Parliamentary Speeches
589 speeches by Gary Anandasangaree — Page 1 of 12
Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to look at what is in front of us right now, as we speak. We have a number of very important pieces of legislation that will address the issue that my friend opposite brought forward. There is Bill C-12, which is going through the Senate. There is Bill C-9. There is Bill C-14, which speaks to bail reform, as well as ensuring that there is consecutive sentencing…
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Mr. Speaker, last week when the Prime Minister met with first ministers from across Canada, all 13 of them unanimously asked for this House to pass Bill C-14. The party opposite is talking about being tough on crime, but it refused to pass the legislation that is required for bail reform, that is going to make consecutive sentences and that is going to ensure the safety and security of Canadians. …
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 110(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the certificate of nomination with biographical notes for the proposed appointment of Anton Boegman as foreign influence transparency commissioner for a term of seven years. I request that the nomination and biographical notes be referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
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Mr. Speaker, the rise in extortion in Surrey and the Lower Mainland is unacceptable, and I extend my support to the victims of extortion everywhere. This morning, I met with Premier Eby and we committed to deploying up to 20 RCMP members to support law enforcement efforts. We deployed two helicopters in the Surrey area, and in November we announced $4 million in federal funding to bolster the Surr…
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Mr. Speaker, at the outset, let me thank and congratulate the members of the RCMP for their work in the arrest of Ryan Wedding in collaboration with the FBI. Ryan Wedding was the number one wanted person in the United States, and this is the type of collaboration that law enforcement in Canada, working with the United States, can achieve. To the member's question, we have six bills in front of the…
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moved that the bill, as amended, be concurred in at report stage with further amendments.
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Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear: We will be moving forward with the national program to ensure that the gun owners who are lawful gun owners are able to get compensation for prohibited weapons, the 2,500 types of weapons we prohibited under the Firearms Act. We will be compensating them. My question to the opposition members is this: Why do they continuously go against law enforcement? For examp…
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moved: That Bill C-12, in Clause 47, be amended by (a) replacing lines 4 to 8 on page 23 with the following: (a) in the case where the person has voluntarily returned to the country in respect of which they claimed refugee protection and the Refugee Protection Division has not yet made a decision in respect of the claim, must determine that the claim has been abandoned; and (b) in any other case, …
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has a robust system of inadmissibility that ensures that people who were not eligible to be here will be removed. This year we are on target to remove over 20,000 people who are ineligible to be here, including those with criminal offences. Let me be very clear that the sanctimony of members of the party opposite that they put forward on issues of public safety needs to be chec…
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me thank the member for Fleetwood—Port Kells for his hard work. We are taking real action to fight extortion. Last week we had a summit in Surrey, British Columbia, that brought together the Government of British Columbia, law enforcement and the extortion task force, as well as municipal leaders, in order to ensure that we are all on the same page and are fighting t…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Compton—Stanstead for her incredible work at the SECU committee, and I want to thank the members of the SECU committee for making sure that Bill C-12 passes report stage at committee. Bill C-12 would give law enforcement the tools to keep our borders secure and to combat organized crime, auto theft, extortion, money laundering and the trafficking o…
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Mr. Speaker, our government is doing everything we can to ensure that guns are off our streets. This includes Bill C-12, and this includes a $1.3-billion investment at our border, 1,000 new RCMP and 1,000 new CBSA officers. We have Bill C-14, which will address the issues around bail. We also have a compensation program that will ensure that law-abiding Canadians can get compensation for prohibite…
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Mr. Speaker, as I announced several weeks ago, there is a pilot project taking place in Cape Breton, which will be expanded to across Canada over the coming weeks. We look forward to law-abiding Canadians' abiding by the law. We have brought in many measures to ensure that criminals are off our streets, including Bill C-14, which I hope the party opposite supports. It is part of a comprehensive pl…
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Mr. Speaker, the safety and security of Canadians is the first and most primary responsibility of the government. This is why we have taken very important measures in order to ensure the safety and security of Canadians, including having the highest level of removals in a decade. Over 20,000 people will be removed from Canada for being here improperly. This is why we have introduced bail reform an…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to answer this very important question. I look forward to bringing forth the names to the leaders of the opposition parties so that we can have consensus on the commissioner. I assure the member opposite that we will have the commission up and running by the end of the year.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has made some irresponsible statements relating to the RCMP. The RCMP plays an integral role in the safety and security of Canadians. It is an independent organization that abides by the rule of law. For the Leader of the Opposition to impugn the integrity of the RCMP is beyond the seat he holds. I demand that he unequivocally retract those statements. We …
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader's dangerous rhetoric is irresponsible. The words of the Leader of the Opposition in relation to the RCMP are completely unacceptable. The RCMP is an independent organization, one that enhances the rule of law in Canada and that ensures the safety and security of Canadians. Day in and day out, the RCMP officers on the ground work to save and secure this country.…
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Madam Speaker, let me confirm that the Coast Guard plays an integral role in protecting Canadians. The measures we are taking will enhance its role with respect to surveillance, making sure, particularly in northern Canada, that information is shared with law enforcement agencies as well as the Department of National Defence. As members are aware, we are investing 2% of our GDP in defence starting…
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Madam Speaker, that is a very important question. The RCMP is an organization that is sacrosanct in Canada. It has defended Canadians for over 150 years. It is an internationally recognized leader in policing. In Canada, we have separation of the executive branch from police functions and judicial functions. The RCMP is an independent body that is accountable within its system. It is not accountab…
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Madam Speaker, concerning the new RCMP officers who would be onboarded, the commitment we have is that those RCMP officers would be mandated to do federal policing. They would receive training that is consistent and that is customized for federalized policing; it is something that Commissioner Duheme and his senior team have been working on with the depot to ensure that the officers have the right…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech and his work. I want to acknowledge the work my colleague has done for many years on a number of issues, including medical assistance in dying. I thank him for that. I want to talk about the 1,000 new CBSA officers announced last Friday in Niagara Falls with my good colleague from St. Catharines, and the hiring, training and deploying …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Oakville West for the hard work she does with the Halton Regional Police Service. I had the opportunity to visit her last week. From January 1 to September 19, CBSA seized close to 2,600 grams of fentanyl, 77,000 grams of other opioids, 662 firearms and over 11,000 prohibited weapons. Bill C-12 would enhance law enforcement's ability to do its work,…
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Madam Speaker, Bill C-12 is being introduced with three major elements that were left out of Bill C-2, which are lawful access, postal services and the $10,000 amount as part of money laundering. These elements are quite important to law enforcement. I have heard from law enforcement across Canada as to the need to ensure that there is a lawful-access regime. Canada remains the only country where …
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moved that Bill C-12, An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of Canada's borders and the integrity of the Canadian immigration system and respecting other related security measures, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak today to Bill C-12, the strengthening Canada's immigration system and borders act. Bil…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Bay of Quinte for his very hard work. The strengthening Canada's immigration system and borders act would strengthen our border and keep Canadians safe. It would ensure guns and fentanyl are off our streets, and it would assist law enforcement with the required tools to do its job properly. I want to take this moment to thank the frontline RCMP, CBSA, CS…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-12, An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of Canada's borders and the integrity of the Canadian immigration system and respecting other related security measures. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
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Mr. Speaker, let me just remind the party opposite that the Mass Casualty Commission in Nova Scotia recommended that governments take decisive action to take assault-style firearms off our streets. It is a critical part of the work of ensuring the safety and security of our communities. I want to thank the people of Cape Breton for the pilot program. I know that the police chief and men and women …
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Mr. Speaker, let me thank the hon. member for Sackville—Bedford—Preston for this very important question. Let me advise him that on October 1, we launched the firearms compensation program in Cape Breton. We already have people signing up and registering to ensure they are eligible for compensation. We look forward to the expansion of this program across Canada. In addition, we are working to secu…
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Mr. Speaker, if the party opposite wants to be serious on crime, it needs to support legislation in front of the House that will advance criminal justice reform. We have Bill C-2 before the House, which the opposition is unwilling to support. This is a measure that was asked for by law enforcement. It will strengthen our border to make sure our country is safe. There is no doublespeak here because…
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Mr. Speaker, we have government legislation in front of the House, Bill C-2, which the party opposite could support and pass. These are very important items that law enforcement has asked for. Throughout the summer, I had the opportunity to meet with police chiefs, police associations and others in law enforcement who have asked for very important tools so they can do their job better and make sur…
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Mr. Speaker, let me thank the member for Sackville—Bedford—Preston for his very important question. I am pleased to say that on October 1, the pilot program—
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Mr. Speaker, since taking office on April 28, this new government has been working on bail reform. We have been consulting with law enforcement agencies across the country. We have been speaking to mayors. We have been speaking to provincial leaders. We will continue to consult, and we will continue to bring forward the most comprehensive bail reform this country has ever seen.
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Mr. Speaker, we have committed to bringing forward comprehensive bail reform legislation, which we will do over the next several weeks. I want to be clear that this issue around bail is not just the responsibility of the federal government. It also involves the provinces. It is up to the provinces to fund their courts adequately. It is up to them to ensure their justices of the peace and judges ar…
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Mr. Speaker, we will be bringing forward bail reform in very short order. Let me take this opportunity to talk about other legislation that is in the House that the party opposite could pass today. That is Bill C-2, which would give law enforcement officers additional tools to do their job more effectively in order to make sure that guns do not come through our border. That is the type of commitme…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has a robust system of determining who is admissible and who is not admissible to Canada. I would like to confirm that the Canada Border Services Agency is working to remove the largest number of people in Canadian history. Over 20,000 people are targeted to be removed and are inadmissible to Canada. We are doing it as we speak. We will continue to work with law enforcement and…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to announce that the assault-style firearms compensation program launched this morning in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It is a pilot that will expand across Canada. I am also pleased to announce that a number of individuals who are law-abiding gun owners have registered and are looking forward to the compensation they will receive. Canadians are law-abiding people. Gun …
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Madam Speaker, in addition to the compensation program pilot that we launched this week in Nova Scotia, we have invested $1.3 billion in our borders. We brought forward Bill C-2, which is in front of the House right now. With the support of the opposition, we could pass it today to ensure that our borders are stronger so we can keep illegal firearms off our streets. We will also be hiring 1,000 ne…
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Madam Speaker, there is a clear difference. On this side of the House, we believe in the safety and security of Canadians, and making sure that lethal weapons are off our streets. On the opposite side, they are about bringing forward American-style gun laws, essentially enabling AR—
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Madam Speaker, it is probably a good thing that the member opposite is not a translator. Let me be very clear. We brought forward a pilot program in Nova Scotia to ensure that the systems we have put in place as part of the compensation program work. The program will last for about five to seven weeks. We will expand it nationwide, across Canada, so that all law-abiding Canadians can seek compensa…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to note that there are 19,000 legal firearms that could be used for hunting and farming.
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Madam Speaker, we have prohibited 2,500 firearms, lethal firearms, such as AR-15s, which are used for mass casualty events—
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Madam Speaker, it is important to recognize that this bill would not impact or impose conditions on SMEs. It is much more for bigger telecommunications companies, transportation companies and critical infrastructure across Canada that are quite large enterprises. They are not small businesses per se. In fact, the work we do protecting and ensuring cybersecurity is to protect and support small busi…
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Madam Speaker, I have indicated that we will continue to work with the opposition and continue to work through the parliamentary process to strengthen the bill.
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moved that Bill C-8, An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts, be now read a second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, I am grateful to speak today to Bill C-8, an act respecting cyber security, and I want to acknowledge that we are gathered here on the traditional unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algon…
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Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to talk about our compensation program, which launched this week. As members know, Cape Breton is where we will launch the pilot of this program. People can register starting on October 1. We are making sure that those prohibited weapons are off our streets, but at the same time, we will be ensuring that law-abiding gun owners are able to get fair com…
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Madam Speaker, to have a serious conversation about crime, we need to have a serious conversation about guns. As of this week, we have launched the program in Cape Breton, where we are compensating lawful gun owners who are willing to forgo their AR-15 or other harmful weapons. In addition to that, we are securing the border with $1.3 billion in investments. We have Bill C-2 right in front of the …
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Madam Speaker, I would argue that Bill C-8 would in fact help small businesses. If members recall, this is about securing critical infrastructure, whether it is in telecommunications, transportation, finance or other critical infrastructure. For example, if the banking system were to be taken down or was off-line for several days or even hours, it could severely impact the ability of small busines…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague. Canada's critical infrastructure providers and enterprises are increasingly targeted. It is not just our government that is aware of these threats. The Canadian public is increasingly seeing these threats in headlines. They see that malicious cyber-actors are breaching our country's IT systems, accessing sensitive information and putting lives in danger. They s…
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Madam Speaker, the predecessor bill to Bill C-8 was Bill C-26. A lot of work went into ensuring that it is the best bill we can bring forward. A number of changes were made. As members will recall, Bill C-26 was almost completed in the previous session. Having said that, we are always open to ensuring the bill is strengthened. The privacy rights of Canadians are essential to the government. We are…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, who has returned to Parliament. I am very excited to work with her again in her capacity as a member. I want to highlight that there are a number of provisions in the bill that would ensure the security of privacy information in the course of this bill's implementation. For example, the personal, confidential information of individuals or businesses cou…
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