Safe Streets and Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member opposite that simple possession is not targeted in this legislation, although the reference continues to be to someone growing a few plants. In the member's hypothetical student example, if that hypothetical student were proven to be traff

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, in 2008 there was a Department of Justice study which said that the cost of crime in Canada in that one year alone was near $100 billion, most of which was borne by victims. I would ask the Minister of Justice to share his views on the cost of crime in Canada and

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, in my role as parliamentary secretary and also as a mother of four, I always applaud initiatives that help youth to keep themselves busy, active and engaged in our communities. Politics is a good place to start. Of course this is all about protecting communities a

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, even though my colleague sits on the other side, we are on the same side with respect to where we actually sit in the House. I appreciate what the hon. member said. We are trying to give law enforcement the tools it needs to deal with what is, as evidenced by my e

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, with respect to that particular aspect, that is under public safety. As I am Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, it is not directly under my ministry. We do recognize that this is an issue when are incarcerated in other countries. It is something th

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, I am aware that the member is new to this House, as I am in this session, and, therefore, may not be aware that all of these bills have come before the House before, as mentioned in my early remarks, some going back several years. With respect to the trafficking pr

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, the government does not create offenders. We are not in that business. We are in the business of dealing with offenders when offences have been committed and standing up for victims of crime. With respect to the issue of the mentally ill in prisons, we are aware

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, would that I had a crystal ball and I could determine ahead of time just what all the effects would be both of crime and the impact on victims. What we do see in the 2008 Department of Justice study is that the victims of crime bore 83% of the cost of crime in tha

Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, the safe streets and communities act fulfills this government's commitment, as noted in the June 2011 Speech from the Throne, to reintroduce law and order legislation to combat crime and terrorism. As highlighted by the Minister of Justice, the bill is in five part

Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act  Madam Speaker, the member opposite and the member of the NDP who spoke before her asked several questions in their speeches, but they also have engaged in irresponsible and unfounded speculation. We have been asked what kind of government we are. We are a government that believ

Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act  Madam Speaker, picking up on what the hon. member for Ajax—Pickering was saying earlier, I have my undergraduate degree in Soviet studies and eastern bloc political philosophy and history. I fought with perestroika and I had no further use for it. However, it seems to be coming i

Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act  Mr. Speaker, the member is talking about honouring the process. We have been honouring the process for eight months. We have been trying to get a resolution, encouraging a resolution, offering conciliation and mediation services, but we also on this side of the House believe in h

Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act  Mr. Speaker, I have been listening with interest to the debate. It is almost five o'clock in the morning and we have all been up 22 or 23 hours. I am amazed by the rhetoric I am hearing from the opposition members. I have heard that we are operating in bad faith, that we do not

House debate  Mr. Speaker, Canada Post is a major economic enabler of the Canadian economy. Through its postal services, marketing is conducted, contracts are signed, long distance sales are made, and goods, bills and cheques are reliably delivered. It is estimated that the Canada Post group

House debate  Mr. Speaker, over the past five months, there have been proposals and counter-proposals exchanged. As the minister said earlier, unfortunately, the parties are still far apart. Therefore, it is time for our government to act. As I stated earlier, the wage rate increases that are