David Wynn  Madam Speaker, the city of St. Albert has spearheaded a project to construct a memorial to honour the late Constable David Wynn, who was killed in the line of duty. The city has committed significant funding but federal support is needed. I first wrote to the government in March about the project.

Criminal Code  moved that Bill S-217, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (detention in custody), be read the first time. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in this House to introduce Bill S-217, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (detention in custody), also known as Wynn's law, which last week passed the Senate by a very wide margin.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister announced his Supreme Court appointment process, he promised that members of the justice and legal affairs committee would have an opportunity to directly engage with the nominee. However, we now learn that nearly half of the members of the committee will not have an opportunity to ask a question, and those who do will be limited to one one-minute question.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, the government's parliamentary vetting process has about as much credibility as an episode of Judge Judy. Instead of an opportunity to engage in dialogue, members of Parliament are being invited to the University of Ottawa to be props before a live studio audience for a Q&A; hosted by a non-parliamentarian.

Canadian Human Rights Act  Madam Speaker, let me just clarify that there will be a free vote on our side. Members will have an opportunity to look at the bill and make a decision. However, on the broad question of whether Conservatives oppose discrimination against transgendered persons, I can say that Conservatives are united in our opposition to discrimination, as are the vast majority of Canadians.

Canadian Human Rights Act  Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for his question and for his leadership on this issue. Certainly, the question of gaps under the Criminal Code, in terms of existing law, is something that the justice committee will have to study very carefully. However, based on my review of the cases that have been adjudicated by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and cases that have gone to levels of courts across the country, including the British Columbia Court of Appeal, I believe that the existing language does protect transgendered Canadians.

Canadian Human Rights Act  Madam Speaker, I rise this morning to speak to Bill C-16, an act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code by expressly including gender identity and expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act. Over the last number of years there has been increased awareness about issues concerning transgendered Canadians.

Canadian Human Rights Act  Madam Speaker, I would ask for unanimous consent to be able to split my time with my colleague, the hon. member for Kitchener—Conestoga.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, serious criminal cases have been thrown out of court as a result of the failure of the Minister of Justice to fill judicial vacancies. Now, in Alberta, a case involving the most serious offence, a first degree murder, was thrown out of court. How many more cases is the Minister of Justice prepared to see thrown out of court before she does her job and starts appointing judges?

Government Appointments  Mr. Speaker, after proposing to shut out Atlantic Canada from the Supreme Court for the first time ever, it is good to see that the Liberals have reversed their position, listened to Conservatives, and appointed an Atlantic Canadian. While today's Supreme Court appointment fills an important court vacancy, there remain dozens of vacancies across Canada.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, it is certainly interesting that the minister would say that, because it certainly was not the Liberal approach with the case of Mohamed Fahmy. Needless to say, the Minister of Foreign Affairs did not answer the question that was posed by the hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni to provide this House and all Canadians with an update on the status of the Azer children.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs gave a thumbs down when I called on the government to make the return of the Azer children a priority. The minister came close today to apologizing, but yesterday he doubled down, by deploying a Liberal insider to criticize Alison Azer for daring to speak up for the return of her children.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, when I rose in the House before question period to call on the government to make the return of the Azer children a priority, the Minister of Foreign Affairs made rude and unparliamentary gestures. Alison Azer is in Ottawa today and witnessed as the minister gave a thumbs down as we called on the minister to make the return of her children a priority.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, it has been 14 months since the children of Alison Azer were abducted, 14 months that these children have been in harm's way, first in Kurdistan and now in Iran. When Alison met with the Prime Minister in May, he assured her that he was preoccupied with the case. Yet, nearly five months later, Alison has received absolutely no indication that the Prime Minister has done anything to help, nor has there been any progress in the case.

Paris Agreement  Madam Speaker, when we look at the Conservative track record on reducing GHGs, it is a track record to be proud of. Under our previous Conservative government, we took a sector-by-sector approach so that we could grow the economy and at the same time reduce GHGs. We imposed a national regulatory regime on the largest sources of GHGs, namely the transportation and energy sectors.