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Rob Nicholson needs a hug

Going back to June and including each of his answers since announcing the government would comply with a court order to bring Abousfian Abdelrazik home, here, for your enjoyment, are the last eight responses offered by Justice Minister Rob Nicholson in Question Period.

On Bloc questions about white collar crime. Mr. Speaker, I cannot welcome back the Bloc to the whole question of justice in this country since those members have never expressed any interest in this whatsoever. As a matter of fact, when bills have been before the House to crack down on white collar crime, or crack down on individuals involved with trafficking in children, we never get support from the Bloc. We will look into this. Why do those members not look into supporting our tough on crime legislation? Why do they not do that for a change?

Mr. Speaker, I can tell you what we do know, that when it comes to standing up for victims and law-abiding Canadians we can never count on the Bloc. Within the last couple of weeks the Bloc members would not support a bill that would crack down on people who traffic in children. At the same time they made sure that people who commit fraud in this country get to go home under house arrest afterwards. I want to put a question to them. Which is the more dumb move on their part? They have lots of them to choose from.

On a friendly question about identity theft. Mr. Speaker, in fact the government has reintroduced a bill that would take aim at identity theft and would give police the tools they need to stop this activity before the damage is done. We know that organized crime and modern technology are changing the criminal landscape to make identity theft easier than ever. I have been calling on the opposition to expedite the passage of this bill. This is the second time we have introduced the bill. What is the problem with those people? Let us get Bill S-4 passed.

On a Bloc proposal to deal with white-collar crimeMr. Speaker, we are certainly pleased to take action. I wish we could get some action out of the Bloc Québécois. We could not even get the Bloc to support mandatory jail terms for people trafficking in children. This is absolutely despicable. I said this to the Bloc before. Bloc members should stand up for all victims because that is the right thing to do in this country.

On a friendly question crime legislation and the possibility of an election. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken with many Canadians who are very supportive of our tough on crime agenda. I pointed out to them that we have introduced bills that crack down on identity theft, car theft, getting rid of double credit for time served, and the faint hope clause. I pointed out Bill C-15, the bill that would crack down on serious drug dealers. I have challenged the Liberals to get this passed, but getting tough on crime has never been a priority for the Liberal Party. This is why I say that the only party one can count on to stand up for victims and law-abiding Canadians is this Conservative Party and this Conservative government.

On Abousfian AbdelrazikMr. Speaker, the one place we will not get advice from on this is the NDP. We have acted on the very best legal advice, and as I have already indicated to the House, we will comply with the court order.

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated yesterday, we take these cases very seriously. We get the very best legal advice in the country. With respect to the particular case, I indicated to the House that the government will comply with the court order. What is the hon. member’s problem?

Mr. Speaker, I agree with one part. It would be just about impossible to answer all the questions pertaining to the previous Liberal government. That being said, all issues in this matter were completely investigated. We received good legal advice and we made a decision based on that.

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