Steven Blaney

[Public Safety, April 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the people from Don Valley West can be reassured, because today our government listed IRFAN Canada as a terrorist organization.

Listing terrorists is an important tool in preventing horrific terrorist attacks from being carried out.

When an entity is placed on the list, banks and financial institutions are required to freeze its assets, and no Canadians are allowed to have dealings with this entity.

I count on all parties to stand with our government in supporting this security measure.

[Public Safety, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the member should know well that this government has committed, with the provinces, for years, working hard on the economy of policing. He can get a crash course if he wants to.

We believe that we can provide Canadian society with better services by improving the efficiency of our police services, streamlining our justice system, and finding ways so that policemen are not behind desks working with red tape but are serving our people.

[Citizenship and Immigration, April 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we have one of the most generous immigration systems in the world. Every year, this country welcomes more than 250,000 new immigrants. This level is unprecedented.

When a person is here illegally, that person has many recourses. However, once those are exhausted, CBSA, the Canada Border Services Agency, must and does apply the law of the land.

[Public Safety, April 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I just stated, the RCMP took action immediately as of yesterday afternoon and is investigating this completely unacceptable incident. Like my colleague, all members of the House and all Canadians, we expect the RCMP to treat those they deal with in their day-to-day operations with the utmost respect.

I have been assured by Commissioner Paulson that, as the facts show, steps had previously been taken to ensure that these situations never happen again, and this situation in particular will be thoroughly investigated.

[Public Safety, April 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the member is referring to what happened in Nova Scotia.

Like all Canadians, I expect all members of the RCMP to conduct themselves with professionalism and respect at all times. I have raised this serious issue with Commissioner Paulson and have been assured that steps have been taken to investigate this situation.

I completely agree with Staff Seargeant Gary Fournier of the Nova Scotia RCMP, who said: “The comments brought to our attention today are totally unprofessional. They're unacceptable.... They certainly don't represent the views of the RCMP or the members of the district or members across the province who respond to calls for service each day”.

[Public Safety, March 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.

It allows me to highlight the excellent work being done by the Canada Border Services Agency. Indeed, over the past year, border services officers have seized nearly $300 million worth of drugs. That represents a 4% increase over the previous year. This demonstrates the remarkable job that the agency has done, and above all, it proves that our government's investment of 26% is getting results. Now if only the Liberals would get on board.

[Public Safety, March 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in life it is important to understand what our responsibilities are. If my colleague wants to address this issue, I invite him to consult the provinces because that is clearly their responsibility.

[Public Safety, March 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to inform the member that we have indeed increased the number of border service officers so they can provide better service and make sure that our frontier is open for trade and commerce and closed for any illegal activities.

I will be happy to get back to the member on that particular point.

[Privacy, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I just answered that question, but I would like to repeat that Canada has some of the toughest privacy legislation in the world. Our government takes this matter very seriously on behalf of honest Canadians.

As I said, the Canada Border Services Agency complies with current Canadian legislation, in regard to the issue raised and all requests for information.

[Privacy, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to privacy, Canada has some of the toughest legislation of any country in the world. On the point that the hon. member raised, I would like to reassure him. This is a common practice, and one that is within the law. In these matters, we expect all agencies to obey the law, and that is exactly the case in the example given by the member.