Fishermen Helping Kids with Cancer  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in praise of the many volunteers across Canada who make a difference in our daily lives. I know for myself that some of the most significant and long-lasting endeavours that I have been involved in came from my volunteer activities. I want to highlight

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to speak today about Bill C-10, the safe streets and communities act, to highlight that this bill is a reflection of our commitment to tackling crime, increasing public safety, and restoring the confidence of Canadians in the justice system. The

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, one of the problems I am finding in this debate back and forth is that everyone keeps looking within the four corners of this particular comprehensive legislative package for all the answers. There are ongoing programs and ongoing dialogue with our provincial and ter

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I do not know that one needs studies to know. I certainly heard it when I was knocking on doors during the last election campaign. As a lawyer of 30 years, I have been hearing for the last 30 years from members of the public that they do not understand why the punish

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, of course there is a duty on behalf of the Minister of Justice to put forward legislation that complies, in our view, with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, as the hon. member said himself in the justice committee, there is also a constitutional duty for t

Citizen's Arrest and Self-defence Act  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak today to Bill C-26, An Act to amend the Criminal Code to address the issues of citizen's arrest and the defences of property and persons. Bill C-26 represents a responsible expansion of the citizen's power of arrest as well as a simplificatio

Citizen's Arrest and Self-defence Act  Madam Speaker, this matter will be referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights where it will be considered, as any legislation is considered. The member may have misunderstood me last week. I did not say that research was unnecessary. I said that, in fact, the

Citizen's Arrest and Self-defence Act  Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question and his hard work on the justice committee. This is not in response to any particular situation and I really cannot comment on the specifics that the hon. member has alluded to. There are many areas in the Criminal Code w

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take part in the third reading debate on Bill C-10, the safe streets and communities act. I would also note that being Friday, I am wearing red today in honour of our troops, never forgotten. This short title, though a mere six words, says so much an

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, there are really two parts to that question. As I said in my speech, this legislation has had many previous iterations before Parliament. We have had some 363 witnesses appear at 67 committee meetings, and 261 speeches, before today's speeches, on this legislation.

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I reject the premise of that question from the hon. member. As I stated earlier, very pieces of legislation that have been before this House have been studied as much as this bill and its components. Yes, it is comprehensive legislation that brings together nine bill

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, of course it is important to keep our commitments. This is something that not only did this government campaign on in the last election but in several previous elections. We have consistently said that we will stand up for law-abiding Canadians and that we will prote

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member. We need to be serious in our approach to organized crime. One of the very important parts of this legislation is that where someone is convicted of drug trafficking and it is proven that he or she is part of organized crime, then minimum mand

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, there is nothing rushed about this whatsoever. This is the fourth time that the drug trafficking proposals have been before Parliament. The component parts of this comprehensive legislation have been studied, debated and discussed. We have gone through clause by clau

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest when the hon. member talked about there being a lack of consultation with the provinces and then quoted from a letter from the Attorney General for Quebec. What would the hon. member's response be to the Premier of British Columbia, who is f