Roxanne James

[Public Safety, June 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, our government, of course, takes the issue of discrimination and sexual harassment very seriously. All RCMP members and employees should feel safe and respected among their colleagues and superiors. Canadians have the right to expect professional and exemplary conduct from their national police service.

As this matter is currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on this case.

[Public Safety, June 3rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it is rather unfortunate that the member has posed that question on the eve of the day that we should be honouring the three fallen RCMP members who lost their lives in the line of duty.

That said, our Conservative government has full confidence in the RCMP to enforce the laws of Canada and keep all Canadians safe.

The RCMP commissioned a report into this incident and is acting upon those recommendations.

[The Environment, June 1st, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, in the public report the director of CSIS actually said that jihadi terrorism was the single most serious threat to Canada's national security. However, I believe that, deep down, the member probably already knows this but either chooses to ignore it or simply chooses to accept it.

While I am on my feet, I would like to take this opportunity to ask the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands to do the right thing. Not too long ago, in fact very recently, the member made ridiculous comments about admitted terrorist Omar Ahmed Khadr. This is a person who plead guilty to heinous crimes, including the murder of American army medic, Sergeant Christopher Speer. Our Conservative government has rigorously defended against any attempt to lessen Khadr's punishment for these crimes.

While the Liberal leader refuses to rule out special compensation for the terrorist and the New Democrats actually try to force Canadian taxpayers to compensate him, on this side of the House we believe it is the victims of crimes, not the perpetrators, who deserve compensation.

I would ask the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands to apologize to his wife, Tabitha Speer, who was left without a husband and to the children of army medic—

[The Environment, June 1st, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, again, there is a lot of misinformation coming from the opposition benches, including the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. She should know this, and I am not sure why she is misleading the House, but in her home province of British Columbia, we have increased Coast Guard funding by 27%. What we have just heard is simply not the case.

Again, when we get back to the issues of terrorism, public safety and standing up for Canadians, I want to be very clear, going back to what the director of CSIS said in his very public report. It was open for everyone to see. He said that the single most—

[The Environment, June 1st, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to address the concerns of the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

Let me first be very clear on this and highlight a fact that I believe the member often forgets, which is the importance of the global fight against terrorism all around the world, not just here in Canada. The member seems to forget that the international jihadi movement has declared war on Canada, actually naming Canada and its citizens as one of the countries and peoples that terrorists should attack. We are being targeted by the jihadi terrorists simply because of the values that we have in this country and the fact that these terrorists hate Canada's society, which is very open and tolerant. That is why our government has put forward measures to protect Canadians from terrorists who seek to destroy the very principles that make Canada the best country in the world in which to live.

I also want to be clear that there is no liberty without security, and without strong security, there would be no prosperity for anyone here in Canada. That is why we are making sure that our policing agencies have the legislative tools that they need to keep us safe, as well as the financial resources. In fact, our government has already increased the resources available to police forces by one third. Interestingly, but unsurprisingly, the Liberals and NDP voted against both of these seven times. It has increased each time that we have tried to enhance the resources for those types of agencies.

Now, in budget 2015, we would further increase resources for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canada Border Services Agency by almost $300 million to further bolster our front-line efforts to counter terrorism. I hope that the opposition parties will support our budget and those measures, but I probably should not hold my breath.

Our government will continue to ensure that our police forces have the resources that they need to keep Canadians safe. The member opposite has brought up the issue of climate change. She was not happy with the answer that she had received from the Minister of the Environment, so let me just reiterate a part of the answer. Our Conservative government is the first government in Canadian history to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and we will continue to do so without a job-killing carbon tax. That is important for Canadians to know.

What is also important for Canadians to know is that we on this side of the House will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies around the world, fighting the global threat of terrorism. We will continue to fight, specifically, against the death cult known as the Islamic State.

I want to remind the members in the House and the member opposite that the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service has said that the Islamic State and terrorism are the biggest threat to our national security. Canadians know that they can count on this side of the House, the Conservative government, to keep Canadians safe.

[Canada Border Services Agency, May 29th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Oxford for the question. I would also like to commend the CBSA, the Canada Border Services Agency, on arresting two more individuals who were on the “wanted by the CBSA” list.

Today, as a result of the wanted by the CBSA program, Canadians have assisted in locating 62 individuals in Canada, of whom 53 have been removed. Additionally, 18 other individuals have been located abroad. These are concrete and real results.

Canadians know that they can count on our Conservative government to ensure their generosity is not abused by foreign criminals.

[Public Safety, May 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, we reject any claim that the RCMP did anything wrong by following the express will of Parliament to destroy the data from the long-gun registry. Let me be very clear. Our Conservative government fulfilled its commitment to end the wasteful and ineffective long-gun registry for all, and we will make no apologies in the House for ensuring that the will of Parliament is followed.

[Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act, May 25th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, part of the changes we are bringing forward in this particular legislation has to do with the authorization to transport. When I hear the Liberal member across the way get up to talk about spin, the Liberal spin was that the bill was somehow going to allow firearms to be brought to supermarkets, and in fact, there was fundraising on that, which is very shameful.

The issue at hand is that it is producing red tape for law-abiding, legal firearm owners across this country. In fact, we had a number of credible witnesses who came to committee and talked about the fact that in their provinces, their ATTs are actually valid for longer periods of time anyway.

I wonder if the hon. member would comment on the fact that the Liberals are using this to fearmonger and to raise funds for the upcoming election.

[Public Safety, May 15th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. We firmly reject any claim that the RCMP did anything wrong by following the expressed will of Parliament to destroy the data from the long-gun registry.

Our Conservative government fulfilled its commitment to end the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry. We will make no apologies for ensuring the will of Parliament is followed and the long gun registry data is destroyed once and for all.

[Public Safety, May 15th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, our thoughts continue to be with the families of the RCMP officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

As I said earlier today in question period, we have full confidence in the RCMP to enforce the laws of Canada and to keep all Canadians safe. The RCMP, as I mentioned earlier, had commissioned a report into this incident and is acting on those recommendations.

This matter is now before the courts, so I will not comment on it any further.