Rick Norlock

[National Sex Offender Registry, June 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this morning I read that the current national sex offender registry has not helped to solved a single crime since it was set up five years ago. This registry, which was created by the Liberals, simply does not work. It seems that more than 40% of those persons convicted of serious sex offences were never listed on the registry.

Could the Minister of Public Safety explain what the government is prepared to do to ensure that the sex offender registry operates in a manner that better protects our children and communities and provides the police with another investigative tool?

[Canadian Heritage, May 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the Robert Shankland Victoria Cross and Distinguished Conduct Medal was sold last night.

Would the Minister of Canadian Heritage kindly provide the details of this sale to the House?

[Pope John Paul II, May 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the House will agree that Pope John Paul II inspired us all through his selfless example. His contributions will be felt for generations.

He reached out to all faiths with humility and sincerity. In Israel he began his speech with a salutation to his “older brothers”, bridging the understanding between Catholic and older Jewish faiths. He was instrumental in defeating communism and in bringing democracy back not only to his native Poland but to an eastern Europe long held in chains.

He valued youth and created World Youth Day to bring kids of all faiths together in common understanding and common purpose. He was committed to defending the human rights of all faiths, cultures and traditions. That is why he was so admired by Canadians, because he was a champion for all.

I would like to express my full support for the current efforts in Ontario to name every April 2 Pope John Paul II Day in Canada.

[International Aid, May 14th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the situation in Pakistan has worsened. According to reports, up to 360,000 people have fled the fighting, with more expected in the coming weeks. This adds up to an estimated 550,000 people who have already been internally displaced since August of 2008.

Canadians are deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of those internally displaced persons. Could the Minister of International Cooperation let the House know if the Canadian government will be providing any support for these victims?

[Tourism, April 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as Canadians face the challenges of the worldwide economic slowdown, many folks may be changing their vacation plans this summer. Why do they not choose Canada's beauty for their summer holidays?

In my neck of the woods there are many wonderful sights to see and lots of things to do, not more than an hour and a half from downtown Toronto.

Northumberland—Quinte West is perfectly situation between Toronto and Montreal, and provides a myriad of vacation choices for people of all ages and economic means.

Northumberland's rolling hills are full of great places to stay the night, while people fill their days visiting museums, artist studios and many wonderful shops and restaurants.

In Quinte West the fishing on the Trent River and the Bay of Quinte are unmatched in Ontario, and if someone just needs to get away for the day, why not choose one of the beautiful beaches on Lake Ontario or Rice Lake?

I invite all my colleagues and their constituents from across Canada to come to Northumberland—Quinte West this summer to experience its wonderful natural attractions and very friendly people.

[Criminal Code, April 24th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, my friend and I are on justice committee. We have heard from a substantial number of witnesses, none the least of whom came from the home province of the member for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca and the city of Vancouver.

My colleague might want to expound on the fact that the committee is going to Vancouver to study the very issues surrounding drug crime, gangs and organized crime.

It was made mention to drug and substance abuse, the addiction thereto and the large sums of money that the government has put forward for treatment. I do not mean giving people drugs, but giving them the kind of necessary counselling to help them shrug the habit. Could the member expound on that?

Could he also expound on some of the witness statements we received, which run counter to legalizing marijuana? If we legalize a problem, for example, marijuana, do we then say a bit of crack cocaine is okay provided a person does not have X amount?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, April 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I was happy to hear that my friend from the NDP will be voting in favour of this legislation, subject, of course, to some of the issues that may come up in public safety committee, of which we are both members.

I listened intently to his preamble, which really had nothing to do with the bill, so I think it offers an opportunity for some questions that actually have to do with the bill.

One of the issues he talked about and the reason NDP members are supporting the bill is that it is good for the RCMP. I am glad to hear they will be supporting the bill but, of course, the vote in the House will be the determining factor as to whether they do. We have been disappointed by some of those votes, which relate directly to support of the RCMP. I refer to budgetary items such as the hiring of 1,600 members of the RCMP. When we work really hard, we need extra bodies to help, and he and his party voted against that.

He and members of his party also voted against money to expand Depot so they could train those new officers. He also voted against some of the other measures we took that will greatly enhance the RCMP's ability to do their job.

I wonder if he would like to comment on those additional things. Why did he vote against those measures?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, April 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his support of the bill. I would like to talk about some of the issues raised by one of the other questioners from his party.

When we are talking about morale, does the member not think that the hiring of over 1,600 additional police officers for the RCMP is good for morale? Would he not say that attracting members to the force and having their morale start in a positive way, and paying recruits who were not paid before for their six months at depot, is good for their morale? Would he not agree with me that expanding the training facilities at depot is good for the morale of the RCMP?

If I were to tell the member that at committee, Deputy Commissioner Sweeney from the RCMP said that the recruitment process in the RCMP was meeting its goal, in other words, it was almost at the maximum ability of depot to train officers, would that not be good for morale?

While the wage increase is not where it should be, does the member not agree that some Canadians are taking advantage of some of the improvements to employment insurance by taking part, with some employers, in work-shares, so employment insurance is assisting people to stay at work? People are accepting no wage increases. At General Motors, the employees are accepting a wage decrease in order to keep their jobs. Would he not say that a 1.5% increase in employment is good for morale?

If morale were that bad, we would not see people wanting to become members of the RCMP. Again, I refer to the member for Toronto Centre. When he was the premier of Ontario, not only did he not give the police forces in Ontario a raise, in particular the police force of which I was a member, the Ontario Provincial Police force, he actually reduced their pay.

I wonder if the hon. member could respond to that.

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, April 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary raised some issues that are important, and that is the ability of police officers to go from one force to another for a myriad of reasons. They could be going from a smaller police force to a larger police force that affords them an opportunity to expand their horizons, whether it be training or some special investigative unit and so on. It also permits the transferability from larger police forces to smaller police forces to bring that kind of expertise. It could be from strictly a personal or family ability to follow one's wife or husband in another job.

The parliamentary secretary might want to educate the last questioner on what occurred when a member of his party was the premier of Ontario. Not only did he not give police officers raises, he cut back on their salaries by what was referred to as “something days”.

[The Environment, March 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Natural Resources was in Toronto this morning announcing an extension to the already successful ecoEnergy home retrofit program. I know many of my constituents are interested in this program that helps Canadians make smart improvements to their homes while saving money.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board please inform the House and my constituents of Northumberland—Quinte West of the new opportunities in today's announcement?