House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2015, with 33% of the vote.
Gun Registry March 27th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for that question.
As I mentioned earlier today, the Supreme Court of Canada has been very clear on this matter, and we are pleased, as a government, with the decision on this particular issue.
As I mentioned earlier, we have a strong system of gun control in Canada, and our government has toughened laws and penalties for those who commit crimes.
Public Safety March 27th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, that is similar to the rhetoric we heard in committee this past week.
Let me talk about one of the witnesses who did appear before committee. Inspector Irwin has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement and intelligence gathering. What did this credible witness say about Bill C-51? He said that existing laws “are too restrictive” and that there was an absolute need for the new measures contained within this bill. What else did he say about the need for information sharing? He said that it was absolutely crucial. In general, with respect to the bill, contrary to what the opposition parties like to put out, he said that it provided the necessary safeguards.
In the same meeting, we heard opposition witnesses say that the bill had absolutely nothing to do with—
Public Safety March 27th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely false. We have actually increased resources to our national security agencies.
What is clear is that the international jihadist movement has declared war on Canada and our allies because of the values that we share. We only need to turn on the six o'clock news, or read in the paper of another attack around the world or of more people leaving countries like Canada to join ISIL.
We heard credible witness testimony in committee this week that has confirmed that the threat is real, it has evolved and it is growing. The number one priority of any responsible government is the safety and security of its citizens. That is why this Conservative government will pass this legislation and why the RCMP is supporting it.
Firearms Registry March 27th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court of Canada has been very clear in this decision. We are pleased that they upheld the decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal in this matter.
I would like to remind the member opposite that we have a strong system of gun control in Canada, and our government has toughened laws and penalties for those who commit crimes with guns.
We will continue to ensure there is safe and sensible firearms legislation.
Public Safety March 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member across the way already knows that all legislation is vetted through legal evaluation. We are very confident in the constitutionality of this piece of legislation.
National security agencies have identified gaps in keeping Canadians safe and protecting national security. That is what this bill is about.
There has been enough hysteria from across the way from the NDP and the Green Party. It is time to support measures that will protect Canadians and keep our borders safe.
Aboriginal Affairs March 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased that the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations appeared at committee yesterday. I gave me an opportunity to respond to his concerns and to clarify the misconceptions that had been spread by the opposition parties.
Let me be very clear. With regard to the information sharing act, in the bill we stress, “For greater certainty, it does not include lawful advocacy, protest, dissent and artistic expression”. This means that it is not included in this section for information sharing. However, it also has to apply to the fact that, “if it undermines the sovereignty, security or territorial integrity of Canada or the lives or the security of the people of Canada”.
Protests are not any of those.
Public Safety March 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I was actually very pleased to see that the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations appeared at committee yesterday. He had some concerns, and I was very pleased to be able to respond to those concerns and explain how the bill would work with regard to information sharing.
Most people across Canada believe that if one branch of government comes across information pertinent to the national security of this country and the safety and security of our citizens that that branch of government should be able to relay that information to our national security agencies. That is precisely what Bill C-51 would do, and I was pleased to be able to answer those concerns.
Public Safety March 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, there is nothing of greater priority to this government than the safety and security of Canadians. The national security agencies, the RCMP and CSIS, have identified gaps in our current legislation. Bill C-51 brings those common sense measures.
We actually heard as well yesterday from witnesses that we are in a new era of terrorism and that the threat is evolving, and we need to modernize the tools we have for our law enforcement and national security agencies. That is precisely what Bill C-51 is doing, and I wish, for once, that the NDP would actually support a common sense measure to tackle terrorism.
Public Safety March 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-51 actually has five components to it. The first one is information sharing.
We have changes to the passenger protect program, which would allow the airlines to stop people from boarding planes and travelling overseas.
Of course, there are areas with regard to lowering the threshold for tools that law enforcement agencies have been calling upon. In fact, we heard in committee that Commissioner Paulson of the RCMP felt that these tools that we would provide for national security agencies would be extremely helpful and would actually fill the gaps that have been identified by those very same agencies.
Public Safety March 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, yesterday we heard from a number of witnesses. It was the second day of testimony. The first day, of course, was Tuesday with both the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Justice appearing. We look forward to continued debate and information coming from all sides with their views on this.
Talking about the gaps that have been identified by our national security agencies, it was very clear when Commissioner Paulson said that it would also be very helpful in respect of those people we do not know anything about. He was referring to the information-sharing aspects of this particular bill. We have brought forward these common-sense measures and I certainly hope the opposition parties will get on board.