Mr. James Moore
(Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of
Public Works and Government Services, CPC):
Mr. Speaker I want to
start my speech by thanking my constituents in Port
Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam for the privilege of
serving them, for the third time, as their Member of
Parliament.
To my constituents: In my almost six years as the Member of Parliament for Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Anmore and Belcarra, I have never forgotten that my first responsibility will always be to make decisions that are, first and foremost, in our community’s best interest.
It has been my pleasure and honour to serve you, and I promise to always work at the peak of my abilities to represent you.
On January 23rd, Canadians voted for change, for a new direction for this great country, and this Conservative government is providing the new direction Canadians were hoping for.
Throughout the election campaign, and through to the Throne Speech, we have been clear and consistent about our top five priorities for this Parliament.
First, we are going to pass the Federal Accountability Act. The Federal Accountability Act will change the way business is done in Ottawa forever by:
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Eliminating undue influence by big-money donors by banning large personal or corporate donations to political parties;
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Toughening the rules governing lobbying and getting rid of the revolving-door syndrome so often seen in the past involving political staffers, bureaucrats and lobbyists;
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Making the federal government more transparent and accountable by increasing the power of independent officers of Parliament, such as the Auditor General; and
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Providing real protection to “whistle-blowers” – both public servants and other Canadians – who wish to come forward with information about unethical or illegal activities they may have seen in some area of the federal government.
The idea is to give Canadians the good, clean government they expect and deserve.
Second, we are going to give tax relief to all Canadians by cutting the GST. It is becoming more and more expensive to live in Canada’s major cities and their suburbs. And there are fewer places where the rising cost of living is having a harder impact on residents than in Vancouver and its suburbs. Our plan is to leave more money in the pockets of hard-working, ordinary Canadians so they have a little more money left over at the end of the week to pay the bills and save for their children’s education.
Key to this will be an immediate cut in the GST from seven percent to six percent – with the rate eventually dropping even further to five percent.
And because everyone pays the GST, this cut means that every Canadian will benefit.
It is estimated that such a cut will save families hundreds of dollars every year – which they can use to pay for the necessities of life such as food, clothing, transportation, utilities and housing. Making the government budget smaller and the family budget bigger, so that all Canadians have more power, choice and influence in how they choose to live their lives is a Conservative ethic, and a Canadian value, this government will act upon.
Third, we are going to help families with the cost of raising kids and give parents more choice in childcare. Canadian families face many stresses, and none are more personal and important than the raising of Canada’s next generation. While meeting the need to balance workplace and family responsibilities many Canadian families are struggling, and they can use some help.
One way will be to give parents more choice in child care, so they can find the best way to meet their needs and those of their children.
And no two families are the same; which means that the “one-size-fits-all” approach pursued by the Liberals, and supported by the NDP in the past, just doesn’t work.
So we’re going to fix this by providing parents with a $1,200 annual allowance for each child under the age of six; to be used to pay for the child care that best fits their situation – be it public or private daycare, a neighbour or a relative.
It’s their choice.
Whatever works best for them.
And we’re going to work to create more child care spaces across the country - not by complicated agreements between governments - but by helping companies and organizations create thousands of child care spaces for their employees and those living in their communities.
Fourth, we are going to work with provinces to address growing healthcare wait times. The Throne Speech makes it clear we are going to work with the provinces and territories to establish a patient wait times guarantee.
The benchmarks established by provinces and territories set maximum limits on wait times for certain medical treatments.
The guarantee will ensure that, if people cannot get the medical care they need where they live, in the public system (within the established benchmark), they will be able to get that care either outside the province or in a private clinic – with the cost being covered by public insurance.
Universal access to a single-payer healthcare system for all Canadians is an ethic upon which Canadians have time and again said they want protected. This Conservative government will defend this ethic and will work to ensure all Canadians have the care they need and when they need it.
Fifth, we are going to get tough on crime. Mr. Speaker, for my constituency, I believe the most important set of issues this Parliament will address is criminal justice reform.
As a life-long resident of my riding, as someone who has seen more bars put on windows, more youth violence than ever, more property crime than ever, drug violence growing, and a sense of frustration by everyday citizens over our justice system grow deeper and deeper, I believe that changes to our justice system will be the most important contribution by this Parliament to health of my community.
As such, I am proud that our government will make criminal justice reform one of the cornerstones of our governing agenda. The Justice Minister, the Member for Provencher, has visited my community twice in the past year to hear first hand from mayors, city councilors, the Coquitlam RCMP and Port Moody Police, about the kinds of justice reforms we need to ensure our community stays one of the greatest places in the world to live.
And I’m proud to report that both he, and the Prime Minister, have listened, have made a commitment, and will act on important criminal justice reforms.
Just last week, in a speech to the Executive Board Meeting & Legislative Conference of the Canadian Professional Police Association, the Prime Minister outlined our justice package.
He pointed out that one of the things that has made Canada a great country is our traditionally low rates of crime.
In fact, our peaceful, law-abiding communities are part of Canada’s traditional identity and values.
But times are changing.
Our cities are changing.
And the safe streets and safe neighbourhoods that Canadians have come to expect as part of our way of life are threatened by rising levels of crime. Clearly this cannot go on.
If we are to protect our Canadian way of life, we need to crack down on gun, gang and drug crime.
Canadians are tired of talk. They want action, and they want it now.
And that’s what Canada’s new Conservative Government is going to do – take action.
First of all, we’ll hold criminals to account. We’ll set mandatory minimum sentences for serious, violent and repeat crimes.
We are going to hold criminals to account.
This means making sure sentences match the severity of crimes – and getting violent criminals off the streets so they can’t re-offend.
This Government will send a strong message to criminals: If you do a serious crime, you’re going to do serious time.
That’s why, during our mandate, we will take the following actions:
- We’ll introduce mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug traffickers, weapons offences, repeat offenders and crimes committed while on parole;
- We’ll end conditional sentences for serious crimes;
- We’ll repeal the “Faint Hope Clause”;
- And we’ll replace statutory release with earned parole.
Parole will no longer be granted automatically – as it often is today.
Parole is a privilege – and it has to be earned.
We also know that holding criminals to account will require more police.
That’s why we’re also going to work with our partners in other levels of government to make sure there are more police officers on the streets.
This is of vital importance, because many police forces are currently under funded and under siege.
So we’re going to act by:
- Establishing a new cost-shared program with provincial and municipal governments to hire new police officers;
- Re-investing savings from the long-gun registry into front-line law enforcement;
- And investing new federal money into criminal justice priorities – including youth at risk programs.
When it comes to drug crimes, this government will also act. We will do so by:
- Ensuring mandatory minimum prison sentences and large fines are given out to marijuana grow operators and drug dealers;
- Introducing a national drug strategy, including a nationwide awareness campaign to discourage our youth from getting hooked on drugs in the first place;
- And not re-introducing the Liberal government’s marijuana decriminalization legislation.
Finally, we’ll get tough on sex offenders and those that prey on our children.
We’ll get tough on sex offenders by:
- Creating an effective DNA bank of all convicted sex offenders and dangerous offenders;
- Raising the age of consent for sexual relations between children and adults from 14 to 16 years old; and
- Establishing a zero tolerance policy for all forms of child pornography.
Also, I will continue my efforts to have tough laws enacted against those cowards who use date-rape drugs to sexually assault, rape, and abuse women. For too long this problem has been allowed to grow, and I believe it is time for action against date-rape drugs.
Mr. Speaker, let me finish where I began, by thanking the people of Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Anmore and Belcarra for the honour of being able to stand here today and speak on their behalf in this great Parliament.
The five priorities that will be the focus of this government and Parliament this year will lead to a healthier and stronger Canada, British Columbia and Tri-Cities. After thirteen years of dithering and delaying, this Prime Minister, this Conservative government, will get things done for Canadians.
Let the debates begin.