OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD)

House of Commons Debates VOLUME 147 NUMBER 191 2nd SESSION 41st PARLIAMENT Friday, March 27, 2015 Speaker: The Honourable Andrew Scheer HOUSE OF COMMONS CANADA (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) COMMONS DEBATES March 27, 2015 DEBATES Edited Hansard * Table of Contents * Number 191 (Official Version) Official Report * Table of Contents * Number 191 (Official Version) Compte rendu officiel * Table des matières * Numéro 191 (Version officielle) 147 191 27 03 2015 2015/03/27 10:00:00 House of Commons Débats de la Chambre des communes House of Commons Debates 41 2

The House met at 10 a.m. Prayers

Government Orders Government Orders (1005) [ Translation ] Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act The House resumed from March 25 consideration of the motion that Bill C-26,

An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Canada Evidence Act and the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, to enact the High Risk Child Sex Offender Database Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts , be read the third time and passed. Bill C-26. Third reading Mr. François Pilon (Laval—Les Îles, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to rise to finish the speech that I started on Wednesday about Bill C-26 , which is back before us today.

Previously, I was talking about how important it is to punish those who commit sexual abuse against children, and that is why we will vote in favour of Bill C-26 . It is imperative that we eradicate this scourge. As parliamentarians, it is our responsibility to prevent these crimes from happening. As I said on Wednesday, even a single case of child abuse is one too many. We must therefore take a preventive approach, which Bill C-26 does not do. Since 2006, the Conservative government has taken steps to protect children, and we commend those measures.

Among other things, they made it illegal to provide sexually explicit material to a child for the purpose of facilitating the commission of a sexual offence, strengthened the sex offender registry, increased the age at which a young person can legally consent to sexual activity from 14 to 16 years, put in place legislation to make the reporting of child pornography by Internet service providers mandatory, and made it illegal to use computers or other means of telecommunications to agree with or make arrangements with another person to commit a sexual offence against a child.

I was hoping that those measures could have been effective. However, when he appeared before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights concerning the supplementary estimates, the Minister of Justice said that sexual offences against children have increased 6% over the past two years. That statistic is extremely troubling. It also shows that the government is taking a rather minimalist approach. One thing is clear: paying lip service is not enough. The lack of financial resources, in terms of both enforcing existing laws as well as preventing these crimes, makes any new legislation pointless.

For instance, the NDP has always supported the circles of support and accountability program, or COSA. However, the government recently announced that it was cancelling funding provided by Correctional Service Canada. This is penny wise and pound foolish, since it will have a huge negative impact on this prevention plan and community services to victims, which are already operating on a very meagre budget of just $2.2 million.

We also learned recently that, over a period of five years, the RCMP did not spend over $10 million that was earmarked for the National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre and other essential government projects to fight child pornography. The cuts, made in part as the RCMP's contribution to the deficit reduction action plan, were imposed even as the number of public reports of child abuse was increasing at an alarming rate.

Tougher prison sentences and stricter measures are certainly effective ways of preventing repeat offences, but they do nothing to eliminate the problem in the long term if the necessary human and financial resources are not assigned to prevention programs and efforts to raise awareness among the public and the authorities about this absolutely appalling type of crime. As I said, we will support Bill C-26 , since the NDP has always had a zero tolerance policy when it comes to any type of sex crime.

That is another reason why we are disappointed that the bill did not go further and propose truly effective measures for protecting our children and tangible preventive measures to make our communities safer. In that sense, we are disappointed that Bill C-26 does not include any new funding or financial resources. Tougher prison sentences are a good start, but they are not enough. Our communities need resources to deal with the sexual abuse of our children, and Bill C-26 offers nothing new to that effect.

The other thing we take issue with is this government's lack of co-operation and refusal to do non-partisan work on a bill that we all agree on. All of us, as parliamentarians, could have worked together on this bill and pulled together to eliminate this terrible problem of child sex abuse. Victims and the general public would have benefited from the government being more open-minded on such an important, non-partisan issue. The Conservatives ignored the recommendations of the associations, experts and professionals who testified in committee.

It is sad and shameful to see the government turn such a serious and important issue into a partisan issue. Nevertheless, in closing, the NDP will support this government's Bill C-26 simply because we believe that the measures proposed in it are a good start. However, the NDP would have liked to take this further, particularly when it comes to prevention and allocating financial resources to the authorities and stakeholders in the field. We hope that in future, the government will take expert and stakeholder opinion into account in important legislation like this. This is not about winning an election.

This is about the well-being of our children, and political partisanship should have no

part in that. Mr. Guy Caron (Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent speech. I know that the lack of allocated resources has been a regular bone of contention. It has been a recurring theme in all the criminal justice bills. There is also the matter of prevention. My colleague talked about that in his speech. I know that there is an existing initiative, proposed by a woman in my riding, to launch an awareness campaign about pedophilia, among other things, and the fact that this problem still exists to this day, unfortunately.

I would like my colleague's opinion on the need for such an awareness campaign. Does he have any advice for the government, not only about the resources needed for such a campaign, but also about how to ensure that such a campaign reaches all of Quebec and Canada?

(1010) Mr. François Pilon : Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. As I said in my speech, it would be good for the government to invest in prevention, and for police officers and social workers to go into schools to help prevent these types of situations or, at the very least, to meet with people and find out whether a child has a problem. As I said on Wednesday, my own sister provides emergency foster care, and there are still far too many children who are abused by their own parents. This bill does nothing to prevent that. Mr. Pierre Nantel (Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, NDP) : Mr.

Speaker, I have a very serious question for the member. There is obviously a lack of resources. In each of our ridings police forces often tell us that they are short on staff to carry out investigations, in cases of pedophilia, of course, but also those involving street gangs. Take, for example, the horrendous case of Jenique Dalcourt back home in Longueuil which is yet to be resolved. There is still a killer on the streets of Vieux-Longueuil, and a lot of people are very worried, even police officers.

What does my colleague think about the fact that with all of the Conservatives' never-ending talk of law and order, they still fail to take real action? Is it not true that we do not have the funds to help our municipal police forces? Mr. François Pilon : Mr. Speaker, as usual, my colleague from Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher is absolutely right, and my colleague from Vaudreuil-Soulanges probably would have been as well. I am from a Laval neighbourhood of 10,000 people. When I was young, there were 10 murders in 20 years in the area. It was frightening.

The City decided to invest in a local police station and there were no murders at all over the next 20 years. It it not just by putting people in prison that we make our streets safer. We need to invest in prevention, where it counts. Of course children who are abused will be glad if their abuser goes to prison for the rest of his life, but that does not change anything in the child's life. If something was really done to prevent the abuse from happening, these children would be able to lead much more normal lives. [ English ] Mrs.

Cathy McLeod (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and for Western Economic Diversification, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to note that I will be sharing my time with the member for Saskatoon—Wanuskewin . When we come to this place, we all come with certain reasons behind what we want to accomplish. One, of course, is to improve the lives of Canadians. Another is sometimes to fix things that we believe are terribly wrong with our systems. For me, this legislation fits in the latter category of fixing something that we believe is terribly wrong.

Many people have been fortunate, in their careers and their lives, and they have never been touched by this particular issue. They have been spared the heartbreaking view of what happens to these young children when they are violated. In my career, I spent many years working in a rural emergency department. When I rise both to speak to this bill and to vote, it will be with the victims that I will be making that vote. I will give just a few small examples before I actually talk about the technical aspects of this bill.

I remember very clearly the 14-month-old who came in with incredibly bruised genitalia and a fractured femur. I remember three little girls. I remember the day their dad died in an accident. Two years later their mother remarried someone who then began to abuse those little girls. I remember a rape kit we had to pull out of the cupboards for a 12-year-old, barely pubescent young girl who had gone out and had a few drinks for the first time in her life. She had overdone it, and had then been brutally raped. I remember a nurse who worked the night shift.

One day she went home and her daughter revealed that the step-dad had been climbing into the beds at night, and the absolute trauma and the guilt that this nurse experienced as she dealt with the fact that she had married someone who was abusing her most precious possessions. These are just some examples of what I experienced in my career. However, I was only representing a small area of this country, a small area of the province in terms of providing services. We have to recognize that these things are being repeated across the country many times over. Some are being reported; some are not.

I have witnessed young girls going into the criminal system to share their testimony and not meeting that burden of guilt that was required, and seeing the person who had violated them go free. I hope this is a personal issue that everyone can stand up and support. I need to talk about the specifics of this bill. It set out to recognize the devastating impacts such crimes have on the lives of the victims. It ensures that justice is not only done for each victim, but also for each crime by requiring sexual offenders to serve sentences that are proportional to the degree of harm inflicted on each victim.

What is it going to do? It is going to increase penalties for sexual offences committed against children. This includes increasing existing maximum and mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment for certain offences, as well as ending sentence discounts for child pornography offences where there are multiple child victims. Bill C-26 also increases the penalties for breach of a number of supervision orders. These amendments are necessary to protect the community from offenders who deliberately persist in reoffending, and this despite having been given the privilege of being conditionally released in the community.

Such amendments are not only integral to the protection of our communities, but necessary to incapacitate repeat sex child offenders who choose recidivism over rehabilitation, and continue unlawful conduct over peaceful reintegration into the community. Again, there is not one of us who as members of Parliament have not had concerned citizens phoning our offices when there is a repeat child offender released into their communities. In many cases I have seen them go on to repeat their crimes. We are all absolutely horrified that the system that we had in place did not actually address those issues.

(1015) These proposed amendments would ensure consistency in punishment for breaches of prohibition orders imposed on child sexual offenders,

section 161, breaches of probation orders,

section 733.1, and breaches of peace bonds,

section 811, imposed on individuals feared to be at risk of committing a sexual offence against a child. In all these cases, offenders would be liable to a maximum of four years imprisonment on indictment and 18 months imprisonment on

summary conviction. The bill would provide the same penalty for a breach of the new prohibition order,

section 162.2, created by Bill C-13, the Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act , which can be imposed for the new offence of the non-consensual distribution of intimate images. Bill C-13 came into force on March 10, 2015. Furthermore, Bill C-26 would make it an aggravating factor on sentencing for an offender to commit an offence while on parole, statutory release, or an unescorted temporary absence or while being subject to a conditional sentence order. The proposed amendments would also ensure that the relevant evidence was available in prosecuting child predators in the case of child pornography.

As a general rule, the spouse of a person accused of most offences cannot testify for the prosecution, even if the person wants to. The exceptions to this rule permit spousal testimony for most child sexual offences and the offence of violence against young persons, but it is important to note that it does not include child pornography offences. In the case of child pornography, evidence of the accused's spouse is often required to prove the guilt of the accused.

For example, the spouse's denial of responsibility for child pornography or a shared home computer may be necessary to prove the accused's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Bill C-26 proposes to amend the Canada Evidence Act to add child pornography to the list of exceptions and to therefore make the spouse competent and compellable to testify for the prosecution. Bill C-26 's proposed reforms also seek to build on existing measures to better protect children in Canada and abroad against sexual abuse by convicted child sex offenders.

The bill proposes to establish a new, publicly accessible national database of high-risk offenders convicted of child sexual offences. Currently, all provinces and territories have the power to advise the public about the release of high-risk offenders. These notifications are made at the discretion of the police, and they contain characteristics about the offender and the nature of the offences committed. However, such notifications are limited to the jurisdiction and province where they are made. The bill seeks to expand access to all of those local notifications on a national scale.

We do not have any boundaries in terms of where people go in Canada. The establishment of such a database would be a great example of a coordinated effort to protect the community against convicted high-risk sex offenders, because it would consolidate existing notifications in one publicly accessible spot. As I mentioned earlier, a complete and comprehensive response to child sexual exploitation also requires a coordinated effort that encompasses programs, services, and partnerships among key stakeholders, including federal, provincial, and territorial governments, law enforcement agencies, and civil society.

In this respect, since 2010, the government has allocated $10.25 million for new or enhanced child advocacy centres to address the needs of child and youth victims of crime. We obviously have existing criminal prohibitions against child sexual abuse. However, the fact that it has been growing in the last few years at an extraordinary rate, as indicated earlier by my hon. colleague opposite, and the fact that children account for 55% of all victims of police-reported sexual offences, even though they account for only 20% of the Canadian population, is a stark reminder that more must be done.

We must stop such heinous crimes. As such, I urge all members of the House to unanimously support the passage of Bill C-26 . (1020) [ Translation ] Ms. Alexandrine Latendresse (Louis-Saint-Laurent, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank our colleague for her speech. I find it very touching that she shared her own experiences from her previous career with us. I think that she has clearly understood the importance of protecting the people who have been victimized by such terrible crimes. I would like to know whether she agrees with the basic principle.

We wholeheartedly agree with tougher sentences for such horrific crimes. However, when it comes right down to it, there is a victim for every crime, and I believe that we can do more to prevent these children from being victimized by such horrific crimes. Would it be possible to commit to doing more in terms of prevention and work harder to ensure that these crimes are not committed in the first place? I want to thank my colleague again. [ English ] Mrs. Cathy McLeod : Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the importance of what the hon. member opposite said. Absolutely, prevention is critical.

As she knows, this is a piece of criminal justice legislation. I briefly alluded to some significant dollars, $10.25 million, for new and enhanced child advocacy centres. More importantly, it is in partnership with the provinces and stakeholders that we work on the issue of prevention. I think it is important to again point out that this is a piece of justice legislation. It does not in any way preclude our obvious commitment, in many areas, to preventing these horrific and heinous crimes.

(1025) Mr. Marc Garneau (Westmount—Ville-Marie, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding the fact that it has taken nine years to present this legislation, I have to say that I agree with the comments of my hon. colleague from the Conservative side. The whole problem needs to be addressed holistically, not only in terms of legislation but in terms of prevention and rehabilitation. There is also one other important aspect, which is to fight cybersexual exploitation and sexual exploitation in general.

We understand that the RCMP regularly underspends its budget to combat cybersexual exploitation by a couple of million dollars. I would like to hear from my hon. colleague what explanation there is for this underspending, considering just how important a problem this is. Mrs. Cathy McLeod : Mr. Speaker, of course, the issues of cyberbullying and child pornography online are incredibly important. Our government is committed to expending significant resources in that area in the budget. I talked a bit about my personal experiences and how horrific it was to deal with some cases we had to deal with.

I can only imagine the incredible challenge it is to have people in those positions. We need to have people in those positions doing the job, but members should never underestimate what a soul-destroying job it is. Mr. Ryan Leef (Yukon, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary how important it is to have this kind of legislation as a deterrent in Canada. She anecdotally talked about the people closest to the perpetrators not being able to recognize that.

From a prevention standpoint, it makes it very difficult if the closest people cannot recognize the illness and criminality of the individuals perpetrating these kinds of offences. This kind of legislation will serve as a deterrent and will ensure that reoffending will be a lot more difficult further down the road. Mrs. Cathy McLeod : Mr. Speaker, for one thing, the increase in mandatory minimums and maximum sentences would keep these perpetrators off the streets for a longer period of time.

That would not only allow for the increased opportunity for some rehabilitation in the system but would also keep them off the streets and away from the ability to reoffend. Mr. Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to speak about our government's decisive action to keep our streets and communities safe. I am proud to note that we have a particular focus on protecting the most vulnerable of all in our society, and that is our dear children.

Since 2006, we have taken a number of actions in this regard, including, among many others, enacting new and increasing existing mandatory minimum penalties for child sex offences and making it illegal for anyone to provide sexually explicit material to a child for the purpose of facilitating the commission of a sexual offence against that child. Recently, as members of this House will know, we took action to crack down on cyberbullying. That has been mentioned in speeches here already.

We have all been moved by several tragic cases we have heard about, from across the country and North America, where young lives have been lost due to the emotional torment caused by cyberbullying. That is why last year we passed legislation to give police and prosecutors new tools to effectively address cyberbullying. Although our government has taken significant strides to protect our children, more work remains to be done. Of course, more work always remains to be done.

Sadly, other threats to our children exist, perhaps none so disturbing as the threat from child sexual offenders, and that seems to be growing domestically and abroad. In 2013 alone in Canada, some 4,200 sexual violations against children were reported to police. Those were just those cases that were reported, not to mention the many others that have no doubt occurred and for one reason or another were not reported. Child sexual exploitation is a horrible, evil crime.

Although most of us could never fully imagine the extent of devastation caused by abuse of this sort, we understand that the impact on the victims endures long after the abuse ends. That is why we are committed to doing everything we can to protect our children, and that is why our government has introduced the comprehensive legislation before us. The tougher penalties for child predators act would help us better address the enormity of this crime and further crack down on offenders convicted of child sexual abuse offences. It proposes a range of measures to protect our children.

It will take a few moments for me to outline some of these changes we have proposed, beginning with the proposed changes to the Criminal Code. The first is to ensure that those convicted of child pornography and child-contact child sexual offences serve their sentences one after another, consecutively, instead of discounting them, where we pile one sentence on the other and the offenders get a break and less time served. Particularly, this would be for offenders who have victimized multiple children.

Further, this legislation would increase both maximum and minimum penalties for child sex offences and would increase penalties for the violation of conditions in supervision orders. Finally, it would ensure that the spouse of a person charged with child pornography offences could be obliged to testify in court. That is important, as often it is the spouse who can provide the testimony needed to secure convictions in these cases. Now I would like to turn our attention to some of the important proposed amendments to the Sex Offender Information Registration Act.

Before I get to the changes, I would note that this act, which came into force in 2004, allowed for the establishment of a database containing information on convicted sex offenders across Canada. It is called the National Sex Offender Registry. It is administered by the RCMP and is used by police across Canada to help them prevent and investigate crimes of a sexual nature. There are currently approximately 37,000 sex offenders listed on the database, of which 25,000 have been convicted of a sex offence against a child. Certainly some important reporting obligations are already in place in the current system.

For example, offenders are required to report annually and any time they change their address or legal name, and all registered sex offenders are required to report absences of seven days or more for trips either within or outside of Canada. It is also worth noting that significant reforms came into effect in 2011 to strengthen the registry and the National DNA Data Bank.

Those changes include the automatic inclusion, and mandatory DNA sampling, of convicted sex offenders in the registry, proactive use of the registry by police to prevent offences, registration of sex offenders convicted abroad, and parallel amendments to ensure that reforms apply to those convicted of sex offences through the military justice system. Nevertheless, legitimate concerns remain about our ability to know the whereabouts of sex offenders, particularly given offenders' mobility to travel abroad to other countries.

(1030) Internationally, approximately one million children are exploited by sex tourists and sex traffickers each year. Our government is committed to taking action to protect children from sexual exploitation no matter where in the world it may occur. Indeed, the changes we are proposing to the Sex Offender Information Registration Act would allow us to better protect children from sexual exploitation, both in Canada and abroad, by ensuring that police have more information about the travel plans of sex offenders.

One proposed change is to broaden the reporting requirements for registered sex offenders about their international travel plans. I mentioned a moment ago that all registered sex offenders are required to report absences of seven days or more for trips within or outside of Canada. However, currently the requirement for them to provide specific destinations and addresses is for domestic trips only. We are proposing that sex offenders convicted of child sex offences be required to report absences of any duration for trips abroad, and, again, provide specific travel dates and locations.

Registered sex offenders travelling abroad would be required to report every address or location at which they expect to stay for a trip of seven days or longer, and the specific dates that they will depart and return. This brings me to the next proposed change, which is one that would allow for the establishment of information sharing between officials with access to the National Sex Offender Registry and officials at the Canadian Border Services Agency. Although this may surprise some, there is currently no mechanism for information sharing regarding sex offenders between those two organizations.

It goes without saying that it limits our knowledge of sex offenders when they travel. To close this gap, the bill proposes to authorize registry officials to disclose information about certain registered sex offenders to officials at the Canadian Border Services Agency, particularly in cases of child sex offenders assessed as high risk, so that they can be placed on a lookout system. In addition, border officials would be authorized to collect travel information about these sex offenders upon their return to Canada and then share it with National Sex Offender Registry officials.

Finally, the bill includes provisions that would authorize the RCMP to establish and administer a publicly accessible national database of high-risk child sex offenders. Essentially this would be a separate database that would centralize public access to certain information on high-risk child sex offenders who have already been the subject of a public notification in a provincial or territorial jurisdiction.

In conclusion, these changes would allow us to further deliver on some of the worthy commitments we have made to Canadians, namely to ensure that those who break the law are punished accordingly for their actions, that penalties match the severity of the crimes, and that the rights of the victims come before the rights of the criminals. Above all, these changes would allow us to better shelter children, both in Canada and abroad, from the horrific crime of child sexual exploitation. Therefore, I call on members of all parties in this House for their support of this very worthy measure.

(1035) Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on the question that my colleague from Mount Royal put forward, which is in regard to the issue of the RCMP funding. It is great to see the legislation, but having said that, we are watching what the government is doing with the budget. This budget assists us in dealing with the issue of child exploitation, particularly through the Internet. The RCMP has now consistently underspent that very important aspect of the budget by $2 million, which will work out to about $10 million over five years.

If the government is so committed to dealing with child exploitation, the greatest growth of that child exploitation that we are witnessing today is in the cyberworld. My question to the member is, from his perspective, why would the RCMP not be spending its full budget? Mr. Maurice Vellacott : Mr. Speaker, I think the member asked a very good question. Of course, it is probably better directed to the Commissioner of the RCMP, and I hope he is listening today so that those dollars are expended in the pursuit of those individuals who are using the Internet for these nefarious purposes.

The RCMP should be using those dollars effectively and efficiently to get at the root of this problem, which is very often on the internet. We hope the RCMP spends to the appropriate extent to get at the Internet issue, which is the biggest problem here of all. Mr. Ryan Leef (Yukon, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague to follow up on the tenor of the speeches we heard from the opposition side in respect of the absolute need for prevention first. Obviously when we present these kinds of bills, they are not done in a vacuum.

We have a suite of investments, programs, and services that exist beyond a single piece of legislation on the prevention end. Of course, prevention also includes deterrence, the ability for the Canadian court system to deploy reasonable sentences on people to ensure their ability to reoffend is completely diminished. It also sends a signal to the victims in our country of how seriously this government and our nation takes crimes of this nature. I am wondering if the hon. member can comment generally on that viewpoint.

(1040) Mr. Maurice Vellacott : Mr. Speaker, of course that is the highest task and demand of a government: to protect its own citizens in various ways. The hon. member for Yukon well makes the point that we need to be doing that. We need to be making sure that our citizens are protected and we are taking the kinds of measures that send a very strong message, an incentive or inducement, I guess, to many others to avoid that. However, as he also alluded to, there is no question that we need to do what we can on the prevention side. Our government is trying to get at both of those aspects.

Any responsible government will look at the preventive aspects, how it can prevent people from getting into situations in the first place. That is a whole other kettle of fish, as we have said. The use of the Internet is a big part of that problem, and we need to work with providers so that some of this is shut down. As my colleague rightly makes the point, we need to provide those kinds of measures in the Criminal Code that provide punishment and send the message. We have done this with this thicker bill, and others as well.

I thank the member for the good work he has done throughout his riding and in respect of these kinds of measures. I know he has pushed them hard and supports them, and I thank him for that. Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to stand in the House to comment on very important issues facing Canadians today. Certain social policy issues have been there for a number of years. Yesterday we spent a great deal of time talking about ISIL, as an example.

Today we have before us an important piece of legislation that deals in a positive way with some steps forward on the issue of child exploitation. Once again, we have an issue before the House that is of critical importance. Canadians have an expectation that the government will do whatever it can to have a positive impact on a very important social issue. I would like to take a different perspective on the debates and discussions that I have heard thus far on Bill C-26 . First I would like to clearly indicate that the Liberal Party does support Bill C-26, the tougher penalties for child predators act.

We see this as a move in the right direction. However, in dealing with the issue, there is a lot more to it than just bringing forward legislation. They say “the proof is in the pudding” or “actions speak louder than words”. Quite often we find that the government's actions have fallen short in dealing with the important issues that Canadians want the government to deal with. We hear a lot about child sexual exploitation. There is a great deal of growth in the Internet aspect of child exploitation. There is absolutely no doubt about that. I hope to get some time to reflect on that toward the end of my speech.

For now I want to talk about the social conditioning, what is actually taking place in our communities. The issue of exploitation has been there for many years. We have seen a significant increase in that exploitation as the technology of the Internet continues to expand with access to child videos. These children are being exploited in a way that is absolutely and totally unacceptable by the standards of true Canadian values.

Yesterday we were talking about out heroes, members of the Canadian Forces, whether male or female, who are out there defending us and executing what we, as legislators and as Canadian society, believe is important. They are heroes. We have other types of heroes as well. We talk about the RCMP and the fine work that they do. We talk about other law enforcement agencies. There is a special group of law enforcement agents that I would like to single out. These are the individuals who are at the ground level having to fight child exploitation, in particular sexual exploitation, day in and day out.

I have had the opportunity to personally meet a number of police officers or law enforcement officers who have had to deal with this issue. One in particular talked about having the unfortunate responsibility of having to view literally hours and hours of images and how horrendous these images are, whether in the form of a still picture or a video production. We have law enforcement officers in Canada who have to do this horrendous work in order to ensure that justice is brought to society, in particular for our victims, and that those who are perpetrating this horrendous crime are brought to justice.

(1045) I recognize the efforts of those law enforcement officers and others who are engaged on the ground in protecting some of the most vulnerable in society. As far as I am concerned, they should be applauded and recognized as heroes. It is not an easy job, as I have indicated. Other members have made reference to this profession and the responsibilities of it. I would like to speak to the issue of social conditioning and what takes place in our constituencies. I will cite an example of what I believe is a huge success story.

Marymound, which happens to be located in Winnipeg North but has been in Manitoba for about 100 years, recognizes that there are different forms of exploitation and that it has taken place for many years. On a couple of occasions over the years, I have had the opportunity to visit Marymound. I have toured the grounds and have participated in some discussions on exactly what Marymound does. I would emphasize how wonderful it is to have a special group of people who make a difference in the lives of youth. I will give members a sense of the responsibilities of Marymound.

There are many different types of families, some of which are dysfunctional, where guidance is not provided to children. Often children end up being on the streets and as result, they are exploited. Some individuals are really challenged in accepting what most Canadians would perceive as acceptable behaviour. Marymound is a home that provides an alternative in the short term for many of these challenged young ladies who are trying to get their lives in order. On one of the tours of the facility, which spoke to me in a very loud way, I met a young lady. The social worker taking me on the tour introduced me to her.

She indicated that the staff were so proud of her because it was one o'clock in the afternoon and she had not hit anyone. Imagine the condition in which that individual grew up. I would guess she may have been in her late teens, maybe 18. If we were to get a sense of the clients of Marymound, I suspect we would get many horror stories about the many different types of exploitation that happen in our communities today. We can talk about child prostitution. We can talk about the drugs in our communities. There is a reason why children are encouraged to take drugs, and in good

part it is about sexual exploitation. We can talk about individuals who have been exploited over the Internet.

(1050) Why do I bring up Marymound? I believe there are many wonderful organizations, some of which have been well established for 100 years, like Marymound. Others have been established over the last five to ten years. There are other organizations that want to establish foundations or support groups so they can be there for the victims of exploitation, to assist them in their recovery and give them a better chance at success in life. These are the types of groups and associations that government should look at to see how we can invest in the resources to support those young ladies.

It is predominately young ladies, but there are also many young boys who are exploited, whether it is through the Internet or on the streets of many of our communities across Canada. These are the types of things the government should be addressing in a more progressive fashion. We are disappointed that the issue has not been dealt with or received the type of debate in the House. It has not received the sense of co-operation with the different levels of government working together to have the desired impact that Canadians want on such a very important issue. Let us talk about exploitation.

If I wanted to get very specific with the government, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, growth areas in child exploitation takes place on the Internet. There is no doubt about that. In the last couple of years, we have seen a 6% increase in exploitation. This exploitation ranges from the age of four, and I sadly suspect even younger, to young ladies and men aged 17 to 19. I talked about those heroes, the law enforcement officers.

We have a situation where the Government of Canada has an exploitation unit of sorts, which is supported by the RCMP in monitoring and looking into what is taking place on the Internet, tracking down some of these perpetrators, and trying to shut down Internet sites that are promoting child exploitation. They are out there, trying to identify those pedophiles who are causing so much harm to our young people in all regions of our country. A budget has been allocated for that special unit and it has been constantly challenged to underspend that budget.

Depending on who we talk to, I have heard very specific comments about a challenge to all government members and ministers and their departments to underspend their budgets. We know for a fact that the government continues to allocate certain blocks of money, then stands on a pedestal, says that it is committed to fighting x and that it has allocated this kind of money to it. However, in reality, it constantly underspends. There has been no exception, not even when it comes to fighting sexual exploitation online taking place today and is a growing industry in Canada.

(1055) The RCMP has underspent its budget by approximately $2 million annually. That is more than $10 million overall that could have been used to shut down the sites that cause the problems and to deal with critically important prosecutions of individuals who mastermind and take advantage of these young children. The Liberal Party has raised these issues inside and outside the House. It is completely unacceptable. The government needs to recognize that this is an important issue about which all Canadians are quite passionate. They want the government to do what it can.

It is great that we have legislation before us that will have a good, but limited, impact. We support the legislation. However, we want the government to do more than just bring in legislation. This is an election year, and I suspect that is one of the reasons why the government is motivated to bring in some of the legislation it has introduced in recent months. I and others have cited the RCMP as one issue, but there are others. In committee we had great explanations about the cuts to the Circles of Support and Accountability program.

The federal government has cut back on a program that has been very successful. Professionals came before the committee and testified to the degree of its success. It has been indicated that 240 sexual crimes never happened because of this program. This is according to a government study. When the government talks about dealing with this type of exploitation, legislation is one thing. The Speaker : The member will have two minutes after question period.

STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS Statements by Members [ English ] Birthday Congratulations Mr. Jim Eglinski (Yellowhead, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, March 21, I had the honour of speaking at the annual rally of the Wildwood Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 149, in my riding of Yellowhead. It was there that I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful young lady named Ruby Huddleston, a long-time volunteer and legion member. Upon meeting Ruby, she informed me that she was having her 90th birthday on March 26 and she invited me to her birthday party to be held at Wildwood's local community hall.

I would like to extend my sincere wishes for a very special 90th birthday to Ruby. I salute her and all of the legion volunteers for all the work they are doing, and will be doing, on behalf of our veterans. God bless and happy birthday.

(1100) [ Translation ] CBC/Radio-Canada Ms. Charmaine Borg (Terrebonne—Blainville, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned that Radio-Canada will have to cut another 100 French-language positions because of the government's decision to slash its budget. That is a total of 535 jobs cut from the French-language service in less than a year. I do not think anyone can say that society is okay with these huge budget cuts despite what the minister would like to believe.

People in my riding, like thousands of Quebeckers and French Canadians, want our public broadcaster to remain a cultural beacon and continue to flourish in an increasingly digital cultural space. The Théàtre du Vieux-Terrebonne even passed a resolution condemning the Conservatives' cuts to Radio-Canada. The message is clear: people love Radio-Canada. The government must guarantee stable, predictable, multi-year funding, and that is what we will do when we become the first New Democratic government on October 19.

[ English ] Retirement Congratulations Mr. Dan Albas (Okanagan—Coquihalla, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment today to recognize our local media. Often working with very limited budgets and having to cover a huge diversity of different subjects over large geographical areas is a challenge, but it is a challenge they meet as it is a world filled with deadlines. One such local journalist in Okanagan—Coquihalla is Dorothy Brotherton. For over two decades now Dorothy has been a dedicated professional, telling the stories of the Okanagan and keeping citizens up to date and informed.

However, as one of the longest-serving journalists in our region, Dorothy has made the decision to accept a new assignment, that of a full-time grandmother. I hope the House will join me in recognizing Dorothy Brotherton's long-time service to her community as a journalist and in offering her our best wishes in retirement.

Vaisakhi Hon. Judy Sgro (York West, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise and offer my best wishes to those preparing to celebrate Vaisakhi here in Canada, and around the world. Vaisakhi is celebrated annually by Hindus and Buddhists for several reasons, including as a way of reflecting and looking forward to the prosperity and the novelty of the year ahead. Vaisakhi is also an important observance for our friends within the Sikh community as it recalls the founding of the Khalsa Sikh community in 1699. At its core, Vaisakhi is a day of family and community.

It is a time to gather at gurdwaras to pray, to read from sacred scriptures and to contemplate the blessings of today while looking to the future with confidence and hope. As the faithful, including many of us here in the House, mark this special occasion at vibrant parades and other processions, on behalf of the Liberal caucus I offer my best wishes for a successful year ahead.

Hearts of Gold Gala Mr. Royal Galipeau (Ottawa—Orléans, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, the eighth annual Hearts of Gold Gala to honour the most deserving community volunteers in Ottawa—Orléans will be held next May 20, at the Orléans Royal Canadian Legion, the friendliest legion in the region. [ Translation ] This gala lets us pay tribute to the volunteers of Ottawa–Orléans for the energy and imagination they devote to making our community the best place to live. [ English ] Over the past seven years, 484 dedicated volunteers have been honoured at this gala. Of those, 9 received Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Ottawa—Orléans benefits from the work of 300 organizations whose lifeblood is their volunteers. [ Translation ] Nominations are being received now, and anyone who would like to nominate a volunteer in Ottawa–Orléans for their dedication and service over the past year has until April 20 to do so. [ English ] People can call me at 955-1800. When I am at the office, I pick up my own phone and I answer questions.

[ Translation ] Châteauguay—Saint-Constant Mr. Sylvain Chicoine (Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend a wonderful display of solidarity by one of my constituents, who took on an ambitious project to give the Corbeil-Clément family a new home after they tragically lost theirs in a fire on December 15, 2014. With a huge mortgage and no insurance, the family might have had the worst Christmas anyone could imagine. Moved by this terrible tragedy, Michel Énault, an electrical contractor, made it his mission to rebuild their destroyed house.

With the help of volunteers, he managed to raise over $170,000 in cash donations, labour and building materials. A week after the tragedy, Mr. Énault announced the amount that had been raised to rebuild the house at a fundraising event. By asking for help from basically all the business owners and merchants in the Châteauguay area, Mr. Énault's team was also able to give the family and the children a number of Christmas presents, a trip and enough furniture to fill the new house, which should be completed by mid-April. Many thanks to Mr.

Énault and his entire team for moving heaven and earth to transform what could have been a nightmare into a real-life fairy tale.

(1105) [ English ] Ford World Curling Championships Mr. Ray Boughen (Palliser, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, Canadians will be riveted by the playmaking at the 2015 Ford World Curling Championships over nine days starting this Saturday. I know that Moose Jaw native Pat Simmons, along with John Morris, Carter Rycroft and Nolan Thiessen, will proudly represent Canada. The foursome delivered a stellar performance at the brier final just a couple of weeks ago. Twelve countries will be represented at the 56th annual championship taking place in Halifax.

Along with Canada, there are also teams from the United States, Switzerland, Sweden, Scotland, Russia, Norway, Japan, Italy, Finland, China and the Czech Republic. I call on my colleagues to join me in wishing team Canada all the best as they wear the Maple Leaf, aim for the button and reach for the world title. Go, Canada go.

Elmira Maple Syrup Festival Mr. Harold Albrecht (Kitchener—Conestoga, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, tens of thousands of people will visit Elmira to celebrate the 51st annual Elmira Maple Syrup Festival. This festival is the largest of its kind in the world. Over 2,000 dedicated volunteers devote hundreds of hours to make the day a huge success. All proceeds from the festival are returned to charitable organizations. I am extremely proud of the festival and the incredible work they do to give back to our community.

The Elmira Community Nursery School, Epilepsy Waterloo Wellington, Child Witness Centre, Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council, Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region and Woolwich Counselling Centre are just a few of the organizations that have benefited from the great work of the festival. Join us in Elmira tomorrow to enjoy the sugarbush tours, pancake-flipping competitions, the famous outdoor mall, antiques, crafts and, of course, gallons of fresh Canadian maple syrup. From10,000 attendees 50 years ago, to the more than 64,000 who came out last year, let us make 2015 the biggest year yet.

My deepest thanks and appreciation to all who make the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival the best and biggest in the world.

Neil Young Mr. Matthew Kellway (Beaches—East York, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, on March 7, a lovely man and the former MP for Beaches and Beaches—Woodbine died. This chamber was Neil Young's place of work from 1980 to 1993, but Neil lived his life at the heart of the Beach and he will carry on in the hearts of many in Beaches—East York. Neil was what we all ought to be as people and as politicians: modest; determined; ambitious for those he represented, not for himself; loving to those who needed care and caring to those he loved; and what I loved most especially about Neil, joyful in the face of adversity.

Robbie Burns wrote Neil's epitaph and I paraphrase only slightly: An honest man now lies at rest, As e'er God with his Image blest: A friend of man, the friend of truth, The friend of age and guide of youth; Few hearts like his—with virtue warm'd, Few heads with knowledge so informed: If there's another world, he lives in bliss; If there is none, he made the best of this. Rest in peace, Neil, and I thank him.

FIFA Women's World Cup Trophy Tour Mrs. Pat Perkins (Whitby—Oshawa, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, it will not be long now until the world's best female soccer players are here in Canada. I am looking forward to next week's launch of the first ever Coca-Cola FIFA Women's World Cup Trophy Tour going to 12 cities across Canada. Those who visit the Fan Experience will have an opportunity for fun and games, and can have their photo taken with the actual FIFA trophy. I know a tour like this will also inspire Canadians to get active and to make sports and activity a part of their lives.

Of course, it will build excitement ahead of the tournament. I would like to thank Coca-Cola Canada and its president for supporting opportunities like this. It is a great example of community support and business leadership. And of course, I am wishing the tour great success. I encourage Canadians to visit the Fan Experience in their community. I wish Canada's national women's team success in the tournament.

(1110) [ Translation ] 50th Anniversary of Laval Mr. François Pilon (Laval—Les Îles, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to mark the 50th anniversary of the city of Laval, the city where I was born and raised and worked, the city I currently have the good fortune of representing in the House of Commons. Laval is also the hometown of the next Prime Minister of Canada, the hon. member for Outremont and leader of the official opposition. This summer, more than ever, Laval will be the place to be.

Laval's residents, its artistic and cultural diversity, its artists and its local merchants have helped the city to make its mark from the past to the present and become an example to follow. The people of Laval are supportive, committed, determined and welcoming, and over the past 50 years they have made Laval a prosperous city and a great place to live. I am extremely proud to represent my constituents in Canada's Parliament. It is with that same pride that I invite the members of the House to take

part in the festivities that will be held in Laval all year long and to join me in saying, “Happy 50th. The future belongs to Laval”.

[ English ] Aboriginal Affairs Mrs. Kelly Block (Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, first nations, like all Canadians, want and deserve transparency and accountability from their governments. Two years ago today, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and I were very pleased to announce that the First Nations Financial Transparency Act received royal assent. The passage of this important legislation into law represents a milestone for those first nations community members who have been calling for greater accountability and transparency.

This act is helping to deliver more effective, transparent and accountable governments, which will contribute to stronger, more self-sufficient and prosperous communities. I am pleased to report that more than 96% of bands have complied. Canadians, including first nations, support greater transparency from their leadership. It is shameful that the Liberal leader has said he would scrap a law that empowers members to access the basic information on their community finances. On this side of the House, we will continue to stand firm on accountability and transparency for all Canadians.

Komagata Maru Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, this week, a resolution calling on the Canadian Parliament to apologize for the Komagata Maru incident was unanimously passed by the Punjab assembly. Last year, we commemorated the centennial anniversary of the incident. However, the Canadian government has yet to issue a formal apology in the House. The Komagata Maru incident was a dark moment in Canada's past. In 1914, 352 passengers aboard the steamship were denied entry into Canada based on a discriminatory immigration policy.

The ship was forced to return to India and, as a result, 19 passengers were killed. In 2008, the Liberal Party introduced a motion that was unanimously passed in the House of Commons calling on the Canadian government to issue a formal apology. On May 7, 2014, in reference to the Komagata Maru , I stated, “As we mark what will be the 100th anniversary of this tragic event, I would ask that the Prime Minister provide a formal apology here on the floor of the House of Commons this month”. The Prime Minister has not responded.

With Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, visiting Canada next month, it is time that the Canadian government issue a formal apology on the floor of the House of Commons. If not, the leader of the Liberal Party will provide a formal apology if we are elected into government later this year.

Taxation Mr. Parm Gill (Brampton—Springdale, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, mothers and fathers should be able to make the important decisions that affect their own children. That is why our new family tax cut and enhanced universal child care benefit will give 100% of families with kids an average of more than $1,100 dollars per year to spend on their priorities. The majority of benefits flow to low- and middle-income families. Our government trusts parents to invest in their children. The contrast is simple. The Liberals believe bureaucracy knows best when it comes to Canadian families.

Both the Liberals and the NDP want to see this money back in the hands of bureaucrats. Moms and dads do not need to be told how to spend their money on their children.

Islamic State Mr. Jack Harris (St. John's East, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, when the leader of the official opposition stood in the House and asked pointed and important questions about Canada's legal justification for its planned intervention in Syria, the Prime Minister had the audacity and immaturity to respond by dismissing this serious question as a joke. Abiding by international law when sending our soldiers into conflict zones is not a laughing matter. So far, we have heard many competing legal justifications from the government, all dubious at best.

It is the same cavalier approach that the Conservatives are taking on Bill C-51 , dismissing concerns about personal liberties and suggesting that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is simply a matter of discretion. Canadians have had enough of this. They want a government that will respect international law and protect their rights and freedoms, and that is precisely what an NDP government will do.

(1115) [ Translation ] Taxation Mr. Pierre Lemieux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, Canadian families recognize that the Conservative government is the only party that understands the needs of parents. That is why we have lowered taxes for families and enhanced the universal child care benefit, which will provide significant support to four million families with children. [ English ] In fact, this is one of the biggest packages of tax relief for Canadian families in modern Canadian history.

The vast majority of these benefits will go to low- or medium-income families. Sadly, the New Democrats and Liberals have not followed our lead in supporting Canadian families to choose the type of child care that works for them. Instead, the New Democrats have pledged to undo our support and impose a one-size-fits-all bureaucratic scheme that would fail to do anything for 90% of families, while the Liberals, simply put, would take this money away. That is shameful. The NDP and the Liberals need to stop listening to elites and start listening to real Canadian parents.

Our government remains the only one that supports moms and dads in making the best decisions for their families.

ORAL QUESTIONS Oral Questions [ Translation ] Public Safety Mr. Peter Julian (Burnaby—New Westminster, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, even though the Conservatives limited the number of witnesses and cut short the debate in committee, we still heard from a number of experts from across the country who practically all agreed with what we have been saying from the beginning: the Conservatives are making a mistake by refusing to listen to the criticism of Bill C-51 . Why is the Conservative government insisting on passing this bill when even its own witnesses are calling for major changes to the bill? Hon.

Peter MacKay (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, the reason we introduced this legislation is to protect Canada and Canadians. There is process in committee, and we respected that process. We need to continue hearing from witnesses. [ English ] Mr. Peter Julian (Burnaby—New Westminster, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, members need not take our word for it: 90% of Conservative witnesses said that changes were needed. Bill C-51 is so flawed that even the former head of CSIS intelligence says that more oversight is needed.

Unlike the minister, he understands that when CSIS is being given sweeping new powers, it needs increased oversight and review to go along with them. It is a very simple concept. Will the minister accept our amendments to improve oversight, as 95% of all witnesses and 90% of Conservative witnesses have recommended? Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, let us take a look at what some of the witnesses have actually said. Ms.

Raheel Raza, president of the Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow, said that legislation is important to combat radicalization and that we need better tools to track jihadists who travel overseas. Let us listen to what Mr. Ray Boisvert, the former assistant director to CSIS, had to say. He said that Bill C-51: will be a very effective tool that way to get that material off the Internet. These are the voices of the experts who are saying Bill C-51 will be an important way in which this government can continue to protect Canadians. Mr. Peter Julian (Burnaby—New Westminster, NDP) : Mr.

Speaker, almost every single one of them said more oversight is needed. The Conservatives are just not listening. That is the kind of answer that means the more Canadians hear about the bill, the less they like it. Conservatives should really listen to the witnesses, including prominent first nations witnesses. Everyone from National Chief Perry Bellegarde to tribal councillors and activists has been clear that Bill C-51 poses a real threat to the ability of first nations to defend their rights and title.

Why is the minister refusing to acknowledge that Bill C-51 threatens first nations' rights, and why such disrespect to first nations? Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, like so much of the rhetoric coming from members opposite, that is absolute nonsense. This bill is not designed in any way to impact or affect peaceful protest or those who may take issue with government. This is a bill aimed directly at giving our security agencies the necessary support tools, legislation, and resources to go after people who are directly targeting Canada.

Those are terrorists. They are those who have in the past and may in the future impact directly on the safety of Canadians inside and outside our country. That is why we are bringing forward the legislation. That is why we are participating in an important international mission. (1120) [ Translation ] Ms. Nycole Turmel (Hull—Aylmer, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, the more Bill C-51 is examined in committee, the more we see that the Conservatives did not do their homework.

Yesterday evening we learned that all of the changes to the no-fly list were developed without consulting the airlines, the ones who will be responsible for enforcing those changes. That is not due diligence. Why did the Conservatives cut corners when drafting this bill? [ English ] Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should and would be aware that we have in fact consulted broadly, but let us not lose sight of the urgency of this matter.

Let us not lose sight of the fact of what happened here in October and what has happened in other countries are terrorist actions that go directly to the safety and security of Canadians. Similarly, the actions that we are taking with regard to the mission overseas are actions consistent with Canadians' story, history, and past, and promoting and protecting interests at home and abroad. [ Translation ] Ms. Nycole Turmel (Hull—Aylmer, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, two weeks of study have revealed problem after problem with Bill C-51 . Obviously, this is a botched bill.

Any government that was the least bit serious would go back to the drawing board. Why are the Conservatives insisting on passing a bill that jeopardizes our freedoms and ultimately is just not going to work? Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, this is not a botched bill. The member's assessment of the bill is incorrect. [ English ] There are very important and comprehensive measures contained in Bill C-51 that go directly to the heart and effort of protecting Canadians.

Whether it is giving our security forces greater ability to promote and protect Canadians' interests by pre-empting some of those actions or whether it is by changing the legislation with insertions in the Criminal Code to allow us to do more to prevent radicalization and recruitment online, this is a comprehensive, important bill before Parliament. It is getting rigorous examination before committee. I would urge the hon. member to actually take the time to read it and delve a little deeper herself.

[ Translation ] The Economy Mr. Marc Garneau (Westmount—Ville-Marie, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, one of the most important roles of any government is to inspire confidence in the economy. However, today, we are seeing that the trust of businesses and consumers is fragile. The problem is not only that the Conservatives are shirking their duties, but also that they are absolutely refusing to talk about the economy. They delayed the budget because they do not have a plan. The Minister of Finance , who is nowhere to be found, simply stopped answering questions about the economy two months ago.

When will the Conservatives deliver a budget? [ English ] Hon. Kevin Sorenson (Minister of State (Finance), CPC) : Mr. Speaker, our government has a low-tax plan for jobs and growth for all sectors of the Canadian economy. That plan is working very well. It will return Canada to a balanced budget this year. The minister has been very clear that we will not bring forward a budget until at least April. The hon. member can be certain that when this budget is tabled here in the House, it will be a budget that will continue on the same plan of lowering taxes, creating jobs, and coming to balance.

Let us contrast that with the opposition, a high-debt, high-spend party that also believes that budgets balance themselves. Mr. Marc Garneau (Westmount—Ville-Marie, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, that vaunted plan is clearly not working very well. Outside of a full recession, we have had the slowest consecutive 15 months of job growth on record. TD says things are not going to get much better on the jobs front for two years. CIBC says we have the lowest-quality job creation in a generation. The economy could use some confidence, not deafening silence.

Where is the federal budget, and why has the Minister of Finance chosen not to answer questions in the House for two months now? Hon. Kevin Sorenson (Minister of State (Finance), CPC) : Mr. Speaker, it is exactly what we have been saying consistently: the global recovery is fragile. Our Conservative government is focused on what matters most to Canadians. That economic action plan is a plan that helps create jobs, keeps money in the pockets of Canadians, and lowers taxes for all Canadians. We know that the opposition would take those tax cuts away. They would take pension income-splitting away.

They would take universal child care benefits away. They would continue to spend and raise taxes. That would cost jobs. That is not what this economy needs. Canadians know they are better off with our Conservative government.

(1125) Mr. Marc Garneau (Westmount—Ville-Marie, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, one of the government's most important jobs is to instill a sense of confidence in the economy. That is clearly not happening now. In fact, Conservatives outright refuse to talk about the economy at all. They have indefinitely postponed their budget because they have no plan, and the finance minister simply stopped answering questions two months ago. The fiscal situation facing governments in Alberta and Quebec did not prevent them from making tough decisions and presenting budgets on time.

Why is this government running away from its responsibilities? Hon. Kevin Sorenson (Minister of State (Finance), CPC) : Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the member says, we are talking about the economy. We are talking about the fact that Canada's economic action plan has created 1.2 million net new jobs since the lowest part of the recession. We are talking about the economy in saying that we are going to keep taxes down. We are going to keep money in the pockets of Canadians. We are going to keep money for the families of Canadians. We are going to keep money in the pockets of pensioners and seniors.

We know that party would take it all away. It would tax and spend. That is why its members are looking forward to a budget. They believe that a budget is an opportunity to take from Canadians.

Public Safety Mr. Randall Garrison (Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, after two weeks of testimony, one thing that really stands out is what a bad job the Conservatives did in drafting Bill C-51 . Witness after witness has revealed how flawed the bill is. At committee we learned that the Conservatives had not even consulted Canadian airlines on changes to the no-fly list. Here is what we heard from them at committee: the changes in Bill C-51 are likely unworkable and could end up costing airlines and travellers millions without making us safer.

How could the minister fail to do such basic due diligence in drafting the bill? Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, as with all legislation, it is, of course, incumbent on the Department of Justice and other departments to give input into this legislation. Let us not overlook the intent here. This is about sharing information amongst government departments.

It is about ensuring that our security agencies have the ability to follow the trail of terrorists, to pre-empt, make arrests, and prevent these acts of terror before they occur on Canadian soil, thus keeping Canadians safer. It is fine for members of the opposition to throw out these wild allegations and to try to scare Canadians into thinking somehow that this bill is going to harm their rights. There is valid, strict, judicial oversight. This is a good bill for Canadians. [ Translation ] Ms. Rosane Doré Lefebvre (Alfred-Pellan, NDP) : Mr.

Speaker, yesterday we concluded a marathon in committee, after hearing some very important testimony on Bill C-51 . Forty-five of the 48 witnesses we heard asked us either to amend the bill or to go back to the drawing board. Now is the time to act responsibly in the face of terrorism and radicalization. Will the minister listen to the concerns experts expressed about Bill C-51 and will he make the necessary major changes to his bill? [ English ] Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC) : Mr.

Speaker, I want to thank that hon. member and the members of the committee who have taken

part in a very comprehensive study of this bill, a bill that does contain a number of extremely important provisions. We have heard from experts on the bill. I thank her and the members who have participated in what was obviously a very intense study of this legislation. We have heard from a number of important witnesses. We are proceeding now with the regular process that occurs with examination of bills such as this. This is legislation that we believe sincerely will make Canadians safer. That is why it is before Parliament. That is why we have presented it in such a way.

I do encourage members opposite to support this important legislation. Ms. Françoise Boivin (Gatineau, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, we have been down this road before. A badly drafted bill from the Conservatives that threatens the charter is just going to land the government in court. The Canadian Bar Association said it best. Bill C-51 is clearly unconstitutional. Why has the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada lent his support to such a flawed and dangerous piece of legislation when it is his job to ensure that the Constitution is respected? Hon.

Peter MacKay (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, it is the advice and the input from the Department of Justice, and me, as Attorney General and Minister of Justice, that this bill is in fact constitutional and will meet the charter screen. I want to come back to the point that the member made with regard to the Canadian Bar Association. There is some reference in their testimony that judges will somehow be put in a compromised position.

I remind her, and she as a practising lawyer will know, that judges, each and every day, are called upon to make assessments of evidence presented for warrants before them. This is completely consistent with the tradition of the judiciary. It should give her great solace and comfort, and the Canadian Bar Association, to know that the judiciary are so involved in this process.

(1130) Firearms Registry Ms. Françoise Boivin (Gatineau, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, to put judges in a position to accept doing certain things illegally? [ Translation ] On another note, in a split five-four decision, the Supreme Court ruled this morning that the federal government could destroy the firearms registry data. The judges are unanimous that this destruction is a political decision. The judges in the minority felt that the federal government was deliberately trying to hurt the provinces by seeking to destroy the data. I would not be proud of that.

Quebec has been clear: the data are important to public safety. Will the Conservative government hand over the registry data to Quebec and show some open federalism— The Speaker : Order. The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness . [ English ] Ms. Roxanne James (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court of Canada has been very clear in this decision. We are pleased that they upheld the decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal in this matter.

I would like to remind the member opposite that we have a strong system of gun control in Canada, and our government has toughened laws and penalties for those who commit crimes with guns. We will continue to ensure there is safe and sensible firearms legislation.

[ Translation ] Citizenship and Immigration Ms. Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe (Pierrefonds—Dollard, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, in January of this year the Canadian government committed to taking in an additional 10,000 Syrian refugees over the course of the next three years. However, since the government just reached its 2013 objective, which was to accept just 1,000 refugees, two years late, we have cause for concern. For example, we still do not know when these refugees will arrive or how many refugees will be supported by the government.

Will the minister develop a credible plan to fulfill his promises and ensure that these 10,000 refugees arrive in Canada within the next three years? [ English ] Mr. Costas Menegakis (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, as of March 10, our commitment to resettle 1,300 refugees from Syria was met. They have all been granted permanent residence. That is a commitment made and a commitment kept. Canada has been and will continue to be a world leader in providing support for conflict-affected Syrians and Iraqis.

We are expanding our commitment to help Syrian refugees by resettling an additional 10,000 Syrians over the next three years. This brings Canada's total commitment to helping Syrian refugees to 11,300.

The Economy Ms. Megan Leslie (Halifax, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, according to the finance minister, because of falling oil prices he cannot do his job and table a budget. Yet, yesterday, Alberta, which is far more dependent on oil, tabled a budget. Something does not add up here, and it is not just the Conservatives' plan to take billions away from the middle class and give it to the wealthy few. The finance minister cannot seriously expect Canadians to accept his worn-out excuse. When will he stop hiding and table a budget that stands up for Canadians? Hon. Kevin Sorenson (Minister of State (Finance), CPC) : Mr.

Speaker, we know full well that we are in a fragile global economy. Of course, this country has been severely impacted by the dramatic fall in oil prices. That is all the more reason to stick to Canada's action plan and to the government's low-tax plan that has generated 1.2 million net new jobs since the end of the recession. It is because of actions like this that the overall federal tax burden is at its lowest in the last 50 years. Contrast that to an opposition that believes that a $20 billion carbon tax would be the answer to the economy. We know that would cost jobs.

They would raise taxes— The Speaker : The hon. member for Halifax . Ms. Megan Leslie (Halifax, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, it is funny. That did not really look like the finance minister. In fact, the finance minister has not been responding for weeks, and he has only answered questions on four days this year. Nobody is buying that it is because he is too busy to draft a budget. What is he using, an abacus? Is he getting out his pot of ink and his feather quill? Dab, dab, dab. Slide another bead across. Come on. Does anyone on that side get that Canadians want answers and they want action on a budget?

(1135) Hon. Kevin Sorenson (Minister of State (Finance), CPC) : Mr. Speaker, again, our government has a low-tax plan that benefits all Canadians. It is a low-tax plan that helps our economy grow, and a low-tax plan that helps all sectors of the Canadian economy. That plan is working. It will return Canada to a balanced budget this year. We will bring forward the budget; the minister has said it will not be before April. However, we reject the opposition's plans to tax more. It looks forward to a budget because it views it as a way to take money out of the pockets of Canadians.

It believes that its $21-billion carbon tax is going to help grow an economy. We know that it would cost jobs. We are going to keep on track. Canadians— [ Translation ] The Speaker : Order. The hon. member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques . Mr. Guy Caron (Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, while the minister of state lives in his bubble, we are living in the real world, where the provinces are able to table budgets. It seems that the Conservative government is incapable of tabling a budget.

For weeks now the government has been dragging its feet and postponing significant investments that the middle class needs right now, such as tax cuts for small business or measures to help manufacturers create jobs. How many more weeks will the middle class have to wait for a plan to advance families' priorities? Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, we are advancing the interests of the middle class by reducing taxes and providing child care benefits.

We introduced a plan that reduces families' taxes through income splitting, which will yield up to $2,000 for each family. We have enhanced this benefit, which provides $2,000 for each child under the age of six and $720 for each child between the ages of 6 and 17. The NDP and the Liberals want to increase taxes and eliminate these benefits, but we will not let them.

CBC/Radio-Canada Mr. Pierre Nantel (Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, yesterday CBC management announced that the corporation is cutting another 244 jobs, including 100 in French-language operations. In Quebec and across Canada, the regions are the victims of this Conservative government's blind cuts. In a panic, management is now shedding young employees, the very people who could make Radio-Canada and the CBC leaders when it comes to reflecting our identity on new platforms. Quebeckers love Radio-Canada, whether it is in Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, Roberval or Sept-Îles.

Is the Minister of Canadian Heritage not ashamed of forcing our public broadcaster to inflict these deep cuts? [ English ] Mr. Rick Dykstra (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, they can keep asking the question; the answer is going to be the same. CBC is responsible for its own operations. It is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want to watch and listen to, in both of our official languages. Our government provides the CBC with significant funding on a yearly basis.

If the member, who sits on the committee with me, understood and certainly looked back, he would understand and know that these changes are part of a strategic plan that the CBC went through in 2014 and is beginning to implement.

Manufacturing Industry Hon. Judy Sgro (York West, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, despite announcing the advanced manufacturing fund in March 2013, until today not a single penny was spent from the fund while our manufacturing sector in southwestern Ontario continues to suffer from Conservative neglect. It was only after the Liberals called them out on this neglect that the Conservatives quickly cobbled together today's announcement. After 750 days of foot-dragging, can the Conservatives at least explain why they are making these companies pay federal tax on these loans as if they were income? Hon.

Mike Lake (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, this gives me the opportunity to inform the House that the government has announced today that we are investing in Hamilton's manufacturing sector through the advanced manufacturing fund. This investment will support nearly 80 jobs and create countless others in the supply chain. Our government will continue to support policies that create jobs and grow the economy.

However, it is interesting because the Liberal leader has said that southern Ontario needs to “[transition] away from manufacturing-based employment as a driver in the economy”.

[ Translation ] The Economy Mr. Emmanuel Dubourg (Bourassa, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, no government other than the Alberta government is affected by the price of oil. Nevertheless, yesterday Alberta brought down its budget, as did Quebec. Here in Ottawa, the Conservatives are still using oil as a reason to put off their budget. That is an excuse. They clearly have no plan for the economy. We need to create good jobs and invest in infrastructure, and we need federal leadership. Where is the Minister of Finance and where is the 2015 budget?

(1140) Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, the reason the Liberals want a budget is so that they can increase taxes for Canadian families. Canadians do not want the Liberal Party's tax increases. The Liberal leader thinks that budgets balance themselves, but that is not how it works. We balanced our budget and now we are helping families balance theirs. We have lowered taxes for families and increased the universal child care benefit, a benefit introduced by the Conservatives.

We are improving it and we will continue to put money right into the pockets of Canadians. [ English ] Mr. Adam Vaughan (Trinity—Spadina, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, their budgets are so horrible, maybe we are better off without one. However, Canadian cities do not get that choice. They have to present their budgets and they have done it again on time, and, something the current government has not done, their budgets are actually balanced. They do not get to play hide-and-seek like the Minister of Finance . They also do not get something else from the current government: infrastructure money.

Because the budget has not been presented, these cities did not get money this year and they did not get money last year. That is no money for Vancouver, for Calgary, for Winnipeg, for Toronto, for Montreal, for Halifax. That is two years now with nothing. So Ollie, Ollie, umphrey, can the Minister of Finance come out from hiding under his desk? Can he— The Speaker : Order, please. The hon. parliamentary secretary. Mr. Peter Braid (Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, that member may be interested in knowing these actual facts.

The City of Toronto, this year, will receive $150 million through the gas tax fund alone. The member may also be interested to know that since we formed government in 2006, Canada has consistently led the G7 with respect to investments in infrastructure as a percentage of GDP. Our average annual investments in infrastructure are three times greater than the previous Liberal government.

CBC/Radio-Canada Mr. Matthew Kellway (Beaches—East York, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, Conservative cuts to the CBC continue to damage the cultural fabric of Canada. Yesterday, CBC management announced 244 layoffs. This is on top of the 400 jobs lost in October. This latest round strikes at the heart of local news services. Canadians believe that our public broadcaster is important. That is why an NDP government would reverse the Conservative cuts and stand up for the CBC. Why will the Conservatives not get on board? Mr. Rick Dykstra (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, CPC) : Mr.

Speaker, I have responded to this question three times. However, there is something that will strike at the hearts of Canadians, not at the media but at families and children across the country. The New Democrats are prepared to reinvest or say that they will spend all kinds of money on crown agencies. They will involve themselves in the day-to-day operations of them. Where will they get that money? They will stop income splitting. They will prevent pension splitting from happening. They will reverse the child care benefits to all families across the country. We will not do that. We are about families.

The New Democrats can worry about things that are relevant not to families but to anyone else who is not concerned about how they would govern. Mr. Murray Rankin (Victoria, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, yesterday's CBC layoffs will have a huge impact on western Canada. In British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, another 76 jobs will be lost. Conservative cuts are simply destroying our public broadcaster. I hear it every day. Canadians understand the importance of quality local news and why we need a strong CBC.

An NDP government would reverse the devastating $115 million that the Conservatives have cut from the CBC and we would stand up for the CBC. When will the Conservatives just take their hands off CBC? Mr. Rick Dykstra (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, the only party in the House that allows the CBC to do its job and keeps its hands away from interfering on the day-to-day operation is the party on this side of the House, the government. This proud agency has certainly faced difficulties.

The changes in technology, the changes in demographics, the viewership in terms of what people want to watch and how they watch, that is left under the jurisdiction of the CBC. We will let it implement its plan. It put one into place in 2014. Let us let this crown agency do its job and not interfere on a political basis. It is not what we will do on this side. We know that is what those members want to do on the other side. (1145) [ Translation ] Ms. Élaine Michaud (Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government has not stopped with its cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada.

Yesterday's announcement will hurt the regions badly. Ten positions will be cut at Radio-Canada Acadie. Francophones in Atlantic Canada have fought to preserve their culture for decades. They need the support of a strong public broadcaster. Does the minister understand that our francophone communities will end up suffering as a result of her lack of vision? [ English ] Mr. Rick Dykstra (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, CPC) : Mr.

Speaker, we on this side of the House completely understand the role of the CBC, which acts as an independent crown agency to deliver service to people across the country. We understand the role CBC plays in remote and minority language communities. That is why it gets significant taxpayer dollars on a yearly basis. Let it do its job. It is what their professionals do. They understand how to deliver that service. It is not easy to do in the times we face today. Let the CBC do its job. [ Translation ] Mr. Claude Gravelle (Nickel Belt, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives do not understand anything.

The elimination of 244 jobs means the loss of one-quarter of all jobs back home in northern Ontario. It means that 25% of all jobs are being cut. Franco-Ontarians need French-language television and radio services. Will the minister stop gutting our public broadcaster and finally reinvest in Radio-Canada? [ English ] Mr. Rick Dykstra (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, our government expects the CBC to fulfill its duty to provide quality programming to official language minority communities under the Official Languages Act and the Broadcasting Act.

The CRTC has expressed authority to ensure that the CBC is fulfilling its mandate under the law. We on this side of the House will let it fulfill that mandate. We will not interfere with the day-to-day operation. It is obvious the other side of the House wants to do that. It is not our mandate to do that.

Telecommunications Mr. James Lunney (Nanaimo—Alberni, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government continues to stand up for hard-working Canadians. We have always believed that consumers should have more choice in choosing television channel, and that Canadians should only have to pay for channels they actually want to watch Last week, we fulfilled this commitment. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage please tell the House more about this good news? Mr. Rick Dykstra (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, CPC) : Mr.

Speaker, Canadians have been concerned about this question for years, and this was addressed last week. Our government has said that Canadians should not have to pay for the channels they do not want in order to get the ones they do. In our Speech from the Throne we promised to provide consumers with more choice in channels. That is exactly what we have done. This will not only give more choice to consumers, it will help Canadian families make the best decision on how to spend their dollars.

Aboriginal Affairs Ms. Linda Duncan (Edmonton—Strathcona, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs shocked and deeply wounded Alberta first nations leaders in alleging that unreleased RCMP data showed that indigenous men were 70% responsible for missing and murdered aboriginal women. The RCMP has now directly contradicted this.

I can personally attest to the relentless efforts of Alberta first nation leaders, men and women in seeking justice for their missing and murdered family members, and they have been relentless in calling on the government to call for a judicial inquiry into missing and murdered women. Will the minister, who has made this shameful, groundless insult to Alberta first nations, stand and apologize? Hon. K. Kellie Leitch (Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times in the House, violence against women and girls is simply not acceptable.

This government has moved forward with an action plan. In fact, it was presented in the House in September of 2014. Unlike the opposition, which does not want to take action to actually help these women and their families, to ensure that they are protected, that shelters are created, or maybe supporting matrimonial property rights, this government is taking action to ensure these heinous crimes are dealt with. The opposition just buries its head in the sand.

[ Translation ] Northern Development Mr. Jonathan Genest-Jourdain (Manicouagan, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, nutrition north Canada is yet another program that is not measuring up because of the Conservatives' incompetence. Recent statistics show that the number of northern households that cannot afford healthy foods grew during the first year of the nutrition north Canada program. We are not the ones saying that. That is from the latest Statistics Canada report. Instead of continuing to boast about the merits of nutrition north Canada, will the Conservatives acknowledge that they have failed?

(1150) Hon. Bernard Valcourt (Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, if the member and his party are really concerned about the cost of healthy food in the north, they should scrap their plan to tax carbon, which will increase the cost of food in the north. The results are clear. As I have said before, thanks to nutrition north Canada, the average annual volume of healthy foods shipped has increased by about 25%, and the cost of a family's basket of groceries has dropped by $137 per month. That is significant, and we will stay the course with northerners.

Champlain Bridge Mr. Matthew Dubé (Chambly—Borduas, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, the Champlain Bridge is another example of the Conservatives' incompetence. Bridge replacement work is threatening Montreal's drinking water supply. It will cost several million dollars to protect the aqueduct canal that supplies close to half of Montreal's drinking water. The city is asking the government for help. I know how hard this is for the minister, but will he sit down with elected representatives from the Montreal region, find a solution to the lack of planning, and protect the people's drinking water? [ English ] Mr.

Peter Braid (Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. member that the Government of Canada is working very closely with both the City of Montreal and the province of Quebec to ensure the appropriate safeguards are in place. We look forward to continued progress on this important project.

Canadian Heritage Mr. Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, the proposed memorial to victims of communism gets a failing grade in design, cost and especially location. It is opposed by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Ontario Association of Architects, the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, former directors of planning for the cities of Toronto and Vancouver, the Canadian Bar Association, the National Capital Commission, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the vast majority of the people of Ottawa.

Why are the Conservatives ignoring all these voices and the democratic voices of the people of Ottawa? Mr. Rick Dykstra (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, this memorial will honour the more than 100 million lives lost under communist regimes. It will pay tribute to Canadian ideals of liberty, democracy and human rights. In Canada, over eight million people trace their roots to countries that suffered under communism. Our government committed to honouring the victims of communism in the Speech from the Throne, and we look forward to fulfilling that commitment.

Public Safety Hon. Wayne Easter (Malpeque, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, the government's preoccupation to basically rob money from critical programs in order to give a tax break to the rich is beyond comprehension. One example is the cuts to the RCMP. Commissioner Paulson informed us the RCMP had to take 300 personnel off of criminal investigations and transfer them to anti-terrorism. Rank and file RCMP officers are calling for more training and better equipment, yet the minister has forced budget cuts of $290 million since 2012. Why is the government compromising the RCMP so it can give a tax break to the rich? Ms.

Roxanne James (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely false. We have actually increased resources to our national security agencies. What is clear is that the international jihadist movement has declared war on Canada and our allies because of the values that we share. We only need to turn on the six o'clock news, or read in the paper of another attack around the world or of more people leaving countries like Canada to join ISIL.

We heard credible witness testimony in committee this week that has confirmed that the threat is real, it has evolved and it is growing. The number one priority of any responsible government is the safety and security of its citizens. That is why this Conservative government will pass this legislation and why the RCMP is supporting it. Hon. Wayne Easter (Malpeque, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, of course the threat is real, but the government cut $290 million from the RCMP since 2012. That is unacceptable and it is doing it in order to give a tax break to the rich.

Beyond that, the RCMP rank and file members are now speaking out. They are mad and are feeling betrayed. They lack training. They lack equipment. The government has failed to honour the commitments it made to the Mayerthorpe recommendations, which cost RCMP lives. That comes out of the Moncton report. Why does the minister force cutbacks, put Canadians at risk and even risks the lives of RCMP officers? Why?

(1155) Ms. Roxanne James (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, that is similar to the rhetoric we heard in committee this past week. Let me talk about one of the witnesses who did appear before committee. Inspector Irwin has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement and intelligence gathering. What did this credible witness say about Bill C-51 ? He said that existing laws “are too restrictive” and that there was an absolute need for the new measures contained within this bill. What else did he say about the need for information sharing?

He said that it was absolutely crucial. In general, with respect to the bill, contrary to what the opposition parties like to put out, he said that it provided the necessary safeguards. In the same meeting, we heard opposition witnesses say that the bill had absolutely nothing to do with— The Speaker : Order, please. The hon. member for Terrebonne—Blainville.

[ Translation ] Canada Post Ms. Charmaine Borg (Terrebonne—Blainville, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, the City of Terrebonne wants a moratorium on the installation of community mailboxes. Residents are outraged by the lack of public consultation. Canada Post is ignoring the diversity of municipalities. More than 200 cities are shocked by Canada Post's attitude. Will the government honour Terrebonne's request or will it plough ahead with the installation of community boxes without cities' consent? Mr. Jeff Watson (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, CPC) : Mr.

Speaker, Canada Post delivered about 1.4 billion fewer pieces of letter mail in 2014 than in 2006. Two-thirds of Canadians do not receive mail at home. Canada Post must balance its books without being a burden on Canadian taxpayers, and we would expect nothing less. Mr. Alain Giguère (Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, it is not just mail that the Conservatives cannot deliver; it seems they also have a hard time with accounting. The people in my riding of Marc-Aurèle-Fortin reject the Conservatives' decision to end home delivery at a time when Canada Post is posting record profits.

In fact, we have learned that Canada Post made a $194 million profit this year, but it is still halting door-to-door mail delivery. That is unbelievable. Will the Conservatives finally listen to Canadians and deliver the mail? [ English ] Mr. Jeff Watson (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, I remind the member that in 2014, Canada Post delivered nearly 1.4 billion fewer pieces of letter mail than it did in 2006. That is a further and continued decline in that business. Canada Post has decided it needs to continue to take action. That is why it has a five-point plan.

For the remaining third of Canadians who do not receive mail at their mailbox, that will proceed so they will have daily mail on the same terms as two-thirds of Canadians currently receive it right now.

Manufacturing Industry Mr. John Carmichael (Don Valley West, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, our government remains committed to creating and maintaining jobs in Ontario's vital manufacturing sector. Earlier this morning our government announced further support for manufacturers. Could the regional minister responsible for southwestern Ontario please update the House on this important announcement? Hon. Diane Finley (Minister of Public Works and Government Services, CPC) : Mr.

Speaker, today our government was pleased to announce that FibreCast Inc. would receive a $10 million repayable contribution under the advanced manufacturing fund. This investment will help Ontario manufacturers create high quality high paying jobs and compete globally. While we are standing up for the manufacturing sector, the Liberal leader said that Canada needed to start, “transitioning away from manufacturing-based employment as a driver in the economy”. This is just further proof that the Liberal leader is an economic novice who is incapable of managing the Canadian economy.

Aboriginal Affairs Ms. Yvonne Jones (Labrador, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and the MP for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River stated that RCMP statistics verifying their comment that 70% of missing and murdered indigenous women were attributed to native men would be released. Today the RCMP said that no, they will not. Why would the government members make that commitment and use the data in private meetings, only to be overturned in the public by the RCMP? Will the minister make good on the commitment?

(1200) Hon. Bernard Valcourt (Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, as I indicated earlier this week, last week I did a tour of the prairies and met with several chiefs, councillors, and stakeholders on the aboriginal file to discuss a wide range of issues. While I do not disclose specifics of closed-door meetings, I can assure the hon. members in the House that the discussions were productive, and our government will continue to work with first nations to address these issues.

Taxation Mr. John Weston (West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, many people say that the riding of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country is the most beautiful place on earth. Families in this riding are asking what can be done to help them in terms of tax relief and direct support. What they do not need is waste and new bureaucracies. I wonder if the Minister of Employment and Social Development can tell us what our government is doing to respond to families like those in West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country? Hon.

Pierre Poilievre (Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for a challenging but thoughtful question. We have balanced our budget, and now we are helping families balance theirs. Our low-tax plan will allow income splitting for parents to put up to $2,000 back into their pockets. We have increased the Conservative universal child care benefit to almost $2,000 for every child under six and to $720 for every child six through 17. That means we put money directly in the pockets of families.

While the NDP and Liberals would take that money away and raise taxes to fund new bureaucracies, we disagree. We are giving the dollars back to the more than eight million real child care experts who are out there, and their names are Mom and Dad.

[ Translation ] Gun Registry Mr. Jean-François Larose (Repentigny, FD) : Mr. Speaker, by a single vote, a majority of the Supreme Court has agreed to let the Conservatives destroy the gun registry data for Quebec. Beyond the legal aspect, there is something called common sense. The federal government has the opportunity to prove that it can work with the Government of Quebec by transferring the data rather than hitting the delete button. Why make Quebeckers pay twice for something that already exists? [ English ] Ms.

Roxanne James (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for that question. As I mentioned earlier today, the Supreme Court of Canada has been very clear on this matter, and we are pleased, as a government, with the decision on this particular issue. As I mentioned earlier, we have a strong system of gun control in Canada, and our government has toughened laws and penalties for those who commit crimes.

[ Translation ] Natural Resources Mr. Jean-François Larose (Repentigny, FD) : Mr. Speaker, we can see where TransCanada's priorities lie when it comes to the energy east pipeline. First, the company refuses to be transparent by providing its documentation in French for the people in my riding. Then, it disparages an independent study commissioned by elected officials in the RCM of D'Autray who want to know more about what the risks really are. What is the government waiting for?

When will it intervene to ensure that Canadians have all the information available on the risks associated with the pipeline? [ English ] Mrs. Kelly Block (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, the National Energy Board has fulfilled its requirements under the Official Languages Act. Any documents produced by the National Energy Board must be published in both official languages. Questions related to documents filed by an applicant should be directed toward the project proponent.

[ Translation ] Labour Ms. Manon Perreault (Montcalm, Ind.) : Mr. Speaker, last week, we learned that the government, before reversing its position, wanted to cut 50 jobs at a federal sorting facility. Those positions were filled by people with intellectual disabilities. These jobs, which were useful to and enjoyed by these workers, were more of a symbolic gesture than an actual way to earn a living since workers were paid only $1.15 an hour. Many people share the same concern and are wondering about this. Does the government think it is right to be paying hard-working and capable employees $1.15 an hour? Hon.

Pierre Poilievre (Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more inspiring than people who want to work, regardless of the challenges they face in life. That is the case with these 50 extraordinary workers who have been serving the government and all Canadians for over 35 years. Their contract with the government is expiring and I am pleased to announce that we will be renewing it for another three years. We give the money directly to the organization that manages their wages to prevent them from losing any of their provincial benefits.

Ms. Manon Perreault (Montcalm, Ind.) : Mr. Speaker, I was talking about the fact that these people are paid only $1.15 an hour. That being said, is there now a labour policy adapted to the needs of this client group? It is not an impossible task. All it takes is the willingness of the government. Will the government commit this morning to proposing a labour plan that provides for decent wages for people with intellectual disabilities? (1205) [ English ] Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform, CPC) : Mr.

Speaker, there is nothing more inspiring than people who want to work despite the obstacles life puts in their way. Such is the case with roughly 50 excellent workers who have served the government and the people of Canada for over three decades in sorting, recycling, and shredding sensitive documents at Tunney's Pasture. Their contract was expiring. We have agreed to extend it for another three years. The salaries are set by the association for people with disabilities to avoid having provincial benefits clawed back. But we will continue to work to create jobs for people with disabilities.

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS Routine Proceedings [ English ] Government Response to Petitions Mr. Tom Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's responses to five petitions.

Statutory Release Reform Act Hon. Diane Finley (for the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) Bill C-56. Introduction and first reading moved for leave to introduce Bill C-56,

An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and to make a consequential amendment to the International Transfer of Offenders Act . (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Support for Families Act Hon. Joe Oliver (Minister of Finance, CPC) Bill C-57. Introduction and first reading moved for leave to introduce Bill C-57,

An Act to amend the Income Tax Act and the Universal Child Care Benefit Act and to make related amendments to another Act . (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Petitions Genetically Modified Foods Mr. John Weston (West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, I stand today to present a petition on behalf of over 100 Canadians, mostly located in the beautiful province of Ontario, who are concerned about apples. In fact, they are concerned about the possibility that a genetically modified apple may be approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. They suggest that this should not happen.

Veterans Affairs Ms. Linda Duncan (Edmonton—Strathcona, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of tabling a petition from Edmontonians who want to draw to the attention of the Government of Canada that the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP veterans and their families deserve the deepest gratitude and care. Many veterans and their families cannot access adequate health care, pensions, or other vital services. They are concerned about the closure of front-line veterans offices.

The petitioners wish to call on the government to support and implement the NDP plan to end service pension clawbacks, to reopen shuttered veterans offices, and to widen access to quality home care, long-term care, and mental health care services.

Agriculture Hon. Judy Sgro (York West, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition referring to the right to save seeds. These citizens of Canada recognize the inherent right of farmers, derived from thousands of years of custom and tradition, to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seeds. The petitioners call upon Parliament to refrain from making any changes to the Seeds Act or to the Plant Breeders' Rights Act through Bill C-18 ,

an act to amend certain acts relating to agriculture and agri-food, which would further restrict farmers' rights or add to farmers' costs. Furthermore, they call upon Parliament to enshrine in legislation the inalienable right of farmers and other Canadians to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seeds.

(1210) Multiculturalism Mr. Matthew Kellway (Beaches—East York, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Bangladesh celebrated the 44th anniversary of its independence. Canada was one of the first countries to recognize the existence and independence of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, and we have enjoyed a great friendship ever since. Over the years, the Canadian Bangladesh diaspora here in Canada has made a tremendous contribution to Canadian society. The signatories to this petition are calling upon the Government of Canada to designate March 26 each and every year as Canada Bangladesh Day in recognition of the partnership and ongoing friendship between our two countries.

[ Translation ] Agriculture Mr. François Pilon (Laval—Les Îles, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present a petition signed by hundreds of my constituents. They are calling on the government to adopt international aid policies that support small farmers, so that they can preserve and freely use their seeds.

[ English ] Questions on the Order Paper Mr. Tom Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, the following question will be answered today: No. 1049. [ Text ] Question No. 1049-- Mr. Ryan Cleary : With regard to Transport Canada and the Crown corporation Marine Atlantic: (

a) what security protocols are in place for the inspection of commercial and recreational vehicles, as well as drop trailers and passengers boarding ferries; and (

b) what security protocols are in place for the inspection of Marine Atlantic employees and their vehicles? Hon. Lisa Raitt (Minister of Transport, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, MARSEC stands for Marine Security. MARSEC levels easily communicate preplanned responses to increased threats levels. MARSEC Level 1 is the appropriate security measure under normal operating conditions. The protocols in place for MARSEC Level 1 stipulate that a percentage of all people, which includes passengers, employees and visitors, and a percentage of all vehicles are screened when entering and while on Marine Atlantic property.

Drop trailer units must be sealed and remain sealed while on the property. Drop trailer manifests are reviewed and seals are checked regularly while on the property. The frequency and degree of screening increases as MARSEC levels increase. [ English ] Questions Passed as Orders for Returns Mr. Tom Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, if Question No. 1038 could be made an order for return, this return would be tabled immediately. Mr. Speaker: Agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed. [ Text ] Question No. 1038-- Hon.

Scott Brison : With regard to contracts under $10 000 granted by Western Economic Diversification Canada since June 4, 2014: what are the (

a) vendors' names; (

b) contracts' reference numbers; (

c) dates of the contracts; (

d) descriptions of the services provided; (

e) delivery dates; (

f) original contracts' values; and (

g) final contracts' values, if different from the original contracts' values? (Return tabled) [ English ] Mr. Tom Lukiwski : Mr. Speaker, I ask that the remaining questions be allowed to stand. The Speaker : Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.

[ Translation ] Military Contribution Against ISIL Notice of Closure Motion Standing Order 57 Hon. Peter Van Loan (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, CPC) : Mr. Speaker, I give notice that, with respect to the consideration of Government Business No. 17, at the next sitting, a minister of the Crown shall move, pursuant to Standing Order 57, that debate be not further adjourned.

Government Orders Government Orders [ English ] Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act Bill C-26. Third Reading The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-26,

An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Canada Evidence Act and the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, to enact the High Risk Child Sex Offender Database Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts be read a third time and passed. The Speaker : The hon. member for Winnipeg North has two minutes left to conclude his remarks. Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.) : Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to conclude my remarks on Bill C-26 . As I indicated, the Liberal Party supports the bill and recognizes that it would have a positive impact in our communities.

We like to think that in addressing the issue of child exploitation, it involves more than just bringing in legislation. We want to see a government that is prepared to allocate the resources necessary to work with the different governments and support our many different non-profit and other organizations in our communities and throughout our country that deal with the issue of child exploitation, especially when we look at the ways it has expanded.

I will conclude my remarks by very briefly commenting on how technology has been used to advance something that is so abhorrent and unacceptable to the vast majority of Canadians, and that is the sexual exploitation of our children. This problem is a growing concern. I understand that in the last couple of years we have seen a 6% increase in child exploitation through the Internet. I suspect it is even higher than that.

There is so much more the government could be doing and should be doing to try to resolve an issue that has such a profound negative impact on our children in all regions of our country and in all the socio-economic strata of our children. There are some children who are put in vulnerable positions more than others and we need—

(1215) The Speaker : Questions and comments, the hon. member for Vaudreuil—Soulanges. Mr. Jamie Nicholls (Vaudreuil—Soulanges, NDP) : Mr. Speaker, I was impressed by my colleague's speech. He mentioned an institution that I am sure does good work, but I was alarmed it is anchored in the values of the Sisters of Good Shepherd. If we look at history, in Ireland this order ran four Magdalene laundries. If we look at the history of faith based orders taking care of these problems, we can see that in Canada we had forced adoptions at many of these maternity homes, although not this one in particular.

I know the member for Winnipeg North is a man of faith. He voted for Motion No. 312. Is it the Liberal plan to increase funding to faith based agencies to deal with the problems of child sexual abuse? Mr. Kevin Lamoureux : Mr. Speaker, can assure the member that, for the last 100 years, Marymound has had a positive impact on hundreds of children. I was a member of the Manitoba Legislature for just under 20 years. From what I can recall, Marymound received the unanimous support of virtually every MLA, not only during the 20 years I sat inside the Legislature but even before that.

This is an organization that has, first and foremost, put the