Government Orders
Madam Speaker, as I indicated earlier, the Prime Minister, through the campaign and post-campaign, made a very significant commitment to bring in bail reform. That has been a high priority for the government, to the extent that the Prime Minister indicated that he would do the necessary consultation and bring forward the legislation. I believe that consultation will result in a bail reform package…
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Madam Speaker, I am rising to respond to the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, who raised, on September 15, the question of privilege respecting an allegation of obstruction and intimidation when accessing a federal penitentiary. With respect to the member raising this point of order, there is no clear and necessary connection between his parliamentary work and his visit to the penitentiary. Th…
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Madam Speaker, I had the opportunity during the nineties to be the justice critic in the province of Manitoba. I say that because I am very familiar with provincial responsibilities. When we think of the issue of crime and safety, it is not only Ottawa that plays a role. The Prime Minister has recognized on this issue the important role the federal government plays, and he has made a commitment to…
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Madam Speaker, it is also important that we brought forward Bill C-2. Within the bill, there are in fact measures that would deal with issues such as Canada Post and the possibility of fentanyl being put into envelopes, the sharing of information to deal with issues like extortion, and so forth. I wonder whether the member could provide his thoughts on this: We can bring legislation forward, and i…
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Mr. Speaker, no one does it better than the leader of the Conservative Party. He understands—
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, when it comes to Conservative Party policy and the leader's approach to crime and safety in the community, the first priority is not Canadians. It is raising cash for the Conservative Party. We see numerous emails that go out saying slogans on crime and what the Conservatives are going to do, all in an attempt to raise money. That is what it is, a cash cow for the Con…
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if my colleague can provide his thoughts and reflections on the last federal election, when we had Liberal members of Parliament, and in fact, Liberal candidates from coast to coast to coast, talking about the issue of crime and safety in the community. Now we have a Prime Minister who is committed to bringing in significant bail reform changes. That is, in essence, a part of…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague's comments speak to a very important issue. Like my colleague, we all canvass our constituencies, not only during elections but also between elections. I know she is reflecting many of the thoughts her constituents have. Could my colleague provide some additional thoughts from her perspective, in terms of reflecting on the last election and how important the issue of crim…
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Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged by a number of the words the member has stated, in particular those about putting aside some of the partisan politics. When I think of the commitment that has been made, whether it is from the member opposite to his constituents, or from the Prime Minister to Canadians, I see that bail reform is critically important. The Prime Minister has made a substantial commitment…
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Mr. Speaker, the member made reference to mythical bail legislation, but we have a Prime Minister who has made a very strong commitment to bringing it in this fall. The concern I have is that the Conservatives like to talk tough on crime, but when it comes to passing legislation, they have to be shamed into getting it through second reading so it can go to a standing committee, where the public an…
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Mr. Speaker, I thought that was an interesting question in the sense that I have had the opportunity to ask numerous Conservatives over the last couple of days about the whole process of passing legislation. Time and time again, depending on the member, they will stand up and talk about how they want to serve their constituents and see legislation passed that would make our communities safer. At t…
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No, I have not donated, and I do not plan to, either. Mr. Speaker, we can talk about misinformation and slogans. They have turned crime and safety into nothing more than the creation of slogans, propaganda and bumper stickers just to feed a certain element of their party to generate funds. That is what it has come down to. That is why they criticize Liberals constantly on crime. At the end of the …
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Mr. Speaker, I have had the opportunity, not once but on a couple of occasions, to talk to Mayor Gillingham in regard to the issue of crime in the city of Winnipeg, and it is very serious. At the end of the day, as I have explained to the House, it is not just Ottawa. In four or five months, Ottawa, and in particular the Prime Minister, has done the work necessary in terms of the consultations, re…
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Mr. Speaker, the Jordan case was addressed in part when the former government brought in legislation. I know the Conservatives oppose certain aspects of that legislation, which means, at least from what I understand, they are going to reintroduce the stuff that was actually struck down by the Supreme Court, but that helps them in terms of their fundraising efforts. At the end of the day, during th…
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Mr. Speaker, the member was an MLA for seven years; I was an MLA for just under 20 years. I understand the provincial system, no doubt, as well as he understands it. He should also understand and acknowledge that both levels of government have a very important role. The member talked about what has happened over the last 10 years. The Speaker will not give me enough time to be able to expand on th…
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Mr. Speaker, the member is asking what I personally would do, in terms of a sense of commitment. I would be more than happy to talk with any member of the Bloc party if they are prepared to explain to me what they are talking about. As I say, I think the more appropriate place for that discussion to take place is probably the justice standing committee. I do not know whether the Bloc has had the o…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated, from a personal perspective, if members of the Bloc want to come talk to me about the issue, I am open to doing that, but I do stand by my earlier comment that the issue is something that, if I were a member of the Bloc, would be an excellent opportunity to set as an agenda item at the Standing Committee on Justice, and that would involve more parliamentarians. Ho…
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Mr. Speaker, if I were to answer the specific question that the member asked, that would require me to say something indicating that I have privy information, and if I did that, then tomorrow he would stand up on a question of privilege, asking how the member for Winnipeg North knew this. Then we would get every member of the Conservative caucus talking about their privilege having been breached, …
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Mr. Speaker, the member made reference to a quote. I want to go right to that quote. I have heard a couple of what I would classify as weird comments from Conservatives today. The first one I heard was when the MP for Cariboo—Prince George made this statement: “in my riding, 98% of the crime is created by five or six prolific offenders. When they are in jail, the crime rate goes down.” Then, as th…
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Oxford, this member's seatmate, said, “We are now living in a war zone in Canada.” That is the kind of extreme statement we are hearing from Conservatives. Does the member agree with her colleague?
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative member for Oxford stated, “We are now living in a war zone in Canada.” That sort of rhetoric, which we hear from members of the Conservative Party, is, I believe, very damaging. We have a Prime Minister who has recognized the need for bail reform and has made a commitment to delivering bail reform this fall. I am wondering if the member can provide her thoughts on the…
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Mr. Speaker, as we get closer to the conclusion of the debate, let us be very clear that whether it is the Prime Minister of Canada or the Liberal members of Parliament, Canadians can be assured that we have been listening to what they have said. It comes out of the last federal election. There has been a solid commitment from our Prime Minister to ensure that we have bail reform legislation well …
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Mr. Speaker, I suspect if you were to canvass the House, you might find unanimous consent to see the clock at 6:30 p.m. so we can begin the late show.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand at the stage.
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all notices of motions for the production of papers also be allowed to stand.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to clearly indicate to the member that the Prime Minister has been very clear that we are going to be bringing forward significant bail legislation. At the end of the day, with Bill C-2, there is an opportunity for the Conservatives to actually do some positive work at the committee stage if they are concerned about some amendments. They bring up the issue of mail. We …
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate what the member is saying in regard to the passage of the legislation. At the end of the day, we need to look at what the government committed to in the last election. The legislation we see before us today encompasses many of the things the Prime Minister campaigned on in the last election. I can appreciate, in a minority situation, that we have to work with opposition. …
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been very clear: We want to have more co-operation here on the floor of the House of Commons. Let me use a specific example. If someone sends something via Purolator, in order for the law enforcement agency to check the envelope, it needs to get a warrant. The proposed legislation would put Canada Post under the same system as Purolator, so if someone anywhere i…
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Mr. Speaker, I give the member opposite credit. He has consistently argued that point, but at the end of the day, the reality is different from the images the member tries to portray. We know Stephen Harper did cut, and it is within his own Harper budget. Yes, the current leader of the Conservative Party was part of that cut to Canada border control. The member might be able to convince members of…
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I was being very respectful in terms of the length of time that the member spoke in introducing his bill. However, members should be reminded that in introducing a private member's bill, the speech should be relatively short, concise and to the point.
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Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions amongst the parties and if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion: That, notwithstanding any standing order or usual practice of the House, at the conclusion of Oral Questions on Wednesday, September 17, 2025: (a) the House observe a moment of silence for the late Honourable Ken Dryden, that afterwards, a member o…
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I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand, Mr. Speaker.
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Madam Speaker, there are some contradictions within the member's statements. On the one hand, he wants the government to take action on fentanyl, yet a drug dealer can put fentanyl into a normal envelope and bring it to Canada Post. This legislation would then allow, through a warrant, for that envelope to be opened. I would think that is a positive thing and that the member would support somethin…
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Madam Speaker, the legislation would do many things. One of the issues the member raised and spent a great deal of time on is sex offenders. Within the sex offender registry, there is a considerable amount of information, and this act would enable the RCMP to share a lot of that information, both domestically and internationally. This is a very strong, positive thing in terms of what the member is…
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Madam Speaker, it is incredible that the members opposite would make reference to Stephen Harper. More importantly, when the current leader of the Conservative Party sat in cabinet, the Conservatives actually cut border control services. That was a cut. We have increased it by over $1 billion; that is with a “b”. We have invested in more RCMP, more border control. We have brought in substantive le…
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Madam Speaker, there is no doubt: It is easy to tell where the member stands on the legislation. I do want clarification on one specific issue. She makes reference to the issue of being able to claim refugee status. In Canada, there are literally hundreds of thousands of people today who are on some form of a temporary visa. Does the member believe that, if people have been in Canada for a lengthy…
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Madam Speaker, we have a new Prime Minister. We have more new members of Parliament than any other political entity in the House of Commons. Since the end of April, we have seen tax breaks for 20-plus million Canadians. We have built a stronger one Canadian economy than we have ever seen, which the Conservatives supported. The member talked about the need for bail reform. We have a Prime Minister …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to pick up on the issue of misleading information. We listen to Conservatives, and they give us the impression that letter carriers could walk around and start opening up Canadians' mail; it is just not true through this legislation. This is not true. In fact, there would be a requirement to get a warrant. It would deal with mailing fentanyl to communities. Is that not a good t…
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Mr. Speaker, the member talked about lawful access in sharing information. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police actually supports it. Does she support the chiefs of police statement in support of that aspect of the legislation?
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Mr. Speaker, one of the things I can appreciate is that members, particularly from the Bloc, understand that there are aspects of the legislation that would be good to see advanced, which is really encouraging to see, but before we can get to the committee stage, we have to finish the debate that is taking place here. We have to at least be aware of that. Would the member not agree that there are …
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives, when the leader of the Conservative Party was in government and sat at the cabinet table, literally cut money out of the budget for border control. Contrast that with this government, which has invested well over $1 billion, or close to $1.3 billion, to have hundreds of new border and RCMP officers. It seems to be an interesting contrast. Does the member not see any…
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Mr. Speaker, the member spent a good deal of his time talking about an issue that was part of the Liberal Party's platform. During the election, just five months ago, we got a new Prime Minister. We had more new Liberal MPs elected than MPs for any other political party in the House. At the end of the day, we have accomplished a great deal over the last five months, including tax breaks, building …
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Mr. Speaker, on another front, dealing with the issue of individuals in Canada, let us say, for an extended period of time on temporary visas, does the member have any thoughts of his own as to whether someone, for example, who has been here for over a year, would be able to claim refugee status if they were here visiting a student or whatever else it might be?
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Mr. Speaker, there are a number of comments I take exception to, especially ones dealing with the issue of fentanyl that is put into envelopes and mailed out and the legal obligation for Canada Post to deliver that mail. To deal with drugs like fentanyl and how Canada Post is being utilized, we have put responsible clauses in the legislation that will in fact make a difference. I would ultimately …
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-2 does not deal with the issue of bail reform, a commitment that the Prime Minister made. If it dealt with bail reform, we would have criticisms from across the way saying that it should have been separate legislation. The good news is that we are going to see that separate legislation this fall. Members should know that by now. The member also made the assertion that the Conse…
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Mr. Speaker, if someone puts some fentanyl in a size 10 envelope and mails it at a post office, Canada Post has a legal obligation to deliver that letter. The legislation would enable a law enforcement officer, not a letter carrier, as long as they have been given the warrant to do so, to open the letter. Will the member not agree that the principle of what I have stated is a good thing, whether h…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know whether the member heard the question. I would ask him to listen very carefully. In principle, if there is a warrant issued so a law enforcement officer can open a letter, would the member not support that? Based on what he is saying, I would assume the answer would be yes. It is kind of like a yes or no question. If the warrant is actually issued so that the police or t…
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, to be clear, I would like to reserve the opportunity to come back and address this after reviewing the comments.
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