Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, first let me say something about Bill C-415. After it was over, the member for Victoria, who is always a gentleman, sent out letters to members who had voted in favour of the bill to thank them. I wrote back to him and thanked him for having raised this issue in such

Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, in the example that the member offered and I referred to in my comments, by definition, there would have to be some form of record or else the border control agent would have no basis on which to execute an arrest, which is what happens to people who lie to a border

Petitions  Madam Speaker, I am presenting the same petition as my colleague from Saskatchewan did a moment ago with respect to the very much oppressed Sikh and Hindu populations in Afghanistan. The petitioners request that arrangements be made to allow Sikh and Hindu people from Afghanistan

National Day of Solidarity with Victims of Anti-religious Bigotry and Violence  moved: That the House recognize that acts of violence and bigotry directed against religious believers, such as the June 23, 1985, bombing of Air India Flights 182 and 301, the September 15, 2001, firebombing of the Hindu Samaj Temple and the Hamilton Mountain Mosque, the Apri

National Day of Solidarity with Victims of Anti-religious Bigotry and Violence  Mr. Speaker, forgive me, but I am not familiar with what the hon. member is referring to. I am genuinely unfamiliar with it. I wish she had made her reference more specific than that, but perhaps we will get the chance afterwards for her to do so. I would be astonished to discov

National Day of Solidarity with Victims of Anti-religious Bigotry and Violence  There is no way.

National Day of Solidarity with Victims of Anti-religious Bigotry and Violence  Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is referring to the focus on Islamophobia, which is a reasonable question. This was, of course, the date of the worst act of Islamophobia, by a wide margin, in our country's history. It is something we all hope will never happen again but that

National Day of Solidarity with Victims of Anti-religious Bigotry and Violence  Mr. Speaker, for the same reason I think remembrance week would be much less effective than Remembrance Day is, I think expanding to a week at the end of January would be less effective than a single day. I do want to say that I know that this is offered in a most open spirit, an

Criminal Records Act  Madam Speaker, there was a discussion by a Liberal member about my party being afraid of the consequences of cannabis legalization. There was an implication that a Conservative government would want to recriminalize or put penalties in place for the use of cannabis in the future,

Criminal Records Act  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague to the south, who has been representing very ably the riding that was, until very recently and for a long time, represented by my dear friend and colleague Gord Brown. Those were big shoes to fill. I know I am expressing a view that is shared b

Criminal Records Act  Madam Speaker, first of all, I thought the amendment was a good one. The decision to remove it I will not say was unwise, but I think it was inexplicable. I really do not know the reason for removing it. My colleague is entirely right that it is harder for people in some parts o

Criminal Records Act  Madam Speaker, I can only speak for my own position. I am in favour of the bill. It is better than nothing, but it is not much better than nothing, in my opinion.

Criminal Records Act  Madam Speaker, this is an issue on which I disagree with many colleagues in my own party. Some people, no doubt, were convicted because it was part of a plea bargain; others were not. I do not know the percentage. I suspect the majority who faced simple possession charges and wer

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, one of the petitions I have today has come up before. The petitioners are urging us to support either Bill C-350 or Bill S-240 on the issue of international organ harvesting, essentially making organ tourism unlawful in Canada.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition is one that has not been repeated dozens times by other members. It is in relation to a cannabis production facility in my constituency in Beckwith Township. The petitioners are concerned that the facility does not meet Health Canada requirements.