Robert Chisholm

[Campaign for the Right to Literacy, October 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, everyone has the right to literacy, a fundamental skill and the foundation for participating in society, yet far too many Canadians suffer from low literacy.

I am proud to say that a national campaign for the right to literacy has begun in my riding of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour. Led by Lesley Dunn of the Dartmouth Learning Network, the campaign encourages leaders and citizens across Canada to sign a declaration calling for a national framework for literacy. I am also proud to say that the very first person to sign this declaration was the leader of the NDP. Since then it has been signed by politicians of all stripes and all levels of government.

I encourage every member of the House to take this opportunity to show their support and sign the declaration calling for a national framework for literacy.

[Consumer Protection, October 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, for over seven years, the Conservatives have failed to act, or actually, voted down help for consumers. Families are being squeezed, and they are asking now why it is the government has failed to act against banks and credit card fees and why it has failed to act on airline passenger rights.

My question for the government is this: Are you afraid of the banks and the credit card companies? Are you afraid of the airlines? Why have you not helped protect consumers?

[Privilege, October 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate your indulgence. I rise on a point of order as it relates to a matter brought up at question period and in the throne speech. It has to do with an issue covered by a private member's bill I sponsored in the spring session, known locally as the bill with respect to Rehtaeh Parsons. It deals with the non-consensual distribution of intimate images. It is about making a change to the Criminal Code, which we think will protect many people from being punished and being bullied by the distribution of intimate images.

The Minister of Justice has indicated his support for the principle of this issue.

The concern I raised and that other advocates, including the family, have raised is that if this issue gets bundled in a major piece of legislation, it may be delayed and it may be lost.

In the spirit of acceptance of this principle, I would like to seek unanimous consent that, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-540, an act to amend the Criminal Code (non-consensual making or distributing of intimate images), be deemed read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

[Criminal Code, June 17th, 2013]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-540, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (non-consensual making or distributing of intimate images).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise and table this very important piece of legislation today. I thank my colleague, the member for New Westminster—Coquitlam, for agreeing to second the bill.

In the constituency I represent, the tragic death a short time ago of Rehtaeh Parsons led to people across the country, and not just across the country, mourning her death and the circumstances around her death. At the same time, people began to urgently ask what they could do to make sure this type of situation or incident was not allowed to happen again.

People in Nova Scotia, Ontario, British Columbia, municipalities, school boards and provinces throughout the country have been working towards developing strategies to make sure this type of event does not happen again.

A cyberbullying task force in Nova Scotia has been working away at developing protocols and standards of contact for identifying who needs to accept responsibility, whether it be in schools, health care or justice.

One thing identified as a gap was the responsibility of the federal government. It is a matter of making sure that the Criminal Code of Canada is brought up to current times to reflect the circumstances of what is happening on the Internet. That is what this bill is intended to do. It is to recognize that there is a gap and that we need to take action to make sure there are consequences for this type of behaviour.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Bullying, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard what the Conservatives have said, and it is not enough. Rehtaeh's tragic death brought our country together, not just to mourn but to urgently look for ways to ensure these kinds of tragedies did not happen again. We all know that changes are necessary and the proper authorities need the tools to do their jobs.

People who distribute intimate images without consent need to be held accountable. Today, I am introducing a private member's bill that would make the malicious distribution of intimate images without consent a crime.

Will the minister work with us to ensure this bill is passed as soon as possible?

[Tackling Contraband Tobacco Act, June 13th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the comments from the member opposite. She clearly takes seriously the government's intention to crack down on contraband tobacco, and I could not agree more.

Does the member share with me the concern that this important endeavour that is being handed on to law enforcement agencies in this country would be jeopardized, in effect, because of the nearly $700 million cut to public safety that was announced in 2012 and that will be concluded in 2015? Nearly $700 million will be taken out of the budget of those agencies and departments that will be responsible for leading the efforts to control contraband tobacco at our borders and in our ports.

[Tackling Contraband Tobacco Act, June 13th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of the member opposite. I would ask him to explain to Canadians how he and his colleagues think they can achieve all that needs to be achieved, as he so rightly said, with respect to the enforcement of contraband tobacco, when there has been nearly $700 million cut from public safety. The regional priorities and planning document from that department stated that there would be nearly 700 people cut from public safety over the next three years. How will it be able to do everything we want it to do if it does not have the tools and the resources to carry out those responsibilities? Could he please explain that?

[Tackling Contraband Tobacco Act, June 13th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague talked a lot about the fact that Canada's legislation is good but the way the government is going about it, by bringing it in through the back door, is wrong. The lack of consultation and shutting down debate is wrong.

I wonder if he would agree with me that there is an additional concern here and that is the fact that the government has cut $687.9 million from public safety from 2012 to 2015. That was in budget 2012. Then again in 2013, these cuts continued with a 29.8% decrease.

I would like the member to comment on the fact that the Conservative government is great at standing up and pontificating on how it is tough on crime, but when it comes to putting dollars where they count, in order to make sure that law enforcement agencies can do something about these issues, it falls flat.

[Tackling Contraband Tobacco Act, June 13th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the member is extraordinarily smart and so are all the members opposite, but why is it then that we get so many bills that end up getting passed through here and then have to be fixed? It is because they will not listen to us. They will not make the amendments that are necessary. Legislation that is challenged before the courts as unconstitutional is a result of the government not doing its homework. That is the issue. That is the problem.

The Conservatives think they are the smartest ones in the room, and unfortunately sometimes they are just wrong. They need to bring other people in to make sure that the legislation that comes in and leaves here is the best legislation it can be, because as in this case it is meant to correct a very serious problem and we need to make sure we do it right.

[Tackling Contraband Tobacco Act, June 13th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, let me just say right here, right now, how proud I am of my colleague for having dropped the evil weed. Good for her, because it is important to us, it is important to her family and it is important to anyone who knows her that she be around as long as she possibly can, and that will be extended if she is not smoking tobacco. Good for her. I know I and my colleagues here in this caucus will do everything to support her in those efforts.

To answer her question, I realize that smoking is expensive, and that is a good thing. I know governments are using the revenues they collect from taxes on tobacco to come up with awareness programs and preventive programs and to try to fund some of the damage that is done by tobacco use. That is a good thing.

I indicated earlier in my remarks that there is a direct correlation between tobacco usage and price and that is a good thing. That is why we have to double our efforts to make sure contraband tobacco is not as available as it seems to be. That is why Bill S-16 is so important and why it is important that we assign the appropriate resources to allow law enforcement agencies, provinces, first nations and others to crack down and make sure that the proliferation of illegal contraband tobacco ends, and ends right now, for all of us.