Justice  Mr. Speaker, Canadians courts are at a tipping point, prosecutors are dropping serious criminal cases because they lack resources to meet deadlines, and the Minister of Justice has failed to fill more than 60 judicial vacancies, resulting in serious criminal cases being thrown out of court.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, today I had the honour to stand with Constable Wynn's widow, who was in Ottawa to talk about the importance of Wynn's law. Wynn's law would close a loophole in the Criminal Code that helped cost Constable Wynn his life. I know that the Minister of Justice met with Ms.

Canada-Taiwan Relations  Mr. Speaker, on January 1, Canada's arrangement for the avoidance of double taxation with Taiwan came into force. Taiwan is already Canada's 11th largest trading partner, with some $6 billion in trade annually. However, there are many opportunities to strengthen Canada's economic ties with Taiwan, particularly in the areas of energy, services, and investment.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, let me just say at the outset that I want to acknowledge the hard work of Senator Bob Runciman in championing this bill in the Senate, as well as my predecessor, Brent Rathgeber, who introduced a similar bill in the last Parliament. The essence of Bill S-217, known as Wynn's law, is about changing one word in the Criminal Code, one word, to change a loophole that cost Constable David Wynn his life when he was murdered, a loophole that imposed a life sentence on Auxiliary Constable Derek Bond, who forever will have to live with the consequences of being shot at close range.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, last week, child killer and triple murderer Douglas Garland was sentenced to life in prison. Thanks to consecutive sentencing passed by the previous Conservative government, he will not be eligible for parole for 75 years. Since the Prime Minister will not, will the Minister of Justice assure Canadians that consecutive sentencing for multiple murderers will not be gutted by the Liberals' so-called Criminal Code review, yes or no?

Justice  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to welcome the parliamentary secretary to his new role. I have not had the opportunity to congratulate him in the House. I certainly look forward to working constructively with him on a number of matters. With respect to the member's answer, I must say that I did not receive a clear answer in terms of just which mandatory jail terms the Minister of Justice has a problem with.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, on November 1, I rose in the House to ask the Minister of Justice a question in respect of mandatory jail terms. I asked the question because the Minister of Justice has repeatedly said that as part of the government's so-called comprehensive review of the Criminal Code, mandatory jail terms are on the line, that it is the intention of the government to roll back mandatory jail terms and therefore roll back holding criminals accountable for their crimes by ensuring that sentencing is consistent with the seriousness of an offence.

Justice  Madam Speaker, last fall, Travis Vader's conviction of two counts of second degree murder of Lyle and Marie McCann was vacated after the trial judge based his conviction on a zombie section of the Criminal Code. Zombie laws are booby traps for the unwitting, with the potential for costs, delays, mistrials, appeals, and like what happened to the McCann family, miscarriages of justice.

Government Appointments  Madam Speaker, Canada's justice system faces a crisis as a result of the failure by the Minister of Justice to fill judicial vacancies in a timely manner. As a result of the minister's inaction, serious criminal cases have been thrown out of court due to delay, including murder cases, sexual assault cases, and serious fraud cases.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice boasts about the reconstituted judicial advisory committees, yet months after they were announced, nearly half of the spots are vacant, with not a single person being appointed in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, or Saskatchewan. How is the minister going to fill 60 judicial vacancies when she cannot even fill the committees responsible for vetting judicial applicants?

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act  Madam Speaker, I agree with the hon. member for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook that there are many positive aspects in Bill C-37 but the real problem with the bill is that it would gut the Respect for Communities Act. Some say that the criteria in the Respect for Communities Act is too onerous and I disagree with them.

Genetic Non-Discrimination Act  Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening in strong support of Bill S-201, an act to prohibit and prevent genetic discrimination, and in strong opposition to the amendments brought forward by the hon. member for Edmonton Centre and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, which would have the effect of gutting this important piece of legislation.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, instead of blaming mandatory minimums for a delay, the minister should look in the mirror, because it is this minister who has failed to appoint judges in a timely manner, which has resulted in serious criminal cases being thrown out. Murder cases are being thrown out.

Job Losses in the Energy Sector  Mr. Chair, talk is cheap. Where was that hon. member when his government made the approval of pipelines more difficult when it made changes to regulatory approval process? Where was that hon. member when the government imposed the mother of all taxes, a tax on everything, a carbon tax?

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Madam Speaker, we have seen over the last year or so a troubling turn in many parts of the world, a turn inward. I would submit, now more than ever, it is absolutely essential that we get this agreement done. The United States is an important ally and an important trading partner with Canada.