December 2011 Parliamentary Report

 
PARLIAMENTARY REPORT

Bill C-10 – Safe Streets and Communities
This legislation previously resulted in hours of Committee consultation, testimony and study only to have it die at the election. This Bill returns several Bills as a single piece of legislation.
After many more hours of testimony and two days of marathon consideration, C-10 was reported for third reading and will soon become law.

C-20 – The Fair Representation Act
This Bill adds seats to the House of Commons for provinces experiencing the most recent growth– Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, while respecting the guaranteed number of seats for other provinces.

If not passed by January, the electoral boundary Commission timeline will require they begin work with out-dated rules. Later passage would require them to restart, wasting efforts up to that point and risking the possibility of not finishing before the next election.
C-19 – Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act

The Government introduced this Bill to fulfill its election commitment. To protect privacy and discourage reinstitution of the Registry – which we consider to be wasteful and ineffective - existing outdated information will be destroyed when this Bill passes.

Other Legislation

Legislation implementing the 2011 Budget will be passed before the end of 2011. The Government is also delivering on commitments to give Western grain farmers the same marketing freedom as Ontario grain farmers, and to discourage human smuggling. Legislation has been introduced to clarify laws of self-defence. This has been an extremely hard-working Parliament.
 
16 Days Against Gender Violence
 
On November 5, 2011 I attended our "Take Back the Night" kick-off to show my personal support for ending violence against women.

Beginning on November 25th, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the 16 days encompass Canada’s Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women on December 6 and conclude December 10.
 
Since 1991 December 6 has commemorated the 1989 murders of women at l'École Polytechnique. They died because of the perpetrator’s hatred of women.
Violence against women destroys lives and weakens the fabric of our society. It takes a heavy toll on our communities. Since 2007, Status of Women Canada has invested over $39 million to end violence against women.
 
Until January 27, 2012, the Government’s Women’s Program, will accept proposals for projects to end violence against women on university and college campuses. For more information on this opportunity to address the pressing issue of violence against women in university and college campus communities, please visit: to www.swc-cfc.gc.ca.