Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to the member's comments and I have a couple of questions. The first concerns the repeated use of the words “imminent threat”. Those words do not appear in the legislation. The infringement of rights that we are talking about, basic fundamenta

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I think that all Canadians have seen what happens when there is a substantial departure from Canadian legal tradition. In the recent case of Mohamed Harkat, we saw what happens when trials are held in secret, cross-examination is truncated, and evidence is presente

Protecting Victims From Sex Offenders Act  Mr. Speaker, this highlights another problem with the approach of the minister, because one of the issues that the committee was working on was the fact that there are no statistics relating to the efficacy of the DNA data bank. We asked questions such as how often the data bank

Protecting Victims From Sex Offenders Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the hon. member for the fine work he does on the committee. As an ex-justice minister in Quebec, he brings an enormous amount of skill and knowledge to our committee. He is quite right. Unique examples do not make good policy. Often they

Protecting Victims From Sex Offenders Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his astute comments and good questions. The New Democrats, and in fact, all the members of the committee, I would hope, were working to make this registry even better. As an example, some of the police testified that if we

Protecting Victims From Sex Offenders Act  Mr. Speaker, once again, the New Democrats support, and have always supported, this legislation. This legislation would give important tools to police to help protect the public in cases of, as my friend properly said, the heinous crimes of a sexual nature committed against peopl

Protecting Victims From Sex Offenders Act  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to speak on behalf of the New Democratic Party on the merits, and not, of Bill C-34, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and other Acts. As has been previously mentioned by other speakers, this bill amends a number of pieces of legislation, most nota

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, three years ago the government promised it would deliver 2,500 police officers to Canadian streets. This has not happened, and worse, the Conservatives are now backtracking from their commitment. Members of the Canadian Association of Police Boards have been here th

Tobacco Act  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to see this legislation advance in the House. I am particularly pleased that this follows the hard work of my colleague, the hon. member for Winnipeg North. I come from British Columbia, where we have one of the lowest rates of smoking in the country,

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Federal Court issued a decision that reveals serious misconduct by CSIS and the ministers responsible for the security certificate process. The court found they repeatedly failed to disclose information that cast significant doubt on the case against

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, it is a response like that which undermines our legal process. That man's life has been turned upside down and with clearly unreliable evidence. The court also called into question the validity of the security certificate itself against Mr. Harkat. This is not surp

Customs Act  Mr. Speaker, I will start with my hon. colleague's last question first. I think the answer is yes. CBSA officers will require additional training to ensure that they exercise their powers in a manner that is both effective and respectful of the rights of all people who are travel

Customs Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank the hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona for the wonderful work he does on behalf of his constituents, in particular, he is always concerned about the rights of individuals and consumers in our country. In short, it appears the

Customs Act  Mr. Speaker, I do not know what the current definition is. I do know the current act, which incorporates and uses the term customs-controlled areas, does not have a definition. This is an area of concern. As I mentioned, it is one of the concerns raised by the committee because

Customs Act  Mr. Speaker, that is an astute observation. Indeed, there was concern raised by the committee about incorporation by reference and we questioned that. Incorporation by reference is a legal drafting tool. This tool allows for a regulation to include material contained in another