Ralph Goodale

[Justice, September 27th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, Tori Stafford's brutal death in 2009 was a horrible gut-wrenching crime for the whole country. The killer, McClintic, was reclassified as medium security in 2014. The government of that day did not challenge that decision. In fact, McClintic remains in a medium-security correctional facility today. I have asked the commissioner of the Correctional Service to review every dimension of this case to ensure that all policies have been properly followed and that all those policies are in fact the right ones to—

[Public Safety, September 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. gentleman knows, there is a very specific process by law which the Government of Canada is obliged to follow. If one does not follow the process, one obviates the result.

We are taking the steps that are appropriate in the circumstances and the results will be published in due course in the Canada Gazette and on the Public Safety Canada website.

[Public Safety, September 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Criminal Code terrorist listing regime is a very important tool to fight against terrorism. The listing of entities counters the financing of terrorism and helps law enforcement to prosecute terrorists and their supporters.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force is already listed as a terrorist entity. The assessment process of other possible listings is ongoing. It is a serious and substantive process. Approved listings are published in the Canada Gazette.

[Public Safety, September 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, first, on behalf of the government, let me associate myself with the remarks of the hon. gentleman. Everyone in the House is thinking of the people who have suffered such loss over the course of this last weekend.

The Government of Canada was in constant communication with the provincial and municipal authorities during the course of the weekend to make sure that if any access to federal assistance was required, that would be made available immediately. We have co-operated completely with local officials, including today in providing geomatic mapping services to both the provinces of Ontario and Quebec to ensure they have the very best possible information in coping with the circumstances.

[Telecommunications, September 21st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the issue with respect to telephone fraud and scams has been in the public domain for quite some time. It did not just burst on the scene last evening.

The government has made it very clear that the Canada Revenue Agency does not approach its clients by telephone. It deals in the appropriate manner with collection issues. It does not conduct its business over the telephone.

As the RCMP noted last night, the best way to head off this problem is by education and prevention rather than trying to enforce the provisions after the fact.

[Public Safety, September 20th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we understand the frustration of families with no-fly kids. By definition, no children are on Canada's secure air travel list. However, worrisome adults with similar names are, and that creates the false positives.

When the system was first implemented, the previous government should have recognized this problem and provided unique identification numbers for automatic redress. However, it did not. The Conservative design failed. We now have $81 million to fix it. First and foremost, we need the legal authority to do so. That is in Bill C-59 and Bill C-21. Both bills need to be passed as quickly as possible.

[Firearms Act, September 20th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, the hon. gentleman was wrong when he raised that issue 20 years ago and he remains wrong today.

[Firearms Act, September 20th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, to my knowledge, there is not. When it comes to service delivery in the verification of a licence, for example, it is extremely important that the firearms program be able to respond to questions in a quick, efficient and timely manner.

I would encourage all members of Parliament, if they discover circumstances in which their constituents are not receiving that timely service in an efficient way, to draw that to the attention of the government. We will do our very best to make sure that the standards are improving.

[Firearms Act, September 20th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, that input and feedback from rural Canadians and from members of Parliament who represent rural Canadians, was extremely important. The very definition of the platform commitment from three years ago was to accomplish objectives related to public safety without imposing unreasonable burdens upon legitimate firearms owners.

One of the significant demonstrations of that is the very point I made in referring to the previous question, where a restricted or a prohibited weapon is being transported to a shooting range. This accounts for 95% of the transportation activity, and that authorization will continue to be included in the PAL itself. There will be no incremental change or burden with respect to firearms owners.

That is one illustration among several where the views and concerns of rural Canadians, hunters, farmers, fishermen and so forth have been taken into account.

[Firearms Act, September 20th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, the provisions in Bill C-71 are modest and reasonable, and they do not entail a significant new cost. In fact, the hon. member is referring to provisions related not to all firearms but only prohibited and restricted weapons. It is just those two categories, not all firearms.

As well, the ATT will continue to be automatic, attached to the PAL. Whenever the transportation is to a certified gun range, that includes 95% of the transportation activity. Therefore, the amount of change here from the perspective of the firearm owner is very small.