Peter Van Loan

[Public Safety, March 31st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I reject the interpretation or understanding of the comments of the homeland security secretary that the member for Toronto Centre has adopted. She has made it quite clear that she views the northern border differently. That is why she requested a detailed briefing note on the conditions at the northern border.

We all agree that borders are borders and they serve the same function for the United States, but the issues at each border are very different. The secretary of homeland security is very much aware of that. I do not think the hon. member gives the Obama administration sufficient credit.

[Public Safety, March 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we believe it is important to give police all the tools they need to achieve justice and tackle crime. We intend to provide them with that.

[Public Safety, March 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know if the hon. member has noticed, but we have done a lot of things that were never done under the previous government to try to help the police to combat those gangs in British Columbia, including mandatory prison sentences for gun crimes, which their party dragged on and on. We had to threaten elections three times, I think, to get that through in the last Parliament.

With our new legislation on drug crimes and our new legislation on organized crime, those are all things that we are doing.

In terms of the matter of the searches, the important thing is to ensure we strike the right balance between privacy rights and assisting the police. I know he would not want to violate people's privacy rights and charter rights either.

[RCMP, March 26th, 2009]

On the contrary, Mr. Speaker. I actually have in front of me copies of both the old RCMP policy and the new one, and there are significant differences.

The new RCMP policy on tasers indicates that they can only be used in response to a threat. There was no such restriction previously. It requires training annually. Previously, it was re-certification only, once every three years. It requires that they can only be used when force is necessary. There was no such restriction before. And, of course, it underlines that any use of tasers poses a risk. That was not there before.

It is a much more restrictive policy. We believe it is a step in the right direction.

[Public Safety, March 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have met with Minister Ashton of Manitoba to discuss this matter already. He is of course taking a close interest in it, as are we.

The good news is that since 1997 a lot of good work has been done to improve the flood-proofing situation in Manitoba.

We will continue to work together with the province to monitor the situation and assess what support will be needed. We are hoping it will not come to that, but we are keeping a close eye on it.

[Gun Registry, March 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we believe strongly in an integrated fight against crime. The hon. member is right to the extent that more police on the streets help. That is why we provided $400 million for the provinces to fund new police officers. That money is in their hands to do that.

We made a commitment to deliver a thousand new RCMP officers and we have already delivered over 1,500. That is helping.

Handguns are a big part of the drug trade. That is why we are cracking down with new legislation to combat the drug trade and organized crime.

I hope the hon. member will help make that part of the comprehensive combat against crime in Canada.

[Gun Registry, March 24th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, our government remains committed to the elimination of the long gun registry. This was our position in the previous election and we will continue to do that.

Our belief is that in terms of combatting crime, our focus should not be on those who are lawful, law-abiding hunters and farmers in possession of long guns. We believe the focus should be on criminals who possess illegal handguns.

That is why we brought in legislation to deal with that issue. That is why we brought in, in this Parliament, tough anti-gang legislation. We hope that all parties will support the legislation so we can really combat crime.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), the Government has no current plans to review the Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment closures that took place in the province of Quebec in 2004. These closures stemmed from the force’s strategic planning exercise to better align its resources with its organizational priorities. Key municipal and policing stakeholders were consulted as part of the strategic planning exercise to help maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of RCMP resources.

This government has been, and remains committed to enhancing the security of our border and helping to stem the flow of contraband and weapons entering the country that pose an important threat to the safety and security of our communities. This includes increased investments in the RCMP, as well as working closely with provincial, municipal, and U.S. partners to conduct threat assessments, identify new and emerging threats at the border and building upon successful border enforcement programs, such as Integrated border enforcement teams, to better deter, identify, and interdict organizations and individuals involved in cross-border crime. There are 24 integrated border enforcement teams strategically located along the Canada-U.S. border, including four teams operating in the province of Quebec.

In response to (b), the RCMP conducts regular border specific assessments. Based on the risks identified in those assessments and other factors such as the need for critical mass in certain locations, our resources are adequately deployed.

[Correctional Service Canada, March 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, some considerable progress has been made already and I can highlight some additional changes that have been made by Correctional Service of Canada. It has now introduced mental health awareness training for staff, which is now provided to all individuals, not just in the institutional context but also in the community context. We are providing additional support there on a mental health level.

We are also working with the provinces and territories,which also have corrections systems that face similar challenges, to find how we can share best practices to improve that.

I look forward to extending these discussions to deal with the broader question of the mentally ill and how they end up in our corrections system, where that may not be the best place for them in the first place.

[Correctional Service Canada, March 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very sad case, which we are all moved by when we review it. I appreciate the opportunity it presents to shine a light on the importance of focusing on mental health in our corrections system.

In recent years we have actually seen considerable progress by Correctional Service of Canada to improve the level of treatment that it provides to those with mental health challenges, to provide, for example, earlier assessments for those when they enter our correction system, but there still remains a lot more to do.

I invite the other parties to join with me as we do that work to try to improve our correction system, and especially how we deal with the mentally ill.