The ten pieces of legislation passed this fall will protect Canadian consumers, make our streets and communities safer, and improve the lives of Canadians and their families.
This fall, our number one priority was the economy. The Sustaining Canada’s Economic Recovery Act will implement key measures from the Jobs and Economic Growth Budget of 2010.
Government bills that became law last week include:
• Sustaining Canada’s Economic Recovery – Budget 2010 measures to implement the second phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.
• Canadian Consumer Product Safety – tough new legislation to strengthen Canada’s product safety laws and better protect Canadian consumers and their families.
• Eliminating Entitlements for Prisoners – terminates the payment of Old Age Security benefits to prisoners.
• Protecting Victims from Sexual Offenders – protects children against sexual predators on our streets.
• Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam – protects Canadian businesses and consumers from the most harmful and misleading forms of online threats.
• Gender Equity in Indian Registration – addresses a court ruling on gender discrimination in the Indian Act.
• Tax Conventions Implementation – implements Canada’s tax treaties with Colombia, Greece and Turkey.
• Appropriations bill for the fall Supplementary Estimates – provides information to Parliament on the Government’s spending requirements.
Earlier in the fall session, the following Government bills became law:
• Tackling Auto Theft and Property Crime – cracks down on auto theft and trafficking in property that is obtained by crime.
• Celebrating Canada’s Seniors – creates a National Seniors Day to recognize the significant and continuing contributions seniors make to their families, communities, workplaces and society.
While we made some progress, much more remains to be done before the current Parliamentary session ends. My hope is that the opposition will support our legislation to eliminate pardons for sexual offenders, repeal the faint hope clause for convicted murderers, and combat the abuse of Canada’s immigration system by human smugglers.
Last Wednesday we became the longest serving minority government in Canadian history, and will have maintained the confidence of the House of Commons for almost five years next month. With that in mind, it is worth noting that we have had another extremely productive session of Parliament.