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Mr. Speaker, it is incredibly important. I agree with my colleague that every effort should be made, whether it is to help victims of violence or those who are vulnerable because of their upbringing and living conditions, and who could be susceptible to getting into a life of crime. We should try to prevent these types of circumstances from happening and learn from the past; otherwise, we will be …
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Mr. Speaker, as Secretary of State for Combatting Crime, I appreciate the opportunity to debate this motion. Public safety and our bail and sentencing laws play a critical role in the criminal justice system. These are some of the most important laws that are supposed to ensure not only that justice is served but also that Canadians are safe in their communities. Over the past years, Canadians hav…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not disagree with a lot of what the member says, minus a lot of exaggeration and some oversimplification at times. We are bringing forward legislation that is going to reform the bail process. We have also brought forward other, smaller bills, wherein a lot of the work was already complete. Our strong borders act, Bill C-2, was the second piece of legislation we brought into the …
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Mr. Speaker, I was talking about conditional sentence orders. There are certain conditions that could be put in place when there is interest to public safety. However, we found, as I mentioned, that in many intimate partner violence cases, the offender recommits the offence. It is important to have data and statistics, which is why I would like more statistics from the provincial level. For exampl…
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Mr. Speaker, I believe we are aligned on many issues, and that is upsetting the member quite a bit, it seems. We are bringing forward tough laws, and Bill C-2 is a prime example. There would be a lot of tools for law enforcement to crack down on fentanyl and organized crime. I would hope that the Conservatives support Bill C-2. It has been recommended by police agencies across this country, and I …
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Mr. Speaker, first, the judges that are presiding over the type of criminal cases we are talking about today are provincially appointed judges. Second, I would like to say that the issue of complexity and the length of trials when it comes to the cases the member referred to are things that have to be taken into consideration. I will not be able to talk about what the upcoming bill will have, but …
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Mr. Speaker, many things the member referenced are going to be in the comprehensive bail reform legislation the government will be putting out. It will be much more comprehensive and in depth than the private member's bill the motion mentions today. Beyond that, in order for someone to reach a bail hearing or sentencing hearing, they have to be caught and charged. Bill C-2 has provisions that woul…
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Mr. Speaker, even today the tertiary principles, which were mentioned by a colleague on the Conservative side as well, apply when providing bail. Judges and justices of the peace should be considering public safety first and foremost. They should also be considering whether somebody is a flight risk and the confidence the public has in the judicial system. Those are very important basic foundation…
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Mr. Speaker, it sounds like the Leader of the Opposition is against a comprehensive plan coming forward. It takes time to put a plan together, and we have done exactly that in the new reform legislation, which would deal with not only bail but also sentencing. The Leader of the Opposition likes to mock and call people incompetent when they do not exactly agree with him, but does he agree that we n…
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Mr. Speaker, community safety has been our top priority. That is why our first pieces of legislation have all addressed this area. One of the rising types of crime in our country is cyber-attacks against our children. Sextortion is rising in this country more than almost anything else. Bill C-2 would address that issue. It would give tools to the police to be able to catch these child predators wh…
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Mr. Speaker, cases like this one are exactly the reason we are taking the action that we are. With Bill C-9, we made murder-motivated hate crimes a constructive first-degree offence. I want to thank the Conservatives for allowing that bill to go to committee. Bill C-9 would create more hate-related crime offences in the Criminal Code, with tougher penalties. Bill C-2 brings tough-on-crime legislat…
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Mr. Speaker, the member raises a good question. I talked about the root causes of crime, and I consider that to be extremely important. Of course, interactions with law enforcement, systemic discrimination and what brings somebody to become criminalized are all very important factors. This government has invested heavily in housing and mental health with respect to the transfers to the provinces. …
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Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives shout empty slogans, we have done comprehensive consultations all summer so that we could get it right. The bail legislation that is going to be presented shortly in this House would bring bail reform and harsher sentences, and it would address victims of intimate partner violence. The legislation that we are bringing forward is a complete, comprehensive packag…
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Mr. Speaker, we are fighting crime on all fronts. We are fighting guns at our borders with historic investments. We are in the process of hiring more CBSA and RCMP officers. We have a bill in the House, Bill C-2, which would help fight criminal organizations and make our borders stronger. Getting assault-style rifles and shotguns out of our communities is also important. We are going to make sure …
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Mr. Speaker, the member references the compensation program for firearms. These firearms have been prohibited for the last several years. I want to thank the responsible gun owners who have stored these guns safely and now are waiting for a plan. In this plan, they will be compensated for those firearms that are now prohibited. I believe this plan will get assault-style firearms out of our communi…
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Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, this piece of legislation would carry very stiff penalties. This crime has been accelerating at a pace that no other has, so it is really important to address it. I hope all members across the House take this bill seriously and support it and will show the utmost sincerity when studying it in the committee process so that we can protect Canadians and make sure that inc…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Surrey Newton. I rise in firm support of Bill C-9, the combatting hate act, not just as legislation, but as a promise this new Liberal government is delivering for Canadians. This is about more than law; it is about dignity, safety and belonging. We campaigned on protecting vulnerable communities and confronting hate in all its forms, and …
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Mr. Speaker, in this country, we have many designated places to protest, and when people approach a cultural institution or religious place of worship and choose that to be their place of protest, it not only hurts the sentiments of the worshippers in that place but creates conflict. We have seen that. I have seen it in my own community. It creates divisions within society. I believe these are mea…
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Mr. Speaker, my answer to both of those questions is that the definition of “hatred” was not in the Criminal Code. This piece of legislation now defines it, but that does not do away with precedents of the courts. We have a common-law system in this country, and both the precedents of the court system and our Criminal Code are referred to when judges make decisions. Prosecutorial oversight is stil…
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Mr. Speaker, this new government has made historic investments in our border, and that goes for CBSA as well. We are in the process of starting to hire 1,000 new personnel for the CBSA and 1,000 new personnel for the RCMP. We are going to do the work necessary so that guns do not get into Canada. We will make these necessary investments, while all the Conservatives did was make cuts, cuts to the C…
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Madam Speaker, in consultations for this piece of legislation, we heard from many Jewish organizations. One issue they brought up was that having to have the charge cleared through the Attorney General made it so cumbersome that no charges were ever laid. Although there are currently provisions for hate crimes, although not a stand-alone one like the one the bill would create, they were very rarel…
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Mr. Speaker, we take crime, all types of crime, very seriously. That is why this government's second piece of legislation in this House was Bill C-2, to make sure we give our policing organizations the tools they need to crack down on organized crime and on criminals who are running our streets. We do not need AR-15s in our country. That rifle was designed to kill human beings. If I could ask the …
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Mr. Speaker, extortion is illegal in Canada. It carries a very stiff penalty. The Conservatives would like people to believe that it is legal to extort people; it is not. Extortion carries minimum sentences. We have created a national task force that is working on and monitoring all extortions and connecting police agencies across this country. Many arrests have been made. We will not stop there. …
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Mr. Speaker, public safety is a top priority for this new government. National security experts independently evaluate and make recommendations on terrorist entity listings. This work is ongoing, and we hope to have a decision very soon.
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Mr. Speaker, the government has put historic investment into our borders to be able to keep illegal guns off our streets and keep Canadians safe. We are going to continue to bring further legislation that will tighten our sentencing and bail systems, but mass shootings are a crime, and we have several examples of mass shootings that have taken place in Canada and the United States. We should learn…
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Mr. Speaker, it is the RCMP that first exposed the Bishnoi gang in this country as an organization that is actively working in our neighbourhoods. It is a crime to extort Canadians. We will go after them. We have created a national task force to address this issue. Our national security experts are independently evaluating the listing of Bishnoi as a terrorist organization. I hope they will arrive…
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Mr. Speaker, we are moving forward in a responsible way to make sure that gun ownership in Canada is safe. There is no reason to have assault-style firearms on our streets or in our homes. We are going to be responsible. We are going to make sure we do not have the gun crisis that we see in the United States, just south of us. If Conservatives had their way, they would make guns free and legal for…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives need to get serious about resolving and coming up with solutions when it comes to crime and when it comes to firearms in our country. When they were in government, the Conservatives cut funding to the RCMP and to our borders, and they would go back and make assault-style firearms legal in our country. If they care so much about the safety of our nation, maybe their l…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives constantly want U.S.-style politics here, whether it is the “three strikes and you're out” rule or assault rifles on our streets, which the Conservatives would make legal again. We have seen these policies fail in the U.S., and they would not work here either. They should come up with some comprehensive, meaningful change like the change that we are going to bring wi…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is tough on crime. We are introducing new legislation this fall to strengthen our bail system for those charged with violent offences. Through our proposed stronger borders act, Bill C-2, we are cracking down on organized crime, auto theft, fentanyl and human traffickers, and securing our borders. We are listening to Canadian law enforcement agencies, and we are going t…
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Madam Speaker. I rise in the chamber to address today's opposition day motion, which was brought forward by the hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot. The motion proposes a “three strikes and you're out” law aimed at keeping repeat serious offenders, particularly those who commit violent crimes, behind bars longer; limiting their access to bail, probation, parole and house arrest; and establishing…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader always wants to bring U.S.-style politics to Canada. Let me be clear. This did not work in the U.S., and many states are already repealing that law. We are focused on real, practical, proven solutions that are constitutional and will keep criminals behind bars.
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Mr. Speaker, one of the ways that the Conservatives can be effective is they can help us pass Bill C-2. Currently, all mail couriers, like UPS, FedEx and Purolator, can be checked for drugs. What cannot be checked are Canada Post packages under 500 grams. Two grams of fentanyl is lethal. It can kill a human being. Why are the Conservatives on the side of drug traffickers?
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Mr. Speaker, the second bill we put forward in this House was a public safety bill, and I would urge the member opposite to support that bill. It has been informed by law enforcement from across this country. Today, if a father catches a predator preying on their child, has an IP address and takes it to the police, the police cannot lawfully investigate and carry the case forward. This is a real e…
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Madam Speaker, one interesting thing I learned is that in Ontario, the provincial detention facilities are holding about 80% pretrial detention prisoners. That is really interesting to learn. Obviously, those people have been denied bail. It is important for the judges to be able to make the decisions that are needed, foremost, to keep Canadians safe. In the upcoming legislation, it will be very i…
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Madam Speaker, my comment has been mis-characterized. I am inviting all levels to co-operate, coordinate and maybe evolve. All of us need to evolve to address the current rise in crime, violent crime, that we are seeing in some of our communities. I think that is really important. That is why we are putting in place changes in upcoming legislation and in current legislation that we are debating, s…
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Madam Speaker, I think that is a severe oversimplification of things. Some of the highest crime rates we saw in our country were in the nineties, and I know we are facing particular challenges today. There are many causes for these issues, but we are going to be addressing all of those issues. We have put an unprecedented emphasis on our borders to make sure the illegal drugs and guns that come in…
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Madam Speaker, I want to recognize the important work the member is doing at the status of women committee. I think those studies will be very informative and very helpful. On the issue the member is speaking of, when it comes to Jordan's principle and gender-based violence cases, sexual assault cases, she is absolutely right. These have resulted in lengthier cases and sometimes in cases being wit…
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Madam Speaker, the member raises a very interesting point. Social support groups, not-for-profits across the country, academics, everyone is trying to identify the root causes of a lot of these problems. We have seen a growth in mental health issues in Canada and across the world as well. We have seen other challenges too. Although the new Liberal government is a tough-on-crime government, we also…
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Mr. Speaker, the second bill we introduced in the House was Bill C-2, our stronger borders measure, which gives police the tools to deal with many issues, including organized crime. The next thing we are going to do is stiffen bail and make sentencing a lot stricter. We are going to partner with police services across the country to fight organized crime, make it tougher for violent offenders to g…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to take a second to give my deepest condolences and sympathy to Abdul Aleem Farooqi's family. What happened to him and his family is outrageous. It is something that angers me as well, and it is something we are making sure does not happen to anyone else in the future. We are going to do everything possible in our upcoming justice reform legislation to make sure the cha…
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Madam Speaker, I believe the conversation is misleading Canadians to some degree. The Canada postal act currently does not allow Canada Post to inspect parcels that are under 500 grams. There were over 2.2 billion letters sent in 2023. Many of these letters were found to contain illicit drugs, fentanyl or weapons. Does the member not think that the government, Canada Post, inspectors or police sho…
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Madam Speaker, something that I was pretty devastated to learn earlier as I was getting briefed on the crime issue is that child sexual exploitation, sextortion, is one of the highest reported crimes in Canada today, and it is happening with Canadian offenders. It is happening across lines as well across the world, and it is so important that we tackle this. One of the challenges that police are f…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the member whether he asked that question in particular. I spoke all summer to law enforcement and they do like the provisions, in particular when it comes to using cash to buy luxury items like cars and luxury bags. It is money laundering, and it has been a big problem in Canada. I know the Conservatives called for action on that. Why will the hon. member not su…
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Mr. Speaker, adaptation is a concern of ours, and that is why, in the legislation, we must adapt. We are finding that more and more criminals are using our mail to mail pieces that put together firearms, and also to mail fentanyl, which is mailed in such small quantities. This was a loophole that was being used by many criminals. Would the member not agree that we need to adapt and catch these cri…
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Mr. Speaker, I really appreciated the member's speech. It looks like the Bloc Québécois, or at least this member, is very supportive of Bill C-2 and this legislation. I think that is a good move. I understand that they are talking about delays in the process. Are there any other examples the member would like to give as to how this would help combat crime in his community?
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite mentioned extortion. I know extortion has increased in his community. It is a concern that I have, and I am glad the member shares it. This piece of legislation, Bill C-2, would allow police to identify a person from their phone number by getting basic subscriber information from a telco company, meaning their name and address. This is a very important tool that …
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Mr. Speaker, this summer I got the opportunity to attend the summit of the chiefs of police and was able to sit down with the president. He had rave reviews for Bill C-2. One of the provisions of lawful access in Bill C-2 changes the requirement from “reasonable grounds to believe” and instead makes it “reasonable grounds to suspect”. This is going to help the police in so many different child exp…
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Mr. Speaker, when I met with Commissioner Carrique this summer at the summit I was talking about, he pointed out to me that today, a letter under 500 grams that could contain something like fentanyl is not subject to a search warrant. This bill would allow it to be subject to a search warrant. I would remind the member across that 200 milligrams can be deadly to humans. We need to tackle the crisi…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member that safety is paramount and of concern to Canadians. That is why the second bill we tabled in the current Parliament was Bill C-2. Bail reform and sentencing reforms are also upcoming this fall. However, I would like to know whether the member is supportive of Bill C-2, as she did not reference it too much in her speech. I would love to know whether she is sup…
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