Roxanne James

[Public Safety, June 19th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, the first 20 RCMP officers of the additional deployment to Surrey have already arrived at the detachment. We were pleased to approve the 100 RCMP officers to that area.

However, what is also clear is that when it comes to combatting crime and terrorism, there is only one political party in the House that stands firm to protect the safety and security of Canadians. The NDP is so far out in left field that it is not even playing in the same ball park.

[Justice, June 19th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that this is a matter the Ontario government should address.

[Public Safety, June 19th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say once again in the House that our government did approve the additional resources of 100 RCMP officers.

This government has passed more than 30 tough on crime measures and public safety measures in order to keep all Canadians safe, including those in British Columbia.

The first 20 RCMP officers of the additional deployment to Surrey have already arrived at the detachment.

Once again Canadians know that they can count on this Conservative government to keep our streets and communities—

[Public Safety, June 18th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased yet again to say to the member that we have accepted the request of 100 new RCMP officers. The deployment of the first 20 members committed to Surrey is under way and boots are already on the ground.

However, let me talk about some of the things that the member and the member for Surrey North have actually voted against. We have passed legislation to get tough on the crime of drive-by shootings, measures to protect children from sexual offences, measures that we have implemented for crime prevention. That member and the New Democratic Party have voted against absolutely everything, including against terrorism in Bill C-51. Shame on the New Democratic Party.

[Public Safety, June 18th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for that question, yet again. Our Conservative government has taken strong action in keeping all Canadians safe, including those in British Columbia and in the member's riding of Surrey North. As we have stated in the House previously and on several other occasions during late shows, we are pleased to confirm and reconfirm that the deployment of the first 20 members committed to Surrey is under way and that there are boots already on the ground.

However, let me speak about the record of that member and the NDP when it comes to protecting the constituents of Surrey North. Members of the NDP have voted against literally every single measure to keep Canadians safe.

[Correctional Service Canada, June 18th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, our government is continuing to take concrete steps on the issue of mental health in prisons and the treatment of all persons in our institutions.

The member opposite has not supported a single measure that we have implemented to improve prisons through CBSA or through the federal correctional system itself. I find it very shameful that the opposition would bring this type of a question up in the House and try to play politics with this situation.

[Correctional Service Canada, June 18th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, our government has continued to take concrete steps on the issue of mental health in prisons. Both access to treatment services for inmates and training for staff have improved as a result of the strong leadership of this Conservative government.

I would like to reiterate that the opposition party has not supported a single measure that we have done to improve health in prisons.

[Consumer Protection, June 17th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, let me remind the member once again that the answer lies right before her own eyes. Banks have already committed to ending pay-to-pay charges. This is already something that has been committed to.

Having said that, our government is not done yet. In economic action plan 2015 we propose to amend the Bank Act to strengthen and modernize Canada's financial consumer protection framework to respond to the diverse needs of Canadians. Most Canadians would want that and that is what we all need, especially when our government's actions on this would benefit all Canadians, including the most vulnerable consumers.

Throughout our time in office, our government has been focused on helping Canadian consumers identify and take advantage of the best possible financial products and services for their needs, as well as protecting consumers in all aspects.

The measures I have described today, in responding to the member's question, would benefit all Canadians, including the most vulnerable consumers.

[Consumer Protection, June 17th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise to discuss how our government continues to lower costs for businesses and consumers and in that process update this House on all that our government has done on this subject in recent years.

We do understand that Canadians are tired of hidden fees. That is exactly why we introduced the code of conduct for the credit and debit card industry in Canada.

The code was launched in 2010 to promote fair business practices and ensure that merchants and consumers understand the costs and benefits associated with credit and debit cards. At the same time, Canadian banks understand that they operate in a highly competitive environment and that they must be prepared to respond to the specific and often changing needs of Canadian consumers.

Canadians work hard for their money. That is why our government believes that Canadians deserve to keep more of that money in their own pockets. That is why we have taken action to improve low cost accounts and expand access to no cost banking services to protect consumers and save even more money for Canadians.

In this spirit, in May 2014, the government secured voluntary commitments from Canada's eight largest banks to enhance low cost bank accounts and offer no cost accounts with the same features as low cost accounts to a wider range of eligible consumers.

What does this mean? As a result no cost accounts are available to youth, students, seniors qualifying for the guaranteed income supplement, and registered disability savings plan beneficiaries.

Banks also committed to provide free monthly printed credit card statements to their customers. This action fulfills a 2013 Speech from the Throne commitment to expand no cost basic banking services as well as an economic action plan 2014 commitment to enhance access to basic banking services.

Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, just this past April the government released an update to the code of conduct for the credit and debit card industry in Canada, delivering on a commitment made in 2014 to help make life more affordable for Canadians and entrepreneurs.

Consumers will also benefit from a new requirement that requires credit card issuers to disclose to consumers who apply for premium credit cards that the use of these cards results in higher merchant fees.

Finally, let me again remind the member that banks have already made a commitment to the federal government that they will not charge customers for bills when money is owing. To spell it out, banks have voluntarily already promised to end pay-to-pay fees.

With this knowledge and the fact that the NDP has refused to support any of our measures, not a single one, to support small businesses, on top of all our measures to protect consumers, I find it remarkable and very hard to believe that all of a sudden the NDP is actually concerned about helping consumers at this point in time.

[Public Safety, June 17th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, not only does the member not understand what is required to train RCMP officers and detach them to specific areas in this country, but apparently he does not understand how the protocols in this place actually work.

I am going to remind his constituents of Surrey North of some of the other measures that our government has brought forward that the NDP and the member for Surrey North have actually voted against. They include cracking down on those who travel abroad to engage in terrorism and taking citizenship away from convicted terrorists. Those members actually believe that is an affront to Canadian values.

They have also voted against giving victims information about criminals convicted of victimizing them. He voted against ending criminal record suspensions for child molesters, against creating tougher sentences for desecrating war memorials, cracking down on human smugglers, stopping prisoners from making frivolous complaints and wasting taxpayers' dollars, and repealing the so-called faint hope clause that used to give early parole to convicted killers. They even voted against tougher sentences for those who kidnap children. Again—