Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my colleague from Edmonton—St. Albert for the good work he does at the justice committee. He is one of our very valued participants. He probes when he asks questions and he has been very helpful in bringing forward some of these justice issues to the table.

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, what was very clearly lacking from the member's intervention was any empathy for the victims of crime. The member essentially dismissed Sébastien and his family, dismissed the victims of crime in Canada, and said the sole focus should be rehabilitation. It is not surprising.

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her intervention, although I disagree with her. One thing we do not hear from the Liberals, the Bloc or the NDP when we have these kinds of debate is the word “victim”. It virtually never comes up. The other thing that never comes up is the whole notion of protecting society.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, Canadians believe that our Parliament should reflect a modern, 21st century democracy. This week our Conservative government introduced changes to the law which will make our democratic institutions more accountable to Canadians. Can the Minister of State for Democratic Reform give the House an update on the latest steps we have taken to strengthen Canadian democracy?

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, it just goes to show that when the member for Eglinton—Lawrence wings it, things do not go well. In fact, he should check his earpiece because when I referred to $64 million, it was just for prevention. Our main estimates show that we actually put $64 million just into prevention, not protection.

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, I am sure our government is considering that. What really surprises me is that the member has not actually read the bill that is before us. It has nothing to do with RCMP oversight. This is about how we amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act to ensure our communities are safer?

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his intervention, although I profoundly disagree with it. His view and his ideology comes from the far left. It is totally discredited. If we followed the hon. member's line of argument, we should get rid of all jails; nobody should be going to jail because deterrence does not work.

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Bloc for his work at the justice committee. We have worked together for well over a year on that committee and, although we sometimes profoundly disagree on the issues, he is a very valuable member of that committee. He does remind us regularly of what is happening in Quebec but I also regularly remind him of what is happening in other parts of the country where citizens are demanding that we take some concrete steps to ensure we protect society.

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, perhaps the most important responsibility of members of Parliament is the duty to protect the citizens of the communities they represent. I have the honour of representing the great city of Abbotsford here in Parliament. The residents of my riding understand, perhaps better than most Canadians, the impact that violent crime, especially youth-related crime, can have on their sense of safety and security.

Liberal Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, guess who is at it again, calling for higher taxes? That is right, it is the Liberal leader and his right-hand man, the member for Markham—Unionville. Yesterday he told the media he wanted to end tax cuts. Translation: If people and their families want less money in their pockets and want to pay higher and higher taxes, the Liberal leader is their man.

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Madam Speaker, I am so pleased that my Conservative colleague from Alberta talked a bit about the agricultural prospects for Canada and Colombia that are contained within this free trade agreement. I would encourage him to expand a bit more about how important it is that Canada expand its free trade relationships around the world.

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Answer the question.

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, for his cogent intervention on this very important issue. As he and I both know, unfortunately, the NDP and the Bloc are mired in this archaic ideology where they will not support any type of free trade agreement.

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on the question that the NDP member just asked. It is never passing strange that we find the NDP coming up with all kinds of reasons to oppose free trade agreements no matter what they look like, no matter what the stripe. I just heard about biodiversity and the quality of the soils.

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, I profoundly disagree with the member. Canada is one of the great trading nations of the world. She of all people should understand that not only all Canadians but the province of Quebec benefit from robust trade with countries around the world. She must be aware, or certainly should be aware, that back in the 1970s, Chile had perhaps the worst human rights record in the world, certainly in the Americas.