House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 64% of the vote.
Judicial Appointments February 14th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, this government has improved the advisory process for judicial appointments. This decision has its roots in a decision by a former Conservative government and we support this system.
It is obvious that the Liberal Party wants to politicize judicial appointments. The Liberal Party is making a political debate out of this. The House of Commons is not where judges should be selected.
Judicial Appointments February 14th, 2007
Once again, Mr. Speaker, this government has made a number of appointments to the bench of people of very high quality. In fact, these were people who were all recommended by a selection process put in place by the previous government.
It is very different to select people based on diverse input and based on merit rather than the previous system, where Benoît Corbeil told CBC radio that for all intents and purposes judgeships were available to those who gave the most money to the Liberal Party.
Judicial Appointments February 14th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, this government has established a process that is indeed independent, with the participation of a number of voices, including the voice of the police who have to enforce our laws. It is important for our government to select top-notch judges to help us keep our streets and communities safer.
Judicial Appointments February 14th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that the hon. member certainly has a plan to audition for a new role.
The former minister of justice announced important changes last year which would ensure that when we select judges the police have input into the selection of judges in this country.
We want to make sure that we are bringing forward laws to make sure we crack down on crime and make our streets and communities safer.
We want to make sure that our selection of judges is in correspondence with those objectives.
The Environment February 13th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the various provinces can find and take different approaches. That is the nature of Canadian federalism.
There is just one question. This program is supported by the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec. Will the Bloc Québécois vote in favour of Quebec's interests here in the House of Commons?
The Environment February 13th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, seriously, it is impossible to deny the hot air emissions when the Bloc is here.
This is a good announcement for Quebec for controlling greenhouse gas emissions. This announcement and other agreements with the other provinces will be in the budget. We expect the Bloc's support for this program, for Quebec and for the budget.
The Environment February 13th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the leader of the Bloc Québécois for giving me this opportunity to discuss the announcement we made yesterday on Canada ecotrust, a major program that will be in effect across Canada. This program will help us to work in full cooperation with Quebec on environmental measures. In the meantime, this will also allow us to resolve the fiscal imbalance. With the infrastructure, UNESCO, this is good news—
Judicial Appointments February 13th, 2007
Of course, Mr. Speaker, these committees are independent. The government does not even name all of the members.
On the contrary, if the leader of the Liberal Party wants to know why we should look at changing the process, just consider the fact that in 2002 his government appointed the wife of the national campaign manager of the Liberal Party to be chief justice of the Superior Court of Ontario.
Judicial Appointments February 13th, 2007
On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, the advisory committees the government has just appointed include people with very diverse perspectives, and they will make recommendations to the government to appoint men and women of the highest quality to the courts of our land.
Judicial Appointments February 13th, 2007
On the contrary, Mr. Speaker.
I have always defended the rights of the courts to rule under the charter of rights, although I think there could be changes. We believe on this side that property rights should be included in the charter.
At the same time, this party is committed to ensuring that we appoint men and women of the highest quality to the courts of our land to enforce and apply our laws. That is what we did when we named Justice Rothstein to the Supreme Court of Canada.