Finance committee  That has actually helped your capacity to address financial malfeasance that could be used in other areas such as the drug trade and so on?

Counter-Drug Operations  We do not want the problems that illegal drugs bring to the communities. Our government has brought in strong measures to fight the illegal drug trade with new, tough crime laws, but illegal drugs are a scourge against which many countries around the world are fighting. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence update us on the things that Canadian Forces are doing in this international fight against illegal drugs?

Industry committee  What investigative techniques do you have in terms of determining whether the finances that a particular company wishes to invest into Canada, the money or the investment they have, is actually clean money and not something that came from, I would say, criminal activity? As you know, the drug trade is into the billions of dollars, and it's easy to set up companies that look legitimate and then invest in Canada under particular provisions and be able to operate freely in order to launder their money.

Disposition of Abolition of Early Parole Act  We do not know that. We have had speculation that it may be people who have been involved in the drug trade. We do not know that, and if there are those, we do not know how many. When I say “we”, I and my colleague probably has more information than the government has. However, I can tell the House that by tomorrow evening, when the committee is working on this, those figures will be no clearer than what I have at this point.

Justice committee  Well, perhaps one man has killed more than one woman. We also know, however, that some of those deaths are drug trade deaths, not serial killer deaths. The drug trade has become more cruel and more vicious. Again, we see many young men being killed in Edmonton. We also see that a number of the young women have been killed in drug trade retaliation.

Canada-Panama Free Trade Act  The fact this country is or harbours a paradis fiscal , a tax haven that is sucking millions of dollars, and also that it should not be supporting the drug trade, I think overrules the fact that we may gain a few small markets in this country.

Canada-Panama Free Trade Act  If he is serious about protecting trade unionists and teachers in Colombia, he should provide legitimate economic opportunity to the people and help wean them away from those terrible drug lords and drug trade, which for many people in Colombia, in fact for 40 years, represented the opportunity. I find it interesting that the hon. member never talks about FARC. He never talks about his ideological soulmates, the Marxist-Leninist FARC in Colombia, that has been murdering people.

Canada-Panama Free Trade Act  He states, “It is evident to all who have studied the offshore banking business that its growth has been fuelled by the phenomenal increase in cash from the U.S. drug trade”. The IRS states that of the investigations it has conducted, 45% involved illegal transactions derived from legal income and about 55% of cases actually dealt with illegal income from drug trafficking.

Finance committee  It was should we have a trade agreement with a country with whom we have fundamental disagreements on human rights or the drug trade or whatever else? That's a question that has bedeviled us for years in Canada, whether it's China or Cuba or whatever. One of the questions I always asked myself when I was in politics is will it make a difference if we don't?

Finance committee  We have another organization we created, the financial action task force, which has basically tried to identify money laundering, which could be from the drug trade, could be from gambling, trading in humans, counterfeit goods, all sorts of illegal activities. All of this is getting, I think, better and better, but we still have a long way to go.

Protecting Canadians by Ending Sentence Discounts for Multiple Murders Act  Mohan became collateral damage for a group of criminals whose regard for anyone besides themselves was non-existent. Gang activity in support of the drug trade took the lives of two men who had absolutely nothing to do with the situation. Canadians should not have to live in fear of conducting their daily lives in places where they have every right to be.

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Poverty, unemployment and lack of legitimate economic opportunity force too many Colombians to turn to the violent life of the drug trade. For too many Colombians, it is the only way they can make a living and provide for their families, but we can help. In fact, we have a responsibility to help. Canada has a moral obligation to help Colombia build its legitimate economy, and we have a long history of providing foreign aid to Colombia.

International Trade committee  But let's assume you're right. You just said it is widely accepted that people join the drug trade because there is no other economic opportunity, and that the drug trade has a pernicious effect on democracy in Colombia. So isn't providing rules-based trade opportunities in the legitimate global economy important in helping to foster peace and democracy in Colombia?

International Trade committee  I think that providing rules-based trade is certainly not going to end the drug trade in Colombia. We've seen that with Plan Colombia in the United States. That has not worked in any way to positively impact the drug trade.

Public Safety committee  The most alarming area of gun use escalation surrounds the ever-increasing street gang activity tied dramatically to the drug trade. As I deal on a daily basis with gang members in my current occupation and monitor their other criminal activities through my involvement with serving police officers in the criminal intelligence service, I can tell you first hand that gun crime is escalating and that handguns are far and away the weapon of choice of these criminals to enforce their piece of the drug trade pie.