Rosane Doré Lefebvre

[Public Safety, May 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the issue of RCMP suicides is serious and we must act now.

According to experts, almost one in five officers could attempt to end his or her life. However, the RCMP does not carry out systematic investigations when an officer commits suicide, although there are more police officer deaths by suicide than in the line of duty.

Does the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness have a report on the issue? What is the action plan to help RCMP members in distress?

[Privacy, May 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, CSEC maintains an information bank containing the personal information of potentially any individual who communicates electronically with a key computer network. This information is saved for 30 years and can be shared with domestic police agencies or foreign bodies.

Can the Minister of National Defence tell us what is meant by a “key computer network”? Can he also tell us with which foreign bodies the information can be shared and whether it can be shared without a warrant?

[Committees of the House, May 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou for his excellent speech on the report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. Today, I would like to make a comment rather than ask a question.

My colleague talked quite a bit about this government's lack of leadership as chair of the Arctic Council. That also reminds me of the government's lack of leadership on the world stage, particularly in terms of Canada's withdrawal from the convention on desertification. I am not sure whether it is a convention or a protocol, so could my colleague elaborate on that? Furthermore, my constituents in Laval often talk about the Conservatives' withdrawal from the Kyoto protocol. Frankly, that has brought great shame on Canada.

What does my colleague think of this Conservative government's leadership on the world stage?

[Victims Bill of Rights, May 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time.

I have the honour of adding my voice to those of my many colleagues today with regard to Bill C-32, introduced by the government opposite, to enact a Canadian victims bill of rights.

As far as this Canadian victims bill of rights is concerned, I would like to mention that the NDP has always supported victims rights. We want to support victims of crime in a tangible way and we must ensure that this charter will not be just a statement in principle that will never be implemented. The NDP sincerely believes that victims should have access to support and assistance programs throughout the legal process.

I mentioned at the start that we will be supporting this bill at second reading. However, on this side of the House, we are not prepared to give the Conservatives a blank cheque. The NDP members have promised to thoroughly study this Canadian victims bill of rights. We want to carefully study it to ensure that it brings about real improvements for victims who have been calling for this bill of rights for many years. We want to give careful consideration to every clause of this bill and we will consult experts about every element of this bill.

I must also mention the incredible work done in committee by my colleagues from Gatineau and La Pointe-de-l'Île, as well as their serious approach to studying Bill C-32 and many other bills brought before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

There are a number of points that I would like to address in the rest of my speech, including the limitations of the charter and some quotes from many victims advocacy groups in Canada. I will come back to that later.

[Victims Bill of Rights, May 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot to say and a lot of questions for the Liberals. However, I will stick to the facts and set the record straight.

The NDP has always supported victims' rights, and I think that is important to point out. I do not think that anyone in the House is against victims' rights. I think the problem is in how it is all implemented. The problem is in choosing words carefully, ensuring fundamental rights are taken into account, having respect for the dignity of these people and making sure that we keep our promises, like the one made by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister of Canada's website talks about the right to restitution and promises funding. We are talking about funding directly for the Canadian victims bill of rights. In light of the Prime Minister's promise, what does my colleague think about the fact that there is no mention of funding or an envelope for this bill of rights?

[Victims Bill of Rights, May 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Louis for his speech.

We have long been part of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security together, where we have studied many private members' bills or other bills about victims' rights. Ms. O'Sullivan, the ombudsman for victims, often came to testify and we had the opportunity to ask her many questions.

In fact, my question is about the services currently being offered to victims. The NDP will be supporting the bill at second reading so that the Canadian victims bill of rights, proposed by the government opposite, can be studied in committee.

I, too, am worried about victims' rights. Sue O'Sullivan, like many other witnesses who came to talk to us about victims' rights, spoke about the importance of prevention so as to avoid creating more victims in Canada.

Could my colleague talk some more about how important prevention is and how it should be a key element in the Canadian victims bill of rights?

[Victims Bill of Rights, May 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Hull—Aylmer for her excellent speech.

It is important to acknowledge the significant work that the associations are doing for victims' rights in our communities and in the various regions that we represent across Canada. It is extremely important to acknowledge all the hard work that these community agencies do from day to day, whether for human rights in mental health or for the rights of victims of criminal offences. I thank my colleague for doing that.

I work a lot with these associations as part of the work I do on the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. We often hear testimony concerning private members' bills or even government bills that deal with victims' rights. I work closely with the Association québécoise Plaidoyer-Victimes, which had this to say about the victims bill of rights:

[C]ertain conditions must be met if this bill of rights is going to have real influence and not just make empty promises. It will be effective only if the mechanisms giving the victims recourse when their rights have been infringed upon are truly accessible. This is a major issue. Resources will have to be allocated so that victims can be informed, heard and supported in their dealings with federal...departments, agencies and ministries...

What does my colleague think about the fact that the Conservatives did not allocate any funding for the Canadian victims bill of rights?

[Victims Bill of Rights Act, May 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier for her speech, which, as usual, came from the heart. I know that victims rights are extremely important to my colleague, as they are to all my NDP colleagues.

A number of questions remain unanswered when it comes to the Conservative government's intention to provide funding for the Canadian victims bill of rights. The lack of consultation with the provinces and territories is a recurring theme for the government across the way and we are seeing that again here, unfortunately, with Bill C-32.

I did a bit of research and found that the provinces already have some provisions, programs, and charters. For example, the Province of Ontario has had its own Victims Bill of Rights since 1995.

What does my colleague think of the Conservative government's lack of consultation? Is there overlap with the provinces and territories?

[Victims Bill of Rights Act, May 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine for raising some extremely important points about Bill C-32 in his speech.

I completely agree with him that it was about time that a bill was introduced and debated. For years the Conservative government promised a victims bill of rights.

In his speech, he mentioned the fact that no funding has been allocated for the Canadian victims bill of rights. I did some research on that. On the Prime Minister's website, there is mention of the right to restitution under the Canadian victims bill of rights:

The Government will provide dedicated funding to support the implementation of the Canadian victims bill of rights through existing resources as well as the allocation of new federal resources.

Unfortunately, the resources have not yet materialized.

What does my colleague think of the fact that the Prime Minister promised to make funds available from new and existing resources, but, once again, we have yet to see the money?

[International Development, May 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, Canada required the organizations that were receiving funding under the Muskoka initiative to be accountable. However, as pointed out in the prestigious journal The Lancet, the Conservative government is not capable of being accountable itself when it comes to how much money is being spent and how it is being spent.

On the eve of a new summit on development assistance in Toronto, what measures are the Conservatives going to put in place to ensure that the mistakes that were made in implementing the Muskoka initiative do not happen again?