Shawn Murphy

[Committees of the House, December 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the following reports of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

First, the 20th report on “Chapter 5, Financial Management and Control - National Defence of the Spring 2009 report of the Auditor General of Canada”.

Second, the 21st report on “Chapter 3, Contracting for Professional Services - Public Works and Government Services Canada of the December 2008 report of the Auditor General of Canada”.

Third, the 22nd report on “The Power of Committees to Order the Production of Documents and Records”.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109 of the House of Commons the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to each of these reports.

[Business of Supply, December 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member across for his comments, but there is one aspect of this whole issue that disturbs me greatly. It is the refusal of the government to provide the committee with the requested documents. In my view that is a cornerstone of parliamentary democracy and that is the right of Parliament, which delegates the committees to send for persons, papers and records.

We have the spectacle in Ottawa now that the present and retired generals, present and retired civil servants, the media, it seems everyone has these documents except members of Parliament and this is a fundamental right that is being violated as we speak. There seems to be a trend with the Minister of Public Safety, Minister of Public Works, the Department of Public Works and it goes on in every committee. I find it disturbing and we are all lessened because of that.

Is the member across not as disturbed as I am with this inability, or the refusal of the government to provide documents to which the committee is legally entitled? Do not say that the Evidence Act, the Privacy Act or some statute has precedence over Parliament because that is not the case. Is he not as disturbed as I am and why—

[World Autism Awareness Day Act, November 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I first want to take this opportunity to thank every member of Parliament who spoke in favour of this bill. Although we do not necessarily agree on everything that happens in this House, I believe we agree this is a major issue facing Canadian families.

As has been pointed out by other members, this bill originated in the Senate and was championed by Senator Jim Munson. I would like to take this opportunity to commend and congratulate Senator Munson for the time and energy he put into this important piece of legislation. Speaking of persistence, Senator Munson introduced the bill three times, but because of elections and prorogations, it was delayed. He certainly is persistent and needs to be congratulated.

As has been pointed out by other speakers, who I submit are more knowledgeable than I am on this particular issue, presently in Canada approximately one in 165 Canadian children is living with some form of autism. That means that one in every 165 Canadian families is dealing with the financial and emotional hardship of caring for a child with autism. These families need and deserve the support of the federal and provincial governments and the community at large.

It must be pointed out that this bill does not provide that type of help. The most fundamental function of this bill is that it reiterates the importance of raising public awareness about autism spectrum disorders. The benefits of public awareness certainly cannot be denied or understated.

As Canadians, we have to realize that people affected by autism are not just statistics; they are not numbers on a page. We heard that from the member for Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, who eloquently spoke of his experiences. Rather, they are our friends, colleagues, co-workers and neighbours. That reality deserves our attention.

This bill is a reminder to us in the House and all Canadians that there is much more we can do as parliamentarians and lawmakers to address this alarming national health crisis, and I underline the word “health”. Right now, there exists no national strategy for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders. That means that treatment availability and financial support vary tremendously depending on where one lives in Canada.

In certain provinces, autism treatments, including applied behavioural analysis and intensive behavioural intervention, are covered under the provincial medicare program and are more readily available, especially, as has been pointed out by others, for those who are diagnosed early where treatments are much more effective. However, in other provinces of the country where facilities or trained caregivers are limited, families have to pay out of their own pockets for this treatment. In some cases the treatment is not even in the health envelope; it is in the social services envelope.

Some families, as has been pointed out by others, can expect to pay upwards of $65,000 each year for treatment, a financial burden that no family in Canada should have to endure. That unfairness does not reflect my view of the values that we have as Canadians.

For those who are interested in following this issue, I point out, as the previous speaker did, the excellent Senate report entitled, “Pay Now or Pay Later”, which discusses this particular issue.

To bring us back to the bill we are presently considering, I see this legislation currently before us as an important stepping stone in this process. Hopefully we will achieve a national autism strategy designed to protect and support the families and those living with autism.

Earlier this year the Minister of Health recognized April 2 as world autism awareness day. I applaud the minister's efforts, but at the same time, I remind the House that there is no force of law behind such a declaration. The only way is to formally declare April 2 of each and every year as world autism awareness day, as has been done by 192 other countries in the world following the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In closing, I urge every member of the House to think seriously about this bill, to consider those constituents of theirs who are facing autism each and every day of their lives and to move Canada forward in the fight to better the lives of Canadians across the country who are dealing with autism spectrum disorders.

[Financial Institutions, November 16th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am calling on the government to deal with the credit card crisis facing Canadians.

During the past year, Canada's financial institutions, together with Visa and MasterCard, have significantly raised the interchange fees charged to all Canadian businesses. These fees, which are now the second highest in the developed world, are passed on to Canadian consumers, leading to higher costs for everything.

The credit card industry has burdened all Canadians with high interest rates, hidden fees, charges and double charges, with no transparency as to how these fees and charges are imposed or calculated.

To add to the misery that all Canadians are experiencing around this issue, Visa and MasterCard are now entering the Canadian debit card business. The charge per transaction is expected to increase five-fold and, again, this will be an additional burden on Canadian consumers.

What we have in the Canadian credit card industry right now is one big unregulated jungle, and the big losers are Canadians. The issue cries out for government oversight and I urge the minister to take action now.

[Petitions, November 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, during the periods September 3, 1939 to March 1, 1947, and subsequently from June 27, 1950 to July 27, 1953, certain veterans received the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea.

This petition is from residents of the greater Charlottetown area and a smaller number from Oakville and Victoria. They are calling upon the Government of Canada to recognize by means of the issuance of a new Canadian Volunteer Service Medal to be designated the Governor General's volunteer service medal, for volunteer service by Canadians in the regular and reserve military forces and cadet corps support staff who were not eligible for the aforementioned medals, and who have completed 365 days of uninterrupted honourable duty in the service of their country since March 2, 1947.

[Committees of the House, November 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 19th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in relation to chapter 5, Passport Services—Passport Canada of the 2009 report of the Auditor General of Canada.

[Criminal Code, November 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to this motion. I will, for the record, read the motion since I am the first to speak this afternoon. It states:

That, in the opinion of the House, for greater certainty, the government should take steps to ensure that counselling a person to commit suicide or aiding or abetting a person to commit suicide is an offence under section 241 of the Criminal Code, regardless of the means used to counsel or aid or abet including via telecommunications, the Internet or a computer system.

This area is complex and there would be issues in prosecuting such an offence and obtaining a conviction. However, from a public policy point of view, I am prepared to support the motion and vote in favour of it. As is contained within the motion, it is now part of the Criminal Code, pursuant to section 241, but the motion asks for that particular section to be further clarified.

Suicide is a difficult issue to deal with and I do not think anyone who does not come from a family that has experienced it really cannot imagine the difficulty that would ensue. The causes and contributing factors are numerous and I suggest is ill understood by society as a whole. Each person is unique. There is no single reason and the circumstances are extremely complex.

In any situation where individual residents of Canada are contemplating such an act, I suggest they need assistance but not with engaging in the act itself. That is the underlying purpose of section 241 of the Criminal Code.

I would also suggest that mental health issues are predominant factors. We are talking about an area of health care that is probably the least understood of known illnesses. Though I believe that as a society we know more now than we did 10 or 15 years ago, we have an obligation to become more aware, knowledgeable, responsive and perceptive.

I support zero tolerance on this issue. We should not in any way get on the slippery slope. As a society, we should send a very clear message that any action contemplated or envisaged in this motion by section 241 of the Criminal Code should clearly not in any way be sanctioned by society. In fact, any action that aids, abets or counsels any person in the act of suicide should be subject to criminal sanctions.

I understand the mover has been prompted by the Nadia Kajouji case. I have read the media reports on that case. It is extremely disturbing. A lot of people ask why charges were not laid. I do not know all the facts or why charges were not laid. Obviously there were some interjurisdictional issues that had to be dealt with and it appeared to me maybe some mental health issues with the person who committed the alleged offence.

Most states have similar legislation in the United States, although my research found that prosecutions are extremely rare. It is not an easy area to prosecute, but that does not allow us as parliamentarians or makers of the law to shy away from this issue. In fact, the opposite I suggest is true.

The present section 241 reads:

Every one who

(a) counsels a person to commit suicide, or

(b) aids or abets a person to commit suicide,

whether suicide ensues or not, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

It is there, but this motion would broaden it. It would go into electronic communications, the Internet, and so on.

We as members of this House should support the motion and let it proceed for further study. If there is any way that section 241 can be enhanced or strengthened to give police and prosecutors more tools to go after anyone who would commit such an act, then I stand here today in support of it.

My remarks are going to be fairly limited. I just went over what I think of this particular motion. It is something that the House should support. From a public policy point of view, it makes sense. It is complex. It is a little complicated. When we get into anything with the Internet and criminal prosecutions, it can become complicated. We are not into a simple matter but, on the other hand, it is not an issue we should shy away from.

For those reasons, I will be supporting the motion when it comes to a vote.

[Retribution on Behalf of Victims of White Collar Crime Act, October 22nd, 2009]

Madam Speaker, as the member has indicated, I think the bill should go to committee and it will generally be supported.

This is not the issue as far as white collar crime in Canada is concerned. I practised law for 25 years and my experience is that people cannot be convicted until they are caught. The real problem in Canada right now is that there is no regulation, no investigatory capacity and no prosecutorial capacity to deal with these cases. Even in the cases where someone is caught, it takes 8, 10 or 11 years before there is any conviction.

I do not know all of the regulations, but it seems to me that the town idiot could go out and advertise himself as a town planner. There is no training or education required. There is no self-regulatory body there. There is no supervision. It is an unregulated jungle out there now, and we are seeing that in the Earl Jones situation.

We are fooling the public if we think this will cure the problem. At the end of the day it might help a bit, but the crux of the issue is that we in Canada are dealing with an unregulated jungle that is not serving the public. Does the member across see Parliament doing anything to get to the real nub of the issue?

[World Autism Awareness Day Act, October 9th, 2009]

moved that Bill S-210, An Act respecting World Autism Awareness Day, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to move this bill. This bill originated in the Senate and I am pleased to continue the work in the House. I want to publicly thank Senator Jim Munson for guiding this bill through the Senate. I also want to take this opportunity to thank my colleague, the member for Newton—North Delta, for seconding the bill.

The purpose of the bill is rather simple. It is to raise awareness about autism, a neurological condition that affects an increasing number of families in Canada and around the world. According to some reports, autism affects more children worldwide than cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined. Published reports put the rate of children living with autism at one in 165. Recent reports that originated in the United States put that number quite a bit higher.

It affects all races, all regions and all walks of life. To a certain extent, autism isolates those who have it from the world around them. Many different therapies are available, but the waiting lists are extremely long. Many of the accepted methodologies are partially covered by our health care system in some instances while in other instances they are covered by another envelope of government altogether outside of the health care system.

While there is much to learn about autism, we do know, and this is an uncontested premise, that the earlier the treatment can begin, the more successful that treatment tends to be. When people with autism do not receive timely treatment, it means that they are denied the tools they need to succeed and participate in and contribute to society.

Both waiting lists and costs are barriers. Treatment for autism can cost up to $65,000 per annum. Each province has a different approach to funding treatment and far too many families have to refinance existing loans, find second jobs, or make other sacrifices to ensure that their children receive the necessary medical treatment they need. There is no consistency across Canada and I submit that there is no equity or fairness either.

Untreated autism can lead to a lifetime of exclusion and often results in individuals being placed in institutions at a cost far greater than the treatment would be. A year or two ago, the Senate wrote and published an excellent committee report entitled “Pay Now or Pay Later: Autism Families in Crisis”. I urge every member in the House and those watching on TV to read that excellent report.

Financial strain, fatigue and constant worry for their child erode the mental and physical health of parents. Parents need our help. This is an issue that cries out for a response from the federal government, our 10 provincial governments, and the three territorial governments.

I could go on about the lack of a federal strategy, the lack of necessary research, et cetera. However, I will stick to the bill.

This bill talks about raising awareness. Let us make it absolutely clear that today will not immediately change the reality of one person affected by autism. They will still have to fight to get treatments and make sacrifices to pay for these treatments, but if Canada were to acknowledge their reality, even for one day, those families might no longer feel so alone.

On April 2, World Autism Awareness Day, people with autism and their families will feel the respect and admiration they deserve from their fellow citizens. To a limited extent, such a day will show support, but it will also send a message about autism to those who do not know about this condition.

It will be an opportunity for people to learn about autism and recognize that there are many families in their communities living with autism, including neighbours, friends and colleagues who deserve to have their reality acknowledged and supported by governments at both levels.

In the United States, I submit, much more is being done to address autism. The combating autism act of 2006 authorizes nearly $1 billion in expenditures over five years to help families with autism.

This landmark single-disease legislation recognizes autism for the national health crisis it is. This funding will double expenditures on existing programs, including a significant increase in spending for research.

President Barack Obama has promised to support increased funding for autism research, treatment, screening, public awareness and support services. Until Canada gets to the same level of support, let us at least recognize that autism is serious and affects a growing number of families. Let us as a House declare April 2 of each year World Autism Awareness Day.

All children have the right to succeed, and as parliamentarians we have the responsibility to ensure that all Canadian children have the necessary tools to do so. It is clear that this issue goes well beyond party lines and connects Canadians from coast to coast, from all regions and all walks of life.

Many colleagues in the House have been very helpful on this particular issue and have supported this and other bills that have come forward. I would like to again thank Senator Munson, and the hon. members for Sackville—Eastern Shore, Sudbury, Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont and Verchères—Les Patriotes for their admirable work.

In closing, I want to remind hon. members that Canada has signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These international conventions commit us to take action to see that children with disabilities enjoy a full life in conditions that ensure dignity, self-respect, self-reliance and full participation.

Let all hon. members take one more step forward and join the 192 other countries of the world that have made April 2 World Autism Awareness Day. Autism can no longer be ignored in this country. More needs to be done for those whose lives are affected by this disorder.

I hope, as a member of Parliament, everyone will support the bill, and I hope also that as members of Parliament, Senators and Canadians, we can work collectively to ensure that Canada will soon have a national autism strategy.

[National Co-op Week, October 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, next week is National Co-op Week, and with today's economic challenges and the changing face of the global economy, it could not be more timely.

With some 13 million co-op and credit union members in Canada joining some 800 million members worldwide, the popularity of co-ops and credit unions has grown, largely because of the advantages they offer in today's uncertain economic environment.

With globalization, concentration of ownership and ever-advancing technology, co-ops and credit unions provide an alternative to their investor-owned competitors, one that carries with it shared values and principles designed to ensure fairness and equity. And, of course, they are owned and controlled by their members.

National Co-op Week aims to raise the visibility of these organizations while improving understanding and awareness of co-operatives.

In closing, it is important that we all take the time to reflect on the importance that co-operatives have in our society, in our culture, and in our economy.