Enhancing RCMP Accountability Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that last night Bill C-42, the enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police accountability act, passed second reading. This bill would give the RCMP the tools it needs to enhance trust and restore accountability in its ranks. The positive response to our government's proposed reforms has been heard loud and clear.

Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims Act  Mr. Speaker, that is the whole idea behind the fine option program. Where a judge has the discretion to determine that there is undue hardship on offenders or their depends, if a judge finds that to be the case, then the offenders will be given the opportunity to work for credits to benefit the community in order to substitute for payment.

Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims Act  Mr. Speaker, my colleague asks a good question and one that gets right to the point of what I have been talking about today. As my colleague knows, we have ongoing dialogue with the provinces and territories on justice issues. As I mentioned in my speech, there are actually territorial and provincial surcharges that are levied along with federal ones.

Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims Act  Mr. Speaker, I reject the assumption underlying that question that we have raised those costs. We are talking about bringing into force of a mandatory and automatic victim surcharge that will not go into general revenue. One of the problems I highlighted is of people wondering what it is really for, does it go into general revenue or does it really go to help those who need it most.

Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims Act  Mr. Speaker, as I set out in my speech, there have been several studies done to understand why the victim surcharge machine, which has been in place for some time, does not seem to raise the revenue needed for the victims and the services they need in an adequate way. Those studies, both in the provinces, like New Brunswick specifically, but also federally through the Department of Justice, have shown that the idea of an offender not having to pay the surcharge perhaps because they could not afford it seems to have been lost.

Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims Act  Mr. Speaker, it is our experience that victims are in great need. Sometimes the effects of criminality will last a lifetime. There are many different types of programs that can be of assistance. All of these programs that are available are doing good work and we want to ensure they are properly funded both from territorial and provincial surcharges as well as federal.

Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to participate in the debate at second reading of Bill C-37, the Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims Act, concerning victim surcharges. Bill C-37 would make offenders more accountable by doubling victim surcharges for offenders and by ensuring that surcharges are applied automatically in all cases.

Pooled Registered Pension Plans  Mr. Speaker, the point here is that we are trying to broaden the scope of retirement savings options for Canadians. We have some 60% of Canadians who do not have pensions through employment. This is an opportunity for employers and employees to work together to create an option for retirement and a benefit for their senior years, which they do not have now.

Pooled Registered Pension Plans  Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we have been applauded for this initiative, not just by industry and employers but by employees and the groups representing them. All the provinces are on board with the idea of providing small and medium businesses with such a plan. We are being lauded by so many.

Pooled Registered Pension Plans  Mr. Speaker, as someone who was self-employed throughout most of my career before becoming a member of Parliament, and in small to medium-sized law firms in my case, I know this is something that would be most welcome. We did not have a vehicle to offer this sort of retirement security to our employees.

Pooled Registered Pension Plans  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to add my voice in support of today's debate on retirement income security. Before I commence my remarks, I will correct something that I believe the member opposite just said, which is that old age security is only available to the poorest seniors. OAS is universally accessible to our seniors.

New Democratic Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, recently the NDP leader announced his new shadow cabinet. He has appointed the member for Newton—North Delta as the immigration critic. Before running for the NDP, that member was known for her time as the radical teachers' union president who led a two-week long illegal strike.

Benjamin Alan Russell  Mr. Speaker, Benjamin Alan Russell, veteran, lawyer, valued mentor, constituent, passed away on March 30, at age 88. Al was a modest and great Canadian who lived a life of service through the war, through his 32-year law practice and through volunteerism. Always good at sports, he joined the war effort at age 18 as a physical training instructor.

Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I think there were two questions in there. First, certainly, we do not see the environmental assessment process as a burden. We see it as a necessity. However, we also see the need for clarity. For those who wish to move forward or who may not, in fact, be able to move forward because of an environmental assessment, we are streamlining that process.

Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, yes, we have an economy that is the envy of the world, and that was the point of my remarks—that we have been doing extremely well—but we are still in a fragile time, given our interdependence with other economies in the world. That is why sound stewardship and having the kind of focus our government has are so very important.