Rona Ambrose

[International Women's Day, March 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, today is International Women's Day, and Conservatives are celebrating the role of women in Canada's public life. We are encouraging the next generation of women and girls to reach even higher. That is why we are so proud to welcome the 338 Daughters of the Vote into the House today. In fact, they were a little rowdier than question period usually is.

However, as we celebrate, we are also thinking of how we can do more to achieve gender equality.

We also reflect on the ways in which we can build confidence in Canada's judicial system. Too many women and girls do not come forward to pursue justice after being sexually assaulted. That is why I recently introduced the judicial accountability through sexual assault law training act, or the just act, to improve the training of our judges in handling the most sensitive sexual assault cases.

On this International Women's Day, I invite all members to join me and pass this bill.

[Justice, March 7th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, there are now dozens and dozens of serious criminal cases that are being thrown out of court, in part because the Liberals have not appointed judges to deal with them. In one case, a man is accused of breaking his two-week-old baby's ankles, and he has had his criminal charge stayed, and he may never face justice.

The irony is that the person in charge of this in the Prime Minister's Office did one thing before she left; she made sure she had her own appointment as the parachute Liberal candidate.

This does not reflect the priorities of Canadians. When will the Prime Minister get to work and appoint judges so criminals stop going free?

[Ethics, March 7th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Prime Minister is answering the Ethics Commissioner's questions, but the Prime Minister also has a constitutional responsibility to be accountable to Canadians in the House, so we are asking him these questions on behalf of Canadians. After all, it was actually the Prime Minister who said, “As the head of government, the Prime Minister represents all Canadians and should be directly accountable to” them. He said it, so does he still believe that, or was that just a campaign slogan?

[Ethics, March 7th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, this is the first time in the history of Canada that a sitting prime minister has been under investigation by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. This is serious.

The Prime Minister needs to tell Canadians the truth. Did someone in the PMO or the Privy Council Office tell him that this private flight was against the rules?

[Taxation, February 23rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting the Prime Minister will not tell Canadians how much his carbon tax will cost, especially considering it is his signature economic and environmental policy. Why hide it? He will not reveal the cost to families, seniors, and workers. In fact, this is now becoming widely known as the carbon tax cover-up.

My question is simple. Will he come clean and let Canadians know just how much the carbon tax will cost them?

[Foreign Investment, February 23rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister stood in the House defending his decision to approve the sale of a piece of Canada's health care system to China, but he could not say exactly who owns this company. In addition to the time they have spent reviewing the approval, they have now had 24 hours to figure out who owns this company. Therefore, do they have an answer yet? Who owns Anbang Insurance?

[Justice, February 23rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in New Brunswick, in June 2014, Justin Bourque murdered constables David Ross, Fabrice Gevaudan, and Doug Larche. It has been described as one of the worst crimes in Canadian history. Because of back-to-back sentences for multiple murders, Bourque received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 75 years.

Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and commit today that he will not touch consecutive sentencing?

[Justice, February 23rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, when I was in university, I worked at a rape crisis centre and I participated in a program that looked at how victims were treated by the courts. I saw what survivors of sexual assault have to go through. Judges not having the appropriate training only makes the process more difficult for everyone involved.

Today, I introduced a bill to solve that problem. I hope that all members will support these non-partisan measures.

Will the Prime Minister join me in standing up for women and girls and supporting mandatory sexual assault training?

[Justice, February 23rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, like me, many Canadians would be surprised to learn that a lawyer does not need any experience in the sensitivities of sexual assault cases to become a judge overseeing these types of challenging trials. There currently is also no mandatory training for sitting judges. Today, I introduced a bill to help fix this.

We need to build confidence in our system so more sexual assault survivors feel comfortable coming forward. Will the Prime Minister join me and support this bill that requires mandatory sexual assault training for lawyers who want to become judges?

[Judicial Accountability through Sexual Assault Law Training Act, February 23rd, 2017]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-337, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (sexual assault).

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand in the House to introduce a bill to address the need to build more confidence in our judicial system when it comes to the handling of cases involving sexual assault and sexual violence. Too often, those involved in these cases come away with the feeling they have experienced not just a judgment on their case but a judgment on their character.

I believe we must address this situation by starting with the people responsible for overseeing Canada's justice system.

There is a definite lack of transparency in the federal justice system with respect to how and how often judges get training and education around handling cases that involve sexual violence.

This is about making our legal system fairer for everyone involved in these difficult cases. I hope my colleagues from all parties will take the time to consider the steps we propose here and support my legislation, the judicial accountability through sexual assault law training act or, what we like to call it, the just act.

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