Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, if the challenge is complex, real leadership meets it with more, not less. This is why, when it comes to food inflation, Canada's new government is doing more. We are building long-term solutions to pricing pressures and are making sure Canadians get the real relief they need right now. We are building stronger, more resilient supply chains and are increasing domestic supply and produ…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, since taking government, we have had a tough-on-crime agenda. We have six different bills going through the House right now that are all tackling the situations the member mentioned. It has been eight months since we put in place Bill C-2. We have been waiting on the Conservatives for their co-operation to pass lawful access measures that would help police in their investigations. We …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, we have always supported the member's cause when it comes to the bill. It is noble what the member is proposing. However, in 2021 the Liberal government, in Bill C-3, passed aggravating factors when it comes to health care workers. Therefore, when an offence is committed against someone because they are providing health services, including personal care services, that is already see…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I believe that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to see the clock at 6:08 p.m. so we can start Private Members' Business.
Read full speech →Government Orders
moved that Bill C-19, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act, be read the third time and passed.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, a lot of comments have been made about the essentials benefit as though it is the government's only measure. I want to hear some more insight into what the long-term measures in the bill consist of.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, like I said before, when it comes to food inflation as well, responsible governments do more. That is why we are also seeing an uptake in people wanting to surrender their prohibited weapons. Over 22,000 people have signed up to get their guns out of our communities. That is progress. In addition to that, we have put major investments into our borders to catch illegal guns and get the…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, violence driven by control and fear leaves deep and lasting harm, and too many women and children are living with the consequences. That is why we have introduced one of the largest Criminal Code updates in generations to confront modern threats and to protect victims from domestic violence, keep our children safe, address Jordan court delays and strengthen victims' rights. We are als…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about catching these criminals. In order to catch these criminals, the police need the tools to do so. They need to be able to connect IP addresses and phone numbers to the criminals, which the Conservatives are obstructing and stopping from passing in the House. We brought lawful access measures to Parliament in June, yet the Conservatives have been obstructing those m…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives need to decide whether they are going to help us stop extortions or whether they are going to obstruct us giving law enforcement the tools they need to prevent these crimes from happening. Right now it takes about six months for police agencies to connect a phone number to an IP address or to a person, to a criminal, but these Conservatives are against supporting our…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I welcome my colleague to the government benches, where he is already making a real impact. In 2024, we had an auto theft summit and created a plan, and thanks to the dedication of law enforcement across this country, and focused federal action, we are seeing a downward trend in auto thefts across the country. On top of that, we presented bail and sentencing reform, which is going to …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in this country, we have life in prison for extortion and mandatory minimum sentences when extortion is committed by organized criminals or with a firearm. We are taking this issue very seriously. That is why I have criss-crossed the country, finding out what is needed and where the gaps are. Everywhere I have gone, police and law enforcement agencies have asked for lawful access. Tha…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in Canada, someone who commits extortion can serve up to 25 years in prison. We have the laws in place, but we are going to improve on those laws. That is why we have put forward a bill on bail and sentencing reform. I am glad to see that it is progressing through committee. One law that could really help these cases is lawful access. It was the second bill we presented in the House. …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the member for Elgin—St. Thomas—London South has been the main culprit who has been filibustering all the crime bills at the justice committee this season. The Conservatives have been talking about cats and dogs when hate crimes have gone up over 70% in this country. The reason we brought this bill was to help protect those worshippers. We are doing everything on this side of the Hous…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is just a fact that the member for Elgin—St. Thomas—London South has been blocking all crime bills at the justice committee since the beginning of the current Parliament. He has been talking about his pets instead of talking about the safety of Canadians. This is a clear pattern that we are seeing from the Conservatives; they have been weak on crime since they got here. They have b…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been clear that they want stronger protections in the face of rising hate and that they want meaningful bail reform. After weeks of Conservative delay tactics and stalling in committee, I am really happy to see that they might move forward on the combatting hate crime legislation on Thursday. However, when it comes to bail reform, the Conservatives are complete hypocrit…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, do members know who is paying the price for these Conservative games? It is Canadians. While victims' groups and frontline police officers are asking for us to act urgently and respond to the crisis, the Conservatives are spending their time filibustering with nonsense speeches about cats and dogs. Members heard that right: cats and dogs. These are procedural stunts that they are play…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, there are provisions in place that say if a non-citizen commits a crime and serves a sentence, they are removed from Canada. CBSA works on these cases, and it prioritizes criminal cases when making removals.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, child abusers are among the most reprehensible people in our society. That is why we have taken many measures like Bill C-63, Bill C-14 and the lawful access provision so they can be caught in the first place. We are also going to be bringing forward new—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the rights of victims are very important to the government. That is why we have been taking action. Let me make it very plain and simple for the Conservatives: Child abusers should face the toughest penalties under Canadian law. That is why we introduced Bill C-14. We are making sweeping reforms that would make bail stricter, that would make sentences tougher and that would make sure …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we are all about protecting the rights of children. That is why we want to give law enforcement the tools that are needed to catch predators online. We brought forward tougher sentences for child offenders. Child abusers should be put behind bars, and that is exactly where we intend to keep them, through Bill C-14 and the new legislation that we are going to be tabling in the House th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, through actions, we are standing up for victims of crime. It is plain and simple: Child abusers should face the toughest penalties under Canadian law. That is why we introduced the—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we have been taking action on the issue since day one. We introduced legislation, Bill C-63, with respect to sexual offences online, but the Conservatives did not support it. We brought the lawful access provision so that pedophiles could be caught, but the Conservatives did not support it.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we are not silent on this issue. That is why we introduced sweeping reforms under Bill C-14 to make bail stricter and sentences tougher. We are making sure that child sexual offenders serve time behind bars, but let us not forget the conduct of the Conservatives. They refused to support Bill C-63, which would have helped protect our children against online crime and online predators, …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, plain and simple, child abusers should face the toughest penalties under Canadian law. Child abusers are among the most reprehensible in our society. That is why we have introduced sweeping reforms, through Bill C-14, that would make bail stricter and sentences tougher and would make child sexual offenders serve time behind bars. However, let us not forget Bill C-63. A Liberal governm…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, most of the issues the member opposite has brought up are provincial issues. If they would like to deal with them, they can do so in their provincial courtrooms. When offenders do not listen to court orders, they can enforce those orders. At the provincial level, the court has every right to do so, and it should. When sureties come forward and put up a bond, it should retrieve that …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in his speech, the member mentioned that the principle of restraint existed long before Bill C-75 and that it is still within our common law as a Supreme Court decision. That is a very important note, because there has been a lot of misunderstanding of the issue. I would like the member to clarify and get into that a little more, because the opposition Conservatives have announced tha…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will begin by saying that I will not be splitting my time with the member for Winnipeg North and will take the remaining 12 minutes allotted for my speech. I am sure the member for Winnipeg North will have an opportunity to address the House on this important matter as well. The bail and sentencing reform act would deliver on that commitment. It would balance firmness with fairness.…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we know that there is over-representation of indigenous communities. That issue came up as I consulted in communities. It is important to continue to work with policing so that we can make sure that policing methods are done appropriately and not biased and that our courts are not biased when applying these rules and regulations. It is important to continue to have good training for…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the member raised a very important point about data. I heard about that quite a bit this summer. Just the other day, a Conservative member was yelling out at me, asking how many people have been released on bail this year. I said we do not know, because that is not information the federal government has, nor do we know what types of crimes those people who end up being released more o…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, gender-based violence sexual offences have been top of mind for our government. In Bill C-75, we have strengthened our position when it comes to the justice system. We would be further strengthening it in the bill that is before us, by not allowing courts to impose conditional sentences that can be served in the community. It is important to make sure the offenders stay behind bars.…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, as has been mentioned in the House several times today, the principle of restraint was not created in Bill C-75. It was ruled on in a Supreme Court decision, in the Antic decision in 2017, although the principle of restraint is something that was applied in courtrooms far before that as well. I would like to ask the member about the feedback she is getting from her community on Bill C…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I do not believe we have gone overboard at all. I believe we are addressing all the issues Canadians are concerned about. Repeated auto theft in our communities has made Canadians feel unsafe. The proceeds of these types of crimes also go to transnational organized criminal networks. These criminal networks are involved in the gun trade and in bringing dangerous drugs into our count…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, absolutely. Canadians deserve for us to care about their safety and to put victims first. The bill does that. It keeps repeat violent offenders off our streets. I would also call on all opposition parties to help us get this passed through the House as quickly as possible and get it to the committee process, where we can look at it in detail. I have been disappointed and surprised b…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the latter principle is addressed in the bill, and it would not apply to reverse onus cases. The member made an interesting comment about young offenders. He said that, when they are incarcerated for a period of a year or so, they come out as even more hardened criminals. I thought that was an interesting observation that he highlighted. For this bill, we consulted with a lot of sta…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Winnipeg North. I am here today to speak about the bail and sentencing reform act, one of the most comprehensive updates to Canada's bail and sentencing laws in decades. Since 2014, crime in Canada has risen by 12%, and our violent crime severity index is now 41% higher than it was a decade ago. While 2024 saw a modest 4% decrease, peopl…
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, the member raises a very important concern that Canadians have and that our government shares. We have always stood up against gender-based violence. We currently have a bill in the House, Bill C-9, which addresses femicide and makes it a conditional first-degree crime. In that bill, we are also making bail harder to obtain for those accused of sexual offences, including those involvi…
Read full speech →Oral questions
Mr. Speaker, it is not about buttons or ribbons. Of course, my button is about supporting the RCMP. I support law enforcement across this country, which often has to address a lot of these situations. What is important is that we take important measures and steps to fight gender-based violence in our country, and we are doing exactly that. We have a bill in the House right now. We are bringing in …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have heard the union refer to this number. It is not a number that I was made aware of ahead of time. Of course, there are vacancies. We look forward and have every intention of filling vacancies for positions that are important. The 1,000 new officers would be above and beyond any current existing vacancies.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we brought forward several pieces of legislation that address crime. It is exactly because I am speaking to people in my community. I would ask the same of the member who was in Brampton the other day. One of the big issues we are seeing is organized crime committing extortions, home invasions and auto theft. This bill would help support those in law enforcement and give them the tool…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, when I travelled throughout the summer talking to members of law enforcement across the country, they made it very clear that of course when we bring in new officers, those officers will need resources, tools and systems in place. I was really happy to see the finance minister announce today that the upcoming budget will have further investments on cracking down on financing crime. Th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, absolutely. That was a great question. This government is in place to do things differently, to do big things. That is why we have historic investments at our border and in our defence capabilities. This is one part of that piece of the puzzle.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to start by sharing a recent experience I had when I went to a Canada Post mailing facility. The Liberal government, in 2019, was the first government ever to put scanners in place at our mailing and courier facilities. This has resulted in many weapons and drugs being seized that were coming into our country through the postal centre I went to. What our government did there wa…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we spent this summer consulting with experts across this country to come up with a comprehensive plan to address criminality in our country. Quite frankly, their bill is weak. Our bill will address everything that is in their bill and much more. It will keep a wide array of criminals behind bars. We have Bill C-2 in front of the House right now. Bill C-2 addresses many cases, such as …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, like I said, we spent the summer consulting with police chiefs across the country, and associations. The comprehensive legislation that will be coming out in a few weeks is recommended by police agencies across this country. It contains a lot more than the piece of legislation being offered by the Conservatives. Quite frankly, their piece of legislation is weak. It does not address al…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, like I have said before, our comprehensive legislation just coming out—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, our bill is comprehensive and is much stronger than the Conservative bill. I believe the Conservatives will be happy to see it in the coming days. It addresses all their issues and much more. We have been a tough-on-crime government since we took office. Our top priority has been to address these issues, with Bill C-2 and with listing the Bishnoi gang as a terr…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as I said, violent and repeat offenders should not be released on bail. We agree with this. That is why we are bringing forward comprehensive bail reform. We want to get it right. We do not want to pass something that is weak and that lets violent offenders back onto our streets.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we completely agree that violent and repeat offenders should not be released back into our communities on bail. While we appreciate the opposition's attempt with its motion, it is a bit weak. It misses the mark on key changes that need to be implemented in order to keep a wide array of criminals behind bars. We will be introducing comprehensive bail and sentencing reforms that have be…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, do members know what else has been endorsed by police across this country? It is Bill C-2, our stronger borders bill. Every police agency across this country has endorsed that piece of legislation. Canada is the only country among the G7 and the Five Eyes that does not have lawful access legislation. It is so important for protecting children who are being exploited online. Will the C…
Read full speech →