Sean Casey

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 30th, 2012]

With respect to additional fees or expenses of Deputy Ministers (DM) of government departments, what is the amount of all additional fees or expenses paid on behalf of DMs or for which DMs are reimbursed, including but not limited to (i) memberships or membership discounts for professional associations or other organizations (e.g., bar associations), (ii) club memberships or membership discounts for fitness clubs, golf clubs, social clubs (e.g., The Rideau Club), (iii) season tickets to cultural or sporting events, (iv) access to private health clinics or medical services outside those provided by provincial healthcare systems or by the employer’s group insured benefit plans, (v) professional advisory services for personal matters, such as financial, tax or estate planning, broken down both by individual and by department?

[Petitions, December 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by people in Chilliwack and Abbotsford, B.C. who are concerned about the cuts to Veterans Affairs and their impact on veterans. They specifically point out that $226 million in cuts have already been announced, that there will be further cuts as a result of the strategic operating review, that there are 500 jobs in play and, as a result of that, service to veterans will undoubtedly be impacted.

The petitioners call upon the government to restore funding to Veterans Affairs.

[Senate Reform Act, December 8th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, the Liberal Party certainly shares some of the concerns with respect to the constitutionality of this legislation. I found it very interesting that the member laid it out as a bit of ruse in saying that the Conservatives probably expect this legislation will never see the light of day once it is put through the constitutional scrutiny that it must undergo.

It strikes me that there is a troubling pattern in terms of passing legislation through this House that is likely to be found unconstitutional. We have seen recent examples in Bill C-4 and Bill C-10 .

For the benefit of those in the House and those watching, I would invite the member to expand a bit on the constitutional arguments that would likely be upheld once the bill is subject to the scrutiny of the Supreme Court of Canada.

[Petitions, December 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of several residents of British Columbia concerned about the announced and anticipated cuts in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The petitioners raise the issues of the $226 million cuts to Veterans Affairs, which have already been announced; the anticipated impact of further cuts as a result of the strategic and operating review; and the fact that 500 jobs are now in play. They express concerns over the ability of the department to service our veterans in that environment.

They specifically call for the Government of Canada to restore funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

[Veterans Affairs, December 6th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Veterans Ombudsman made the case that veterans should receive the same amount for funeral costs as serving Canadian Forces members. However, today we learned that the Conservatives will cut $4 million from the Last Post Fund.

Page 30 of the Conservatives' 2008 campaign platform said that they would “increase funeral and burial assistance rates for veterans to bring the rates for veterans in line with those of active duty Canadian Forces and RCMP officers”.

Why promise to increase support for funeral costs and then today cut $4 million? Why betray veterans?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, December 5th, 2011]

With respect to Conditional Sentencing in Canada: (a) what is the number of conditional sentences issued since 2002 to present and for what offences under the criminal code; (b) what is the expected financial impact of the increased prison population, and longer prison terms expected as a result of the passage of Bill C-10 (An Act to enact the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act and to amend the State Immunity Act, the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and other Acts) and what financial impact will this have on the provinces; (c) what assessment, if any, has been conducted on the impact, including financial, of eliminating conditional sentences as provided in Bill C-10, on the administration of criminal justice by the provinces; (d) has the government received correspondence from stakeholder groups advocating for elimination of conditional sentencing, and if so, what are the details of this correspondence; (e) what, if any, advice was provided or sought from Corrections Canada and its unions with respect to eliminating conditional sentencing, and (f) what advice, briefing notes, and or assessments have been provided to the Minister and senior officials by non Canadian jurisdictions with respect to conditional sentencing and other crime related initiatives?

[Status of Women, December 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, next week we will recognize one of the most tragic events in Canadian history. On December 6, 1989, out of the blue, while ordinary women were going about their day at École Polytechnique, 14 lives were tragically ended. One can only imagine what these young women would have accomplished if this tragedy had not occurred.

The struggle for women and for equality continues today. Each day, hundreds of thousands of women continue to fight for equal pay, safety from violence and equal representation.

In my province of Prince Edward Island, the Advisory Council on the Status of Women, led by Lisa Murphy and Diane Kays, has been very successful with its purple ribbon campaign. This year, the P.E.I. purple ribbon campaign has focused on access to justice for families and more options for women and children who face violence in their homes.

Without equal access to justice, the very rights put in place to protect them cannot be enforced and reinforces unequal power. The work the Advisory Council on the Status of Women does in Prince Edward Island and across Canada is invaluable. I applaud it for that work.

[Corrections and Conditional Release Act, December 1st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I only wish that the government had the same zeal to combat poverty and other social inequities.

I have read the bill and I want to say to the member directly that any attempt to withhold any constitutional protections to any Canadians will be met with great opposition. We will not be bullied any more with suggestions that we care about criminals and not victims. It is simply not true.

Any effort to limit the rights of any Canadian, regardless of how we might find the reasons for their incarceration deplorable, will be objected to. We cannot allow Conservative fear to erode fundamental rights and natural justice.

I realize that these concepts do not play well with the right wingers over there. For them, it is lock them up, shut them up, and throw away the key.

Any prisoner convicted and serving time is an individual who is there for a reason and he or she should be there, given that a decision was rendered by a judge or jury after a due process. However, it does not mean that once incarcerated his or her fundamental rights as a human being are expunged, as much as the Conservatives would like to think so.

If a prisoner has a legitimate complaint, one that is serious, if he or she is mistreated or abused, then there should be no law that would prevent him or her from seeking a remedy.

We know that even at the worst moments of war, when we think of the great wars, there were international rules as to how we treated prisoners and evil people who did great harm or damage, and for good reason. It is called the Geneva Convention. We do not want a system that disregards the essential dignity of all human life, regardless of the deplorable nature of his or her crime.

We will review the bill, we will scrutinize it, and we will ensure that it meets the test of the charter, a document that many on the other side, deep down, oppose. However, we will do our job to ensure that the intention of the bill is not to stomp out legitimate complaints of prisoners.

In closing, I really do find all this crime propaganda troubling. I really wish the members across the way would look at themselves in the mirror and see how angry they appear.

[Corrections and Conditional Release Act, December 1st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the people in my riding, and in ridings across this country, are worried about jobs. In my province, my constituents are worried about raw sewage in the harbour. Islanders have been trying since 2006 to convince the Conservative government to lay an electricity cable across the Northumberland Strait so that people in my province will have a safe and secure energy supply. These are important issues.

The Conservative member presents a bill about frivolous complaints made by Canadians who are incarcerated. What is frivolous is the constant propaganda emanating from the Conservatives that seeks to create a climate of fear. It is really amazing how narrow, how meanspirited, and how angry a government we have. Does it strike members as very strange and wrong that it seems just about every member of the Conservative backbench has their own crime bill? One would think crime was rampant, even though we know that the crime rate is declining.

In just this past month we have had no less than eight Conservative private members' bills on the order paper that deal with crime or public safety. Are the Conservative members incapable of thinking of anything else to speak about except crime? Do they lie awake at night dreaming and conjuring up ways to create fear in Canadians? It is crime propaganda 24/7 with these guys, and it has to stop.

Crime is not rampant. What is rampant is poverty and unemployment. It really is a disgrace to any sense of fairness and justice, and respect for the intelligence of Canadians that each day members of the Conservative caucus stand in the House and attack other elected members of Parliament, all but accusing them of supporting pedophiles, rapists or drug dealers. This is all because we continue to state our view that their crime agenda runs contrary to the evidence or facts.

We have a government that is systematically tearing apart the very fabric of Canada, all the while wrapping itself in the very flag it denigrates--

[Corrections and Conditional Release Act, December 1st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I am rising once again to speak to a Conservative backbench private member's bill on crime. It is really amazing to me and to many Canadians how the right-wing republicans across the aisle continue to introduce so many so-called crime bills.

We read today in the news how the Conservative government essentially admitted to breaking the law. It is attacking, misleading and spreading falsehoods about the hon. member for Mount Royal. When will we be seeing a crime bill about that? The hon. member for Mount Royal is a great Canadian, an honourable man, a person of unimpeachable integrity and character. Yet these Conservatives are engaging in activities that are fundamentally unjust and un-Canadian. And here we are again on another crime bill.

We have two million people unemployed in Canada. People are struggling with real-life issues. Families are confronting the reality of not having enough money to buy gifts for their children at Christmas. Seniors are struggling to find money to pay for their home heating. Young people are disillusioned because there is no work and sadly no prospect of any. We have poverty rates among children that are a disgrace in a country as rich as ours. Food bank use is increasing among working families.

In my own province, poverty rates are on the rise and food bank usage is increasing. The Conservatives are cutting hundreds of jobs at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Veterans Affairs Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. They are closing employment insurance processing centres. It will be a miserable Christmas for millions of Canadians.

We have, as we speak, the Red Cross sweeping into Attawapiskat because that aboriginal community has no running water and many families are living in appalling conditions. Yet here we are again this evening dealing with a bill that has absolutely nothing to do with the real priorities of Canadians—