Roxanne James

[Veterans Affairs, October 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday former senior Liberal cabinet minister Joe Fontana was asked whether he would resign during the RCMP investigation of his activities as a senior Liberal cabinet minister. Mr. Fontana's response was to point to the poppy on his lapel and hide behind the sacrifices of our courageous war veterans as his reason not to resign. Veterans from London are condemning the comments from the former senior Liberal cabinet minister.

Will the Minister of Veterans Affairs explain how our government supports the poppy campaign as a sign of our respect toward our veterans?

[Justice, October 23rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about crime, particularly repeat offenders who commit serious violent or sexual offences.

Torontonians are particularly concerned about a series of sexual assaults allegedly committed by a young offender. Recently, women in the Christie Pits neighbourhood in downtown Toronto have been victimized by seemingly random sexual assaults. This is unacceptable to me and to the government. Hard-working, law-abiding Canadians should not have to live in fear in their own communities.

Could the Minister of Justice please update the House about the government's latest efforts to address Canada's most violent and repeat offenders?

[International Day of the Girl, October 23rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, each year October marks Women's History Month, a month to commemorate the many important contributions women have made to Canadian society. Women's History Month was even more memorable this year because on October 11 Canadians had the opportunity to celebrate the first ever International Day of the Girl.

As a woman, mother and member of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, I was thrilled to mark this occasion by joining over 200 girls in grades three to seven at the Toronto District School Board's young women on the move workshop, presented by Dove and co-hosted by Plan Canada and Because I am a Girl. The focus of the workshop was building self-esteem and the message I delivered was that as girls, we can do anything.

I am especially proud that Canada led the international community in adopting this day and I wish to thank, on behalf of all girls, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Status of Women for making the International Day of the Girl a reality.

[Petitions, October 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions today from concerned Canadians asking that Omar Khadr be tried for treason under the laws of Canada for his actions against coalition forces in Afghanistan.

[Liberal Party of Canada, October 17th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great disappointment that I rise today to inform Canadians that yesterday the Liberal Party shamefully voted against the faster removal of foreign criminals act, an act which would remove the endless appeals currently available to dangerous foreign criminals that allow them to delay their deportations, during which time, they can commit more crimes.

With this bill, we can help prevent another tragedy like that of Todd Baylis, the young Toronto Police officer who was shot and killed by a violent drug dealer who should have been deported years earlier.

I urge the Liberals to listen to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Police Association and Victims of Violence, which are some of the many organizations that support this bill.

I implore the Liberals, just once, stop putting the rights of serious criminals ahead of the rights of victims and law-abiding Canadians and stop trying to kill this bill.

[Business of Supply, October 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I was a bit surprised by this motion. Previous governments, including the Liberal government, have passed omnibus budget implementation bills. Even Speakers in the House have ruled and some have said that these types of bills are procedurally correct, common practice and entirely in order. I listen to the arguments of the members opposite and one of their concerns is that our bill is bigger than their bill.

First, I did not know that size matters. Second, when we talk about what is inside our bill and how comprehensive it is, I wonder if it ever has dawned on those members that perhaps it is comprehensive because the government is actually getting things done for Canadians.

Could my hon. colleague speak to the importance of the bill being comprehensive at this time, especially with global uncertainty?

[Public Safety, September 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our government, thankfully, has shifted the focus from that of former Trudeau era solicitor general Jean-Pierre Goyer, who said that it was time to take the focus off public safety and put it on the rights of convicted criminals. I can assure the House that our government will always put law-abiding Canadians first.

Later today the House will vote on my private member's bill, Bill C-293, which cracks down on vexatious complaints from prisoners. Will the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety be voting for this very important bill?

[Carbon Tax, September 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that the NDP leader wants to impose a $20 billion carbon tax that will increase the price of everything.

Our government lowered the GST because we want to make it easier for Canadian families to pay for goods, but the NDP's only economic idea is to impose a carbon tax that would increase the price all Canadians pay for just about everything.

This month, as retail sales in Canada rise, it becomes even clearer just how risky the NDP's carbon tax scheme would be, stalling our economy in its tracks, raising prices and wiping out these positive economic numbers.

At a time when Canada's economy continues to recover from the downturn, the last thing we need is a $20 billion NDP carbon tax that would kill jobs and stop economic growth in its tracks.

[Corrections and Conditional Release Act, September 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, first, as a newly elected member of Parliament, I was quite excited to be very close on the list and was able to have a private member's bill presented to the House and have it come this far. I thank all my colleagues on the Conservative side of the House for their support of the bill. I also thank the members of the Liberal Party for their support.

We have heard that across Canada the vast majority of Canadians support it. Even the offenders serving time in jail who want their legitimate cases to be heard support it. It is kind of funny that the only people who do not support the bill are the members of the NDP. It is very hard to understand. The only thing I can think of is that it is the NDP opposition ideological thinking that has somehow obliterated its common sense. It just does not make any sense.

As I have stressed throughout every speech in the House, the bill seeks to correct a costly loophole in our correctional system. It would hold offenders accountable for their actions. It would show respect for taxpayers. It would support our hard-working front line correctional officers. Most important, it would fix a small portion of the system that is broken in order to make it work as it was originally intended to.

On that note, I am going to give a final plea to the NDP opposition members. I urge them to give their heads a shake. Instead of supporting the poor convicted criminals who try to abuse the system again and again, I ask them to stand with the vast majority of Canadians and support the bill when it comes to vote.

[Corrections and Conditional Release Act, September 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, a similar question was brought up in committee. Someone from the NDP asked me why I did not submit a private member's bill on another issue or another component that needed to be fixed. My answer is that if members want to put forward a private member's bill to address a particular area of concern, I encourage them to do so.

Most importantly, this bill would address and correct five things. One, it would correct a costly loophole. Two, it would support our hard-working front-line officers in the Correctional Service of Canada. Three, it would hold offenders accountable and guide them to true rehabilitation. Four, I need to point out, because sometimes we forget that we are all responsible for the Canadian taxpayer, that the bill shows respect for the Canadian taxpayer by eliminating waste. Five, and most importantly, as I have stated previously, this change would make the system work as it was intended to.