Inside Politics

Don't forget... it's Justice week

by Alison Crawford Posted: November 23, 2009 4:52 PM Last Updated: November 23, 2009 6:12 PM
How many MPs does it take to unveil a government crime bill? 
 
Well, in the case of tomorrow's proposed legislation to crack down on child porn, it will take six.
 
The government plans to introduce a proposed law that would require internet service providers (ISPs) to tip off police when they become aware of any sexually-explicit images of children. 
 
The ISPs would also be compelled to preserve the evidence for authorities. 
 
As has become routine on high-profile crime legislation, the government leaked details of its bill to the media in advance of Tuesday's official announcement. Even though it's considered a no-no for government officials to talk about a bill once the government has officially given formal notice that it is about to be tabled.
 
On October 26, the justice minister, Rob Nicholson, actually apologized for releasing details of his white-collar crime legislation after it was on the notice paper. 
 
According to Hansard, he said "the release of those details was a mistake, and for that I apologize to the House without reservation.  I have indicated to my colleagues, and I will be indicating to them, that this should never happen again."
 
Maybe he meant this should never happen again in October because details of this new bill were widely transmitted to reporters over the weekend even though it was put on notice last week. 
 
The official "reveal" is tomorrow, with Conservative MPs holding a series of identical news conferences across the country:
 
  • In Halifax, Fredericton MP Keith Ashfield will make the announcement. 
  • Portage-Lisgar MP Candice Hoeppner will handle the news conference in Winnipeg.
  • Charlesbourg-Haute-Saint-Charles MP Daniel Petit will do the same in Quebec City.
  • And on the west coast, North Vancouver MP Andrew Saxton will trumpet the merits of the new bill.

If you're wondering where Justice Minister Rob Nicholson figures in the mix, he'll make the announcement in Ottawa, with Christian Paradis, the public works minister with an unofficial portfolio for translation. Paradis is in tow for almost every announcement by Nicholson and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan (as well as Stockwell Day before him), to repeat all remarks in French.