numerous initiatives across the country to directly invest in programs that help women and girls, especially those on reserve. What we do not need now is to stop and talk and study. We need more action, and I think the hon. member would agree with that.

[Points of Order, March 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, they will be tabled in five minutes.

[Points of Order, March 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I wonder if I could get unanimous consent from the members opposite. To an issue arising in question period today, I would like to table the initiatives that we have taken as a government to address murdered and missing women, the 40 reports that have now been completed in the last number of years and the over 30 justice and public safety bills that relate specifically to violence against women and girls. Do I have unanimous consent?

[Aboriginal Affairs, March 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, again I say to my hon. friend, with the greatest respect, the biggest mistake that we could make on this issue would be to spend more time studying it. Those studies have told us we need stronger criminal justice initiatives. We need more substantive tools for police to investigate violent crime, to hold offenders accountable. We need more programs directly on-reserve to help with aboriginal justice issues. We need to do more to protect women and girls in this country. That is exactly what this government is doing and I sincerely urge the hon. member to support those initiatives rather than to simply talk about the issue.

[Aboriginal Affairs, March 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, each and every one of these cases that the member cited, I can assure her, the police are investigating. The police are doing their job, and we are helping them by putting in place a national centre for missing persons, creating a national website for missing persons, improving law-enforcement databases, developing community safety plans with aboriginal communities, supporting the development of public awareness materials, and ending house arrest for serious crimes like sexual assault. We brought in mandatory minimum penalties for serious crimes, ended the faint hope clause, toughened penalties for production of pornography and date rape drugs, and ended two-for-one sentences for sexual offence court. We are—

[Aboriginal Affairs, March 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the member cares deeply about this issue, as do all members. I say to her honestly that this is well past the time for more studies and inquiries. There have been almost 40 in this country in the last number of years.

We are taking action. We are putting tougher sanctions in place. We are giving police more tools to investigate crimes like the death of Loretta Saunders. As the member has asked for, we are putting more programs in place to support women and girls on reserve. We are taking substantive action to help address this issue, not study it, not talk about it. We are taking action that gets results.

[Aboriginal Affairs, March 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the death of Loretta Saunders is an undeniable tragedy for her family and for all.

Let us be clear. Our government has passed over 30 justice and public safety initiatives aimed specifically at responding to violence. The individuals involved in this terrible tragedy have been arrested. They are in custody. That is a justice system that works.

We are holding offenders more accountable. We are putting more money into initiatives to help defray this type of behaviour in society. We are putting more money into aboriginal justice initiatives on reserve, and the members opposite continually oppose us.

[Aboriginal Affairs, March 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, while others advocate for more studies, this government is acting. We have taken significant steps already, directly aimed at addressing violence. We have given the police more tools, are establishing a new national centre for missing persons, have committed to a new DNA databank for missing persons, enhanced the Canadian Police Information Centre, and created a national website to help older missing and murdered cases match with remains.

We continue to give the police the tools and increase the laws to sanction violence against women and girls, and this member opposes them.