Report from Parliament's Hill - April 1st, 2010
By Prince George - Peace River M.P. Jay Hill
Thursday, April 01, 2010 03:45 AM
A Full Agenda of Legislative Reforms Before Parliament”
Beyond the Speech from the Throne and Budget 2010, there has been a flurry of legislative activity in Canada’s Parliament throughout the past month as our Conservative Government continues to enact the reforms to Canadian law that YOU asked for.
We’ve already introduced over a dozen pieces of legislation in this Parliamentary session. As Government House Leader, my priority is to secure passage of the Jobs and Economic Growth Bill, C-9 Budget Implementation Act. However, we’re advancing other legislation in the House of Commons and we’re leveraging sitting days in the Senate by introducing bills in that chamber as well.
Among our new legislation are measures to restore integrity and fairness to Canada’s asylum system.
Canada has given shelter to over one million refugees since World War II. Unfortunately, there are those who think they can play the system to their advantage and jump the queue. Meanwhile, other legitimate refugees patiently wait in line to come to Canada to escape genuine conflict and oppression. The result is an overburdened system with a backlog of refugee claimants, many whom have unfounded claims.
Bill C-11 will address this inequity and backlog with faster decisions and quicker removals of bogus refugees.
Meanwhile, in the Senate we introduced legislation to strengthen the National Sex Offender Registry and the National DNA Data Bank.
Currently, a convicted sex offender is registered only when the Crown requests it, and only when a judge agrees. Our bill proposes to make registration automatic on conviction. It would also require all convicted sex offenders to provide a DNA sample for the national DNA Bank and ensure that information on offenders’ vehicles (including license plates) be included in the Registry.
Police officers and victims groups have been asking for these changes to better protect our children and communities from sexual predators. Bill S-2 will allow police to use the Sex Offender Registry pro-actively to prevent crime rather than only to solve crimes after they happen.
Yet another substantial piece of legislation our Conservative Government has introduced this month is Bill C-4, entitled Sébastien’s Law in memory of Sébastien Lacasse who was beaten and stabbed to death by a 17-year-old at a house party in 2004.
Sébastien’s parents, along with other courageous families of victims, have worked tireless for amendments to address youth violence. This legislation will simplify rules to keep violent and repeat young offenders off the streets while awaiting trial, when necessary to protect society.
The bill will also require the courts to consider adult sentences for youth convicted of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and aggravated assault. For other violent and repeat offenders, it will enable the courts to consider sentences that recognize a pattern of escalating criminal activity and reckless behaviour that puts the lives and safety of others at risk. Courts would also have to consider publishing the name of a violent young offender when necessary for the protection of society.
We’ve also introduced legislation to set eight-year term limits for Senators (Bill S-4); and legislation to enact Free Trade Agreements with Columbia (C-2) and Jordan (C-8).
You can keep up-to-date on all legislation introduced by our Conservative Government at www.parl.gc.ca.
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Posted by: Eagleone on April 1 2010 6:52 PM
I guess the joke is on me.