House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 71% of the vote.
Telecommunications May 16th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, in fact what the official did do is point out certain concerns and then indicate that those concerns had been addressed.
What I find surprising is that member is a member of a party that did not even recognize that there were any security concerns a year or two ago in respect of cyberspace.
Telecommunications May 16th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, what I can tell the member is that all carriers will continue to be subject to Canadian law. We will continue to ensure that Canadians can rely on a telecommunications infrastructure that is safe and secure.
What the hon. member did not state, nor did the CBC in its story state, is that in the same memo cited by the CBC, my official stated that despite the concerns, “I want to stress that Public Safety Canada is not in opposition to the auction”.
Public Safety May 9th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, that is a good question from the other side.
Today I announced a number of measures to increase offender accountability, including making prison inmates pay a portion of their board and room, eliminating so-called incentive pay, and ensuring costs associated with managing the inmate telephone system are charged to the inmate population. They use it, they pay for it.
Our government always stands up for the rights of victims over the rights of criminals, and in addition, can save the taxpayers $10 million by this measure on an annual basis.
Public Safety May 9th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I would recommend the reading of the relevant legislation as to the jurisdiction of the Minister of Public Safety in respect to his responsibilities for the RCMP.
However, I might indicate that Canadians gave our government a strong mandate to end the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry. The Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act did just that. Any action that runs contrary to the will of Canadians as expressed by this Parliament is unacceptable. While I understand that provinces may wish to create a wasteful and ineffective long gun registry, they must do so under lawful authority.
Public Safety May 1st, 2012
Mr. Speaker, most emergencies in Canada are local in nature and are managed by municipalities at the provincial or territorial level. Public Safety Canada works with all of the local organizations in order to coordinate that.
We are not putting Canadians' safety at risk. Indeed, we continue to enhance it in various ways.
Questions on the Order Paper April 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, regarding correspondence--i.e., ministerial dockets--on the subject of international transfers sent to Correctional Service of Canada for response or information, search results indicate that there are over 2,000 entries in CSC’s tracking system and archive. In order to determine which of the letters fit the parameters of the question and in order to categorize the types of letters based on the way the question is organized, a manual review would be required.
Moreover, certain international transfer cases are associated with letter-writing campaigns. An individual case may have upwards of 400 letters associated with it. CSC tracks these campaigns in a different manner. A separate, but similar, manual review would be required in order to incorporate this type of correspondence into the response.
In both cases, a manual review could not be completed within the established timeline.
Questions on the Order Paper April 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, our Government is committed to making the protection of society the guiding principle in decisions affecting the corrections system. The Safe Streets and Communities Act made important amendments to the International Transfer of Offenders Act to enshrine in law a number of additional key factors in deciding whether an offender would be granted a transfer back to Canada. These factors would include whether, in the opinion of the minister, an offender would, upon return to Canada, endanger public safety; continue to engage in criminal activities following his or her transfer; and endanger the safety of any child, particularly in cases of offenders who have been convicted of sexual abuse.
Decisions would also take into consideration whether a criminal has been participating in his or her rehabilitation and cooperating with law enforcement. These amendments reflect the government’s commitment to strengthening the rights of victims, increasing the responsibility of offenders and making our communities safe.
With regard to (a), from January 1, 2006, to March 14, 2012, CSC received 1,657 international transfer applications from Canadian citizens convicted and sentenced abroad. Out of this number, the Minister of Public Safety rendered a decision on 730 cases. The other 934 applications are still in process, have been withdrawn by the applicants, denied by the sentencing country, deemed ineligible by either country, or the offenders were released by the other country and possibly deported to Canada.
Of the 730 decisions rendered, the Minister of Public Safety approved 514 and denied 216.
With regard to (b), under both the current International Transfers of Offenders Act, ITOA, and the amended act further to the passing of Bill C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, CSC does not provide an opinion or a recommendation to the Minister of Public Safety. CSC’s mandate in processing the applications is mainly to collect, summarize and submit the relevant information to the Minister of Public Safety for decision.
With regard to (c), since 2006, of the number of rejected transfer applications, 36 applicants sought judicial recourse to overturn the Minister of Public Safety’s decision.
With regard to (d), 13 judgments were rendered in favour of the Minister of Public Safety, 15 judgments were rendered in favour of the applicants, and four judgments have yet to be rendered.
It should be noted that the total number of judgments does not match the number of applicants because some matters were discontinued.
Citizen's Arrest and Self-defence Act April 25th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the support from the opposition for this particular bill. I did note a comment made by the member and I will make this observation. He indicated this is a bill that will in fact help individuals as opposed to other law and order types of bills. This is typical of the NDP approach: let us make sure we can arrest them, but when they are arrested, simply let them go.
In fact, our government's approach is that when someone is arrested, by a citizen or police officer, there are consequences to breaking the law. That is what our legislation does, even if the member opposite does not support it.
Public Safety April 24th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I am advised by the department that the true net savings is $120 million a year.
Public Safety April 24th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, our government has increased front-line border officer positions by 26% since coming into office.
It strikes me as somewhat unusual that the member is concerned about drugs coming into our country when he consistently votes in favour of laws that would not increase the drug penalties against those individuals. There is an individual who does not walk the walk when he is asked to.