Justice  Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the cost of crime on Canadian society far exceeds the cost of fighting crime. The fact is that last spring we provided the committee with hundreds of pages of documents that go into precise detail on costing. For the hon. member's benefit, the Minister of Justice recently tabled a summary of these documents at the justice committee.

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave our Conservative government a strong mandate to take fair, reasonable and tough action to prevent the abuse of Canada's immigration system by human smugglers. Canada has a long tradition of opening its doors to those who work hard and play by the rules.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, my colleague made an excellent speech on what is a very sad and troubling topic, I am sure we would all agree. I am aware of a number of the government's initiatives, as my colleague has pointed out, in the area of mental illness treatment funding and suicide prevention.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, is the member opposite aware that the proposed legislation would allow the courts, including drug treatment courts, to exempt an offender from the mandatory minimum sentence that would otherwise be imposed where the offence involved no other aggravating factors other than a previous conviction for a serious drug offence and the offender's successfully completes a treatment program?

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member opposite that simple possession is not targeted in this legislation, although the reference continues to be to someone growing a few plants. In the member's hypothetical student example, if that hypothetical student were proven to be trafficking illicit drugs to elementary school children or proven to be handing over his revenue from the sale of hard drugs, such as methamphetamine, to members of organized crime, would the member not agree that the person needs to be dealt with as a serious offender?

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, in 2008 there was a Department of Justice study which said that the cost of crime in Canada in that one year alone was near $100 billion, most of which was borne by victims. I would ask the Minister of Justice to share his views on the cost of crime in Canada and how this comprehensive legislation is going to deal with that.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, in my role as parliamentary secretary and also as a mother of four, I always applaud initiatives that help youth to keep themselves busy, active and engaged in our communities. Politics is a good place to start. Of course this is all about protecting communities and protecting youth.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, even though my colleague sits on the other side, we are on the same side with respect to where we actually sit in the House. I appreciate what the hon. member said. We are trying to give law enforcement the tools it needs to deal with what is, as evidenced by my earlier remarks, a growing problem.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, with respect to that particular aspect, that is under public safety. As I am Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, it is not directly under my ministry. We do recognize that this is an issue when are incarcerated in other countries. It is something that the minister needs to consider when agreeing with transfers.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, I am aware that the member is new to this House, as I am in this session, and, therefore, may not be aware that all of these bills have come before the House before, as mentioned in my early remarks, some going back several years. With respect to the trafficking provisions, it is the fourth time this has come before the House.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, the government does not create offenders. We are not in that business. We are in the business of dealing with offenders when offences have been committed and standing up for victims of crime. With respect to the issue of the mentally ill in prisons, we are aware of that.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, would that I had a crystal ball and I could determine ahead of time just what all the effects would be both of crime and the impact on victims. What we do see in the 2008 Department of Justice study is that the victims of crime bore 83% of the cost of crime in that year in Canada, which was over $99 billion.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, the safe streets and communities act fulfills this government's commitment, as noted in the June 2011 Speech from the Throne, to reintroduce law and order legislation to combat crime and terrorism. As highlighted by the Minister of Justice, the bill is in five parts and brings together the criminal law reforms that were proposed in nine bills in the last session.

Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act  Madam Speaker, the member opposite and the member of the NDP who spoke before her asked several questions in their speeches, but they also have engaged in irresponsible and unfounded speculation. We have been asked what kind of government we are. We are a government that believes in effective leadership.

Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act  Madam Speaker, picking up on what the hon. member for Ajax—Pickering was saying earlier, I have my undergraduate degree in Soviet studies and eastern bloc political philosophy and history. I fought with perestroika and I had no further use for it. However, it seems to be coming in very handy listening to the debate over this matter.