Parliamentary Speeches

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to put some words on the record concerning Bill C-20, an act establishing the public complaints and review commission and amending certain acts and statutory instruments. This is certainly something that the Liberals have talked about, I believe since the 2015 election. There has been about seven years where this has been in the making. It has been a very long time that…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the minister will have to take my apology. His government is keeping us so busy talking about oversight. I could talk for days and days about all the oversight the Liberals need. I would say that, overall, the bill does look promising and Conservatives are open to supporting it.

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I admire that my hon. colleague looked at the past five months and went to a lot of effort and endeavoured to find a piece of legislation that could possibly fix the issue and the scandalous behaviour we have seen between the Liberal government and the RCMP commissioner. His bill looks very promising. I did a quick read. I am not convinced that it would have solved the ethical and beh…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, that answer is not nearly good enough for survivors of sexual predators. He is going to have to do way better than that for survivors. Crime in this country is up 32%, with over 124,000 more violent crimes last year than when he first became Prime Minister seven years ago. Clearly, his approach is failing. How many more people in our communities are going to have to get beaten, mugged…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we have on the audio recording the commissioner saying the minister's office requested that she do this. That is irrefutable. I am going to ask him again. Did his office or he have any conversations with the commissioner concerning the Liberal gun control policy after that tragic massacre that killed 22 Canadians? Did his office politicize their deaths, yes or no?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, throughout this RCMP political interference scandal, the minister has been using very specific legal words concerning ministerial directives to the RCMP, but whether or not he directed the RCMP commissioner does not preclude political interference or inappropriate pressure. It does not rule it out. Did he or his staff have any conversations with the commissioner concerning the release…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, new evidence of this cover-up is coming out every day. We just learned that the RCMP director of media relations, who also happens to be a former Liberal staffer, is being investigated for covering up the audio recording that is at the centre of this entire scandal. That same audio recording has the commissioner directly contradicting the minister. There are lies here. Who is getting …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, with this Liberal RCMP political interference scandal, the minister continues to avoid accountability by using very specific legal words concerning ministerial directives to the RCMP. We are not asking about legal directives. We are asking about political interference. Did the minister, his chief of staff or anyone from his office discuss the forthcoming Liberal gun control legislatio…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the minister is expecting us to believe that the commissioner acted solely on her own and that she politicized the tragic deaths of 22 Canadians. She reprimanded her deputies for failing to share the models of the firearms used in those deaths and directly tied this to the Liberals' gun control policy. Then she told her deputies that it was the minister's office that asked her to do t…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the former minister of public safety said yesterday that his testimony at committee was entirely accurate, but the commissioner of the RCMP not only directly contradicted his remarks at committee but also in the newly released audio recording of the commissioner during the infamous April 28, 2020, meeting where she reprimanded her deputies. It stands to reason then that the minister i…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, at committee, the minister said to me, “At no time did I ask Commissioner Lucki to reveal that information.” I then went on to ask him if he knew about it, to which he said, “No, I did not.” However, on the audio recording released last week, Commissioner Lucki says, “it was a request that I got...from the Minister's office...I shared with the Minister...it was going to be in the...ne…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness politicized the criminal investigation of the worst mass killing in Canadian history. The evidence shows he pressured the RCMP commissioner to release sensitive information to further the Liberal political agenda, knowing it could jeopardize the investigation. He then denied it all on the record at committee, and for this reason, he must resign. …

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, the former minister of public safety misled a parliamentary committee, on the record. He said he was not aware that the commissioner would release sensitive information, and he said he never asked her to reveal that information, but both claims are now proving to be completely misleading with the new audio recording. Worse yet, the minister knew the release of this information would…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, the newly released audio recordings of the RCMP commissioner confirm that the minister pressured the commissioner to release sensitive information about the ongoing investigation into the worst mass killing in our history. By requesting this information be released to further the Liberal political agenda, the minister politically interfered in the RCMP investigation, and he misled a…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the owner of a Winnipeg convenience store is in the hospital with a serious brain injury after he was attacked by thieves. Manitobans have become quite accustomed to seeing the daily headlines of assault, murder, arson, stabbing, stealing, and break and enters. The perpetrators of these crimes are usually the same people. It is a revolving door, and the bad guys are getting away with …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals well know that gun violence is the result of criminals and gangs who smuggle guns across the American border. It is not the result of licenced, trained and vetted-by-police Canadian firearm owners. At the same time, these Liberals are letting violent offenders off the hook. This year, a woman in Winnipeg was robbed at gunpoint while holding her infant child and had her ca…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, there were over 124,000 additional violent crimes last year compared with in 2015. The Liberal approach is clearly failing Canadians. Crime is on the rise, and it is Canadian families who pay the price. The Prime Minister and the federal government have the real responsibility to act. The buck stops with them. They cannot just stand by and be passive observers. The time for action is …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, something has gone seriously wrong in this country. There has been a 32% increase in violent crime over the past seven years, and Canadians are feeling the impacts across the country. The fact is our neighbourhoods are less safe now than they were seven years ago when the Liberals first formed government. The Prime Minister is failing to act to protect Canadians. Why?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, there has been a 32% increase in violent crime with over 124,000 more violent crimes last year than in 2015. Under the Prime Minister, Canadian streets are less safe. That is a fact. Clearly, their approach to prioritizing the needs of criminals over victims is not working. When will the Prime Minister finally get serious and start protecting Canadian families from violent offenders?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, 51% of Canadians are struggling to afford food. That is over half the country. Seven years of the Liberal government and that is its record, yet the Liberals have the audacity to sit there and roll their eyes at us as we ask questions about their lack of action on inflation. Now they are going to raise taxes on Canadians by tripling the carbon tax on groceries, tripling it on home hea…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, a way to positively contribute is not to pick a fight with the Premier of Nova Scotia in the middle of a hurricane, defending the ArriveCAN app. ArriveCAN has disrupted travel, damaged tourism, separated families and caused thousands of Canadians undue hardship for years, but those Liberals refused to act until it was too late. It took the delay of American power line crews' entry int…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, there has been unprecedented damage, homes destroyed, thousands are without power and now we are hearing reports about fatalities. We know hurricane Fiona was certainly destructive and deadly. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Safety are busy denying that he Nova Scotia premier was telling the truth, that the ArriveCAN app delayed the entry of American power lin…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, on the question of privilege by my hon. colleague, I rise in my capacity as the shadow minister for public safety to add to his remarks about a tweet sent out last night from a member of the parliamentary press gallery who insinuated that my hon. colleague should be shot dead. This is incredibly serious and I would ask that you give it your full attention and investigate further mea…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to government statistics on individuals charged with firearm related offences, broken down by each offence and by year since 2016: (a) what percentage of those charged had a previous criminal record; and (b) what was the total number of people (i) charged, (ii) charged, who had a previous criminal record, (iii) charged, who did not have a previous criminal record?

Routine Proceedings

With regard to the current deployment of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers in the province of Quebec, as of June 1, 2022: (a) how many RCMP officers are presently working in Quebec; (b) of the officers in (a), how many are working in the vicinity of the Roxham Road border crossing; (c) of the officers in (a), how many are not working directly in the vicinity of Roxham Road, but have be…

Routine Proceedings

With regard to complaints related to searches of electronic devices received by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), broken down by year since 2016: (a) how many searches involving the viewing of contents on individuals' electronic devices has the CBSA conducted (i) in total, (ii) broken down by point of entry; (b) how many complaints were received related to the searches (i) in total, (ii) b…

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to pay tribute, on behalf of my constituents, to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, who passed away after 70 years of devoted service to the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and certainly to Canada. Her death has been a devastating heartbreak for millions of people around the world. Very poetically, on the day she died, I noticed on social media many phot…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, again I will reiterate that those suffering from drug addiction need that to be treated as a public health issue. That is why, in the last election, we ran on a policy to build more treatment beds for individuals who are suffering. Those who suffer from drug addiction should not be going to jail. They should be going into treatment. Unfortunately, we do not have nearly enough treatm…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her question and I applaud the work that she has done on this file. She is very knowledgeable. I would not claim to know as much as she does about this important issue. I deeply respect her. I would say that we will disagree on mandatory minimums, particularly when it comes to violence against indigenous women with firearms. There are firearms offence…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her question. We have worked together on committee and I thank her for her hard work. Winnipeg is the epicentre of murdered and missing indigenous women. It is an extremely serious issue that is wreaking havoc on Winnipeg's north end, in particular, and in our northern reserve communities. It is very serious. I know this issue very well, having worked…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I will ask the member opposite this: Does he believe the Supreme Court was correct in saying that intoxication for violent crime can be a defence for rape and homicide?

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I just got some information today that there were 378 repeat offenders recently arrested for committing other crimes, who were also charged with 853 counts of breaching firearms prohibition orders. Often in these communities, it is a small group of people who are consistently caught and released who are terrorizing these communities over and over again. These individuals are respons…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I am shocked that the member opposite would suggest that there is not a crisis in public safety, following years and years of soft-on-crime Liberal policies. I talked extensively about that. I guess we will have to see. We will have to see what happens to the crime statistics after Bill C-5 comes in. I hope I am wrong. I hope there are not rapists serving house arrests next to the i…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I can tell that the member opposite is quite fired up about my speech, and that is good. He should be. He should be angry about his government bringing forward a bill that would allow house arrest for those who rape other people. Sexual assault now could have house arrest. The member puts a lot of trust in judges. I respect our judges as well, but I do not always agree with them. Fo…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, one man is dead and at least seven people were injured in a rash of bloody attacks on the weekend as tensions reportedly escalate among drug dealers and gang members in a city already troubled by recent violence. At least two people were shot and five stabbed Friday evening to early Monday morning in addition to a slaying Sunday at West Broadway Commons, an apartment building in Win…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the hon. member is probably very sincere in his remarks. However, I do have a legitimate concern regarding Bill C-5 with sexual violence against women. In Bill C-5, the conditional sentencing of house arrest would now be an option for sexual assault. The member and the Liberal Party continue to refer to vulnerable communities. They mention Black and indigenous communities repeatedly…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the minister for his thoughtful remarks. He mentioned, on a number of occasions in his speech, that the government is increasing maximum penalties to send a message to criminals who commit firearms offences. Again, there is this idea “to send a message, we are increasing the penalties”. At the same time, the minister's government is also sending the message tha…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations, and I believe you will find unanimous consent in the House for the following: That, given that the debate on combatting gun violence needs to be depoliticized, centred on the rights of victims and the safety of communities, the House call on the government to divide Bill C-21—

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I am very honoured to put words on the record concerning Bill C-21. We have a very serious gun violence problem in the country, one that Conservatives across the country are deeply concerned about. I have to say that when there were rumours that this announcement from the Liberals was coming forward and it was going to be a big splashy event at the Château Laurier here in downtown O…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, first and foremost, my statistics are certainly accurate. They were taken from Statistics Canada, which shows the massive increase in gun violence in our cities. I know that may make the minister uncomfortable, but those are the facts. I did acknowledge, of course, in committee, and I will acknowledge it again, that we appreciate some of the small investments they have made in polic…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I could not have said it better myself. I agree completely that this bill, as he said, does surely target lawful firearms owners and does not go after the criminals shooting up our cities, including Montreal, where there have been deaths and where young people are at risk of dying from drive-by shootings. We are now seeing this almost every single day in Montreal. The minister, resp…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I have enjoyed working with the hon. member on the committee. On his second question, there is no data available on how many guns in this country are diverted from legal owners, or stolen, as they said. This is sort of a red herring argument. There is, of course, anecdotal evidence to suggest that this may be part of the problem. I do not believe the officer in question said it was …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I would like to address the disrespect from the members opposite. When my grandfather was a young boy, he saved up every penny to buy a rifle that he could go hunting with to sustain his very poor family. He cherished this gun, and when he was dying in palliative care— I am speaking to the member, actually, through you, Madam Speaker. Perhaps you can learn something about gun cultur…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, when he was dying in the final weeks of his life, he brought this gun. It was wrapped up very nicely. He brought it and the cleaning tools to our house. He died about a month later. He brought it and he gifted it to my father, something very symbolically important that goes back over the five generations that we have lived in rural Canada, struggling to sustain ourselves until the t…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I agree with many of the points that the member made. I appreciate the respect she has for legal gun owners, unlike some members of the Liberal party. Can the member tell the House what we heard in committee about Akwesasne and gun smuggling and whether this bill will resolve the problem?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety knows the severity of invoking the Emergencies Act, the historical significance and the impact on due process and charter rights. The details of why and how the government invoked the act are key. It will set a precedent in Canada on government powers. I am sure the minister would agree there is no room for being misunderstood when setting a historical pr…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the minister is being a bit vague answering my question on whether his government is going to release the documents. The question of cabinet confidence is critical to the Rouleau inquiry as argued by a former clerk of the Privy Council who said cabinet confidence “should not be utilized to impede the search for the truth where the validity of government action is seriously contested a…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the member is referring to my question, so maybe he can clarify it.

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, I recently travelled to Israel on a parliamentary mission to learn about the conflict, but something else that really stood out to me was how the country has moved on from COVID. It was immediately noticeable when we got off the plane: no masks, no public health warnings and no distancing or divisive vaccine mandates. In Israel, people are living joyously in a post-COVID world. As soo…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, gun violence has gone up significantly over the past seven years of the Liberal government. That is a fact. It is also fact that most guns used in violent crime are smuggled in from the United States. Gun smugglers and gun traffickers are responsible for the murder of innocent Canadians in our cities, such as Toronto, Montreal, Regina and Edmonton. Why is the Liberal Prime Minister re…