Finance Minister Bill Morneau is trying to change the channel on his ethics crisis
It’s time that Morneau stops trying to change the channel, apologizes to Canadians, and starts following the rules that apply to all Members of Parliament.
It’s time that Morneau stops trying to change the channel, apologizes to Canadians, and starts following the rules that apply to all Members of Parliament.
It was a joy to be in the K-Days Parade today put on by Northlands along with my federal Conservative Party of Canada colleagues Matt Jeneroux, Garnett Genuis and Mike Lake.
It was great to see all the friendly people who showed up to watch and wave, especially all the happy kids. It drizzled a bit but, as the cliché goes, rain failed to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm.
Thanks Northlands for another successful event!
By KERRY DIOTTE
As a federal politician, crime, justice and community safety are almost always at the top of the list of concerns I hear about from people.
These topics have especially dominated the news and the minds of many people I’ve talked to lately.
Just the other day I met with constituents in my local office, both of whom were crying out for changes to the way we seek to have safer communities.
One 77-year-old man complained he and his wife had suffered 54 break-ins or petty crimes in and around their Londonderry area home since 1990.
Few people were arrested for the offences, despite the fact that he’s got scores of surveillance video, he told me.
What’s more, he said their farm in Mayorthorpe was hit by thieves and vandals who made off with $40,000 in stolen goods and did $30,000 in vandalism.
The man is upset there aren’t more police resources to probe such crimes. He figures Canada needs to toughen laws to put repeat offenders away for longer stretches. “It’s become a justice industry,” he says. “It’s not justice.”
A retired veteran of the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) I met with the same day echoed similar frustration with the approach to public safety.
His concern centres around a lack of resources from the federal government to deal with people released from federal prisons, deemed to be high risk to re-offend “sexually or violently.”
The former EPS officer who’s still active in the criminal justice system says these high-risk ex-cons have typically been kept in prison until the last day of their sentences and don’t get the benefit of statutory release.
The former officer told me a trio of city police detectives in Edmonton do their best to supervise an average of 30 of these high-risk offenders who walk among us — a high percentage of those ex-cons being sex offenders.
The retired officer argues more resources are direly needed to stop these hardest of hardened ex-cons from re-offending. As proof the system isn’t working, he brought me a list of eight such, hard-core ex-cons who indeed did re-offend.
Those re-offences include the aggravated assault of a woman confined to a wheelchair, sex assaults against children under the age of 16 and several homicides, he said.
“If these cases are going to remain the responsibility of policing agencies across Canada, they need proper funding from the federal government for training and adequate personnel,” he said.
To me, that’s a no brainer.
The concerns of these two men are the tip of the iceberg. Recently Edmonton Journal columnist Paula Simons lamented that Canada has a “broken court system.”
Simons raised numerous concerns including that courts don’t have enough judges or other resources to deal with the workload.
I believe that’s particularly true because of a Supreme Court ruling called the Jordan decision. That ruling means accused criminals must get a trial is a timely manner or they must be released.
Canadians have already been shocked that several people charged with violent crimes didn’t get a trial fast enough and were released scott free.
Simons rightly a point out it’s a federal government responsibility to appoint federal judges and there are a whack of vacancies.
This is hardly news to our Conservative caucus.
We’ve been hammering at the federal Liberal justice minister for months now as vacancies for judges remained unfilled for no good reason.
When repeatedly questioned in the House of Commons by Conservative deputy justice critic Michael Cooper, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has blathered a lot of non-sensical excuses for the delay including talking about the fact we need to aim for “diversity” when hiring judges.
In my view, public safety can’t take a back seat when there aren’t enough judges appointed and people charged with murder and other violent crimes are walking free without being tried.
Another controversy keeping crime high on people’s radar was the recent defeat of Wynn’s Law by the federal Liberal majority government.
Backed by Conservatives, it would have closed a loophole in the law so that those applying for bail would have to have their criminal records and pending charges shown to a judge.
Liberals made a bogus argument that, somehow, disclosing someone’s criminal record or pending charges would bog down the justice system. Just TRY to figure out that loopy Liberal logic.
Violent crime has also been much on the minds of many in Edmonton, in part because the city had experienced more than two dozen homicides and 2017 is only half over. By June 29 the city had recorded its 25th murder.
The spike in murders was enough for police to call a news conference to ally public fears and reassure citizens the city is still relatively safe.
Given all these recent headlines, it’s understandable Canadians are worried about community safety and concerned not enough is being done by governments to assure the public.
Public safety should be a top priority for any government. Our Conservative opposition will continue to urge the Liberal government to fill vacancies in the federal courts and stand up for victims of crime and law-abiding Canadians.
E-mail me at [email protected] to share your thoughts on these issues.
Everyone is welcome and I hope to see you there.
Please RSVP by June 19.
Position Title: Creative summer intern
Language Requirements: English, other languages considered an asset
Effective Date: June 5, 2017-September 2, 2017
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Essential Qualifications
• Good skills at photography and videography
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, outgoing personality
• Willingness to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends to attend events with the Member of Parliament
• Effective interpersonal skills, good judgment, discretion, initiative, professionalism and team spirit
General Responsibility
The office of Kerry Diotte, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Griesbach, is looking for a summer intern to help develop and carry out creative projects and to also assist in the day-to-day tasks of a political office. This paid internship is a unique opportunity to learn about politics and develop your creative skills.
Interested candidates may apply before May 26, 2017 by sending their resume and creative work sample to Sally Harris at [email protected]. Creative work could include writing samples, photos or videos etc.
Please feel free to forward this opportunity to interested individuals.
All applications will be held in confidence and only selected applicants will be contacted for an interview.
In the face of ongoing Russian military aggression, Liberals have announced minimal measures to help Ukraine. While the extension of Operation UNIFIER is positive, it is the bare minimum.
As a friend and an ally, Canada has a moral duty to stand with Ukraine. Here’s my speech from the debate on the extension of Operation UNIFIER.
Dress for Success is a great organization that provides support for women to succeed in professional life.
Thanks to the Hon. Rona Ambrose for lending her office space for this important cause.
My Conservative colleagues and I have met with thousands of everyday Albertans to discuss the jobs crisis in the province.
We’ve heard your stories of how this crisis has impacted you. And, we’ve heard your ideas on how the federal government can help get Albertan back to work.
Today, our Alberta Conservative caucus released the Alberta Jobs Taskforce report that includes practical solutions to help create jobs and grow the economy in Alberta.
Read the full report here.
Constable David Wynn was murdered by a career criminal out on bail, whose criminal history wasn’t disclosed at the bail hearing.
Currently, Canada’s Criminal Code doesn’t require the disclosure of a bail applicant’s criminal history.
Wynn’s law would close this loophole.
I’ve already received feedback from hundreds of you that think Wynn’s law is common-sense legislation.
Shamefully, the Liberal government has vowed to defeat this legislation.
If you want to see Wynn’s law passed, send the Liberals a message and sign this e-petition today: https://petitions.parl.gc.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-712
I had the pleasure of continuing the debate on my private member’s bill, Bill C-306 at Second Reading.
The history of 1944 is clear. Josef Stalin signed an order that sent the Crimean Tatars into exile in Central Asia. The Soviet Union tore innocent people from their homes, packed them into cattle cars, and sent them to perish. They were erased from history, denied their language, culture and faith. These events constitute genocide.
After officially declaring the deportations of 1944 a genocide, Ukraine has issued a call to rest of the world to respond.
As close friend, Canada needs to respond to that call. I urge all Members of Parliament to support Bill c-306.