Bob Bromley

Thanks again to the Minister for those remarks. Of course, the reason I’m focusing on diamonds is because we are already unsuccessfully spending millions and millions of dollars on trying to get a value-added industry, so I’m talking about taking some of those unsuccessful dollars and shifting them into a successful program. Again, the Minister mentioned it’s tough to do this. You know, a real partner might be Harry Winston, because, of course, if we were successful they’d be selling a lot more diamonds.

Of course, our greatest resource here is the artists. Will the Minister commit to ensuring...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement today, keeping the Minister of Transportation and ITI, ITI in this case, busy today. I’d like to start by seeking the Minister’s statement of principled support for the issue I raised earlier. I know ITI’s SEED program identifies value-added manufacturing as a priority sector for program support, so promoting value-added manufacturing is definitely government policy. In this case, does the Minister see the diamond jewellery industry as value-added opportunity and support the development of training programs in the skills of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If you’ll bear with me, I’d like to read into the record the Standing Committee on Social Programs Committee Report 1-17(2), Report on the Use of Tablet Computers in the Legislative Assembly.

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures of the 16th Legislative Assembly tabled Committee Report 2-16(5), Report on the Use of Laptop Computers and Hand-held Electronic Devices in the Legislative Assembly, on May 19, 2010. This report provided a summary of the rules governing such devices in other jurisdictions and reviewed the Legislative Assembly’s actions and views to that...

Thank you. The Minister jumped ahead to some of my other questions here. My question had been what is the Minister doing to work with other jurisdictions, particularly northern jurisdictions to ramp up the effort to get assistance from the federal government on the impacts that we know are going to accrue, although we haven’t dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s yet? So perhaps before I can go on to the subject that the Minister raised here, also an important one, perhaps he could answer that question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are following up on my Member’s statement today and they’re directed to the Minister of Justice. So my first question is: In some of our earliest briefings as the 17th Assembly, we were alerted to the work that the Department of Justice was doing to really list the anticipated costs of the proposed Omnibus Bill C-10, Government of Canada. So I’m looking to the Minister of Justice to find out what those costs are. When will he be bringing that to committee, or is it ready now? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to follow up on my colleague’s concern here. I have similar concerns. This department has a record of a high degree of inefficiency. They have a huge backlog that has never seemed to have been dealt with. They’re costing us millions and millions of dollars in terms of our fines and fees and so on as a result of poor management with respect to our Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission. I want to express a real concern about this department and its burgeoning costs and high level, costly positions without any effective corrections to how we manage. I...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) to have Committee Report 1-17(2), Report of the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures on the Use of Tablet Computers in the Legislative Assembly, moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to say that’s news to me and that’s certainly not what I hear from the corrections folks and the constituents that I deal with, that we have room in our jails, but I’m glad to hear that. Perhaps I could ask the Minister to provide that information to committee.

I just want to follow up now on the preventative side. I’ve been hearing for a long time what the Minister has said. We’re working on that. Now I’m looking for some real substance. I heard the Minister say a couple of months from now. I guess that means we have to wait another couple months, but let’s make...

Thanks for the response from the Minister. Obviously we’d need these costs now if we’re going to use them in leveraging further assistance and working with other jurisdictions. Obviously other jurisdictions are not waiting until they have dotted all the i’s and crossed the t’s. By then it will be too late, this legislation will be in place and we’ll be faced with the immediate ramifications. So what is the Minister doing to use what information we do have and work with other jurisdictions, especially northern jurisdictions, who clearly recognize the costs that are accruing as a result of this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There have been a lot of developments since the last session on the federal introduction of Bill C-10, the Omnibus Crime Bill. I’d like to recap and investigate our status to date.

The national clamour grows as provincial and territorial research confirms the anticipated balloon of court, corrections and policing costs resulting from minimum mandatory sentencing. Following a December 9th motion of this Assembly, the Minister of Justice committed to provide information on the anticipated costs and I’ll be asking questions on that research. An element of that motion called...