Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, one of the member's colleagues from Windsor included in her flyer those same tired talking points. The Windsor Star spoke to some of her constituents, who said that her flyer was divisive, inflammatory and insulting to their intelligence, and that they were more concerned with the misinformation from the Conservatives than with the content of the bill. Bill C-9, the combatting hate ac…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his advocacy for economic growth in Atlantic Canada. I would like to point out that he once served as the critic for Atlantic Canadian economic development, before he joined the governing benches. Despite almost five months passing, the Conservatives have yet to appoint a successor, despite having good Atlantic Canadians they could put in the position.…
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Mr. Speaker, the federal government clearly has a responsibility and an obligation to defend the Constitution. It is possible to defend the French language and the right of francophones to live in French, while also defending the Constitution. This is not the right place to have this debate since the matter is before the Supreme Court of Canada. This is not the appropriate forum, since this issue …
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Mr. Speaker, it seems the Conservative strategy when they lose an argument is to blame the media and throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Let us actually talk about the facts. Bill C-9, the combatting hate act, from inception, was designed to protect religious freedoms, to combat hate crimes that were taking place in this country, to protect the ability of the Jewish community to go to …
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Mr. Speaker, we currently have an independent process that works and that benefits from recommendations from the legal affairs committee. It is important to ensure that every candidate is able to participate in the judicial system. We are going to continue to work with provinces and territories to take their feedback into the process and make talented appointments. Regardless of the political hist…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. It is very important to clarify the federal government’s position. We have both an opportunity and an obligation to defend the Constitution. It is possible to defend the French language and the Constitution at the same time. The case has reached the Supreme Court of Canada. That is the appropriate forum for this discussion.
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Mr. Speaker, if he wants to talk about incompetence in politics, he need look no further than the mirror. Let us listen to the approach he takes on Canada-U.S. relations, saying it is not the Americans' fault, but it is ours and that we are stupid, while his caucus colleagues go down to the south to say that we are throwing a hissy fit up here. If they want to see incompetence, let us look at the …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. It is very important to understand that we have a process that is working today. We receive recommendations from an independent committee, and we have opportunities to discuss proposals with my provincial and territorial counterparts. This process is working and there is no need to change it. However, if my counterparts want to participate in the…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague has accused us of trying to distract. Let me be clear: I have no interest in distracting from the fact that the Conservatives campaigned on a commitment to hire zero new RCMP officers. I have no intention to distract from the fact that their leader has called the RCMP leadership “despicable” and called upon the justice system to jail his political opponents. Our legislati…
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Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I thank my colleague for her question. As the member is well aware, the federal government must defend the Constitution. This case is now before the Supreme Court of Canada. That is the appropriate forum to discuss this issue. It would not be appropriate for me, as Attorney General, to debate this matter in the House of Commons.
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Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting, when we dig into the plans that each of the parties put forward, to identify what their priorities really are. The Conservatives are criticizing us for failing to deliver on 1,000 new RCMP officers, which the minister said are going to be graduating over the next number of weeks. What is fascinating is that the number of RCMP officers the Conservatives committed…
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Mr. Speaker, as has been litigated during the debate in this chamber already today. The IRGC has been listed, and that carries with it certain consequences about the inadmissibility of certain individuals. Their files are reviewed and the people who are not allowed to remain in Canada will in fact be removed. The concern underlying the questions in the House of Commons today have to do with the sa…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague raised a number of issues in his question. One is the reality that many communities are facing when it comes to violence committed against their community of faith. We are all aghast at the horrors of the shootings that have taken place against synagogues in Canada over the last number of weeks, but it is important that we take action to actually provide solace to th…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague, like one of the previous questioners, raised the very real challenge of communities that are facing hate crimes, including synagogues that are being shot up in this country. There are efforts to intimidate and obstruct people from practising their faith, not just at synagogues but at temples, at mosques and at our churches. We need to do more to ensure that people can li…
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Mr. Speaker, it is important, when it comes to our charter rights, that we look at not only statements of any government, present, future or past, but also at what that government is or was proposing to do to assess the validity against the rules that constrain the powers of government outlined in our Constitution and, indeed, in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I will give some comfort to my c…
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Mr. Speaker, trying to attribute partisan blame to hate crimes in this country reflects the level of seriousness that the Conservatives are refusing to bring into this debate. When it comes to hate crimes, there are a number of challenges that we need to overcome. Some of it is having tougher laws on the books, including crimes that make it easier to prosecute. We also need to have more support fo…
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Mr. Speaker, I care deeply what communities of faith think. I have had the opportunity to engage not just with members of the House and all parties who care deeply about the issue, but directly with organizations who represent people who are expressing very real concerns. What I heard when we had an opportunity to dig into those concerns was that there were some reservations about the removal of t…
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Mr. Speaker, in addition to the very clear and well-established charter protections that exist, we heard concerns that people wanted more certainty. That is why we were prepared to make further amendments to this bill to make absolutely clear that reading holy texts, participating in one's community of faith, engaging in services that are part of life as a community of faith, as a religious leader…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his extraordinary advocacy in the House on behalf of the Jewish community, including on Bill C-9. A direct answer to his question is that it would obviously be an affront to the role that I hold in the House and in this country if I were to start calling up law enforcement and directing them to intervene on individual prosecutions. However, one thing that…
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Mr. Speaker, the first charge that my hon. colleague has levied against me is that I may not have come through on the commitment to meet with religious organizations. I have a list of almost 30 in front of me now that I met with during the holiday break to ensure that we heard their perspective. The second charge that he has levied against me is that we have not listened to the feedback. I would c…
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Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concern that a lot of misinformation has come to characterize the politics of this debate rather than thoughtful deliberation on what would expand religious freedoms in this country, which is what Bill C-9 was designed to do from inception. One of the reasons I have some skepticism over the nature of the complaints that have been registered by the party opposite…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has raised two objections: one substantive and one procedural. On the substantive objection, it is important that we recognize that, when concerns are sincerely held, they can be dealt with by either correcting misinformation or changing the bill when the concern is something that needs to be addressed. We heard examples that demanded changes, and we are willing to m…
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Mr. Speaker, first, there is no such limitation on the rights of Canadians contained in the bill. That is precisely the nature of the misinformation that has been the subject of the back-and-forth that we saw in the previous question. There are people who have real concerns. Those real concerns can be addressed by sharing valid information and by engaging in making changes where appropriate. On th…
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Mr. Speaker, there is an interesting trick in debate that the member just used to hide the fact that there are supporters of this bill. There are religious communities that have supported this bill from inception, including the Jewish community. I find it curious that the member would only survey communities of faith that serve his argument in this moment. I would say, with respect to the other co…
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Mr. Speaker, first let me address the revisionist history and the telling of the story we just sat through. When it comes to the first time the committee heard any testimony or any discussion about the proposed removal of the religious exemption, I know that member was in the room because the question was put to me. If he does not believe me, we thankfully now have video capabilities in the room, …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It would be difficult for me to respond in French. I think some details need to be clarified. When we are dealing with the wilful promotion of hate, we are not dealing with disagreeing with or not liking another person; we are dealing with extreme vilification and detestation based on that person's identity. We are dealing with circumstances in com…
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Mr. Speaker, we know our opponents have lost confidence in their own argument when they resort to attacks based on the trustworthiness of their opponent in a debate. If the member was actually listening to my responses to previous questions, he would know I said he should not trust any present or future or past government and that he should do an independent assessment of what the laws actually sa…
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Mr. Speaker, of course, I have enormous respect for my colleague representing Saanich—Gulf Islands, who shares a history from my part of the world as well. I understand her concerns, first, about the limitation of debate, which is not normally the approach that I would like to take. However, when we see that important legislation is not being allowed to move forward with debate, when it is being o…
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Mr. Speaker, just before I address the member's question squarely, I would like to point out with respect to the witness that he made reference to, Mark Sandler, that I actually had the chance to speak with him personally. He is supporting this bill. In addition to the intimidation and obstruction measures that the questioner has put to me, he has left out other important changes that would increa…
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Mr. Speaker, I would disagree with my colleague's characterization that there was a broad base of support among different parties when the bill was first put forward. I would refer to the testimony at the justice committee when I personally appeared. At least two of the three Conservative members made very clear that they were looking for a reason to oppose the bill because they saw a political op…
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Mr. Speaker, I will park some of the factual inaccuracies that were included in the member's question. However, let me just take a moment to say that I have been proud to work alongside my colleague from Nova Scotia, not just in her current capacity as the Minister of Immigration for Canada but previously when she served as the immigration minister in my home province of Nova Scotia. She was uniqu…
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Mr. Speaker, I will conclude very quickly. This is a time for thoughtful debate on policy solutions that will advance the country's interest, not a time for immature name-calling.
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Mr. Speaker, it is clear, without there being much substance to the question put on the floor, that the Conservatives have decided, for political reasons, to try to use immigration as a wedge issue in Canadian politics. They could be using their questions to focus on the Canada-U.S. relationship. They could be using them to focus on how we can improve health care or how we can grow the economy, bu…
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Mr. Speaker, the translation has been difficult to hear over the anti-refugee dog whistle that has been coming from the other side of the chamber all afternoon. We are talking about people who are fleeing violence, war and persecution. Do you not remember the images of the people who died, washed up on the shore like Alan Kurdi from Syria? Have you not sat down with members of the Ukrainian commun…
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Mr. Speaker, let me flip this around. I know you have had the opportunity to meet with families from Syria, because we worked together during the effort. I know you have had the opportunity to meet with Afghans who have served alongside the Canadian Armed Forces, and I know you have supported Ukrainians finding safe haven in Canada, fleeing Putin's war of aggression.
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Mr. Speaker, when we have a series of questions like this that have come on the floor of the House of Commons this week, we have to invite ourselves into the conversations that the Conservative Party must have had as it was getting ready. We can imagine its members all sitting around asking what they are going to prioritize this week to help them raise some money. Could they tackle, perhaps, the C…
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to answer the hon. member's question directly. During the fall sitting last year, we put forward legislation that is going to increase sentences for a range of sexual crimes. We are also going to be restoring mandatory minimum penalties, including for child pornography charges, following the Senneville decision of the Supreme Court. However, on this side of the House, we kn…
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Mr. Speaker, I would put more credence in my hon. colleague's argument if he or his party actually had a record of defending better health care for Canadians. Think about the record they have demonstrated over the time I have been a member of Parliament. They have opposed the largest transfer to provincial health care systems. They have opposed dental coverage for Canadians. They have opposed birt…
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Mr. Speaker, when we want to talk about the position of the Premier of British Columbia when it comes to our criminal justice reform agenda, I would advise the hon. member that the premier did not just support the legislation; he asked if he could join us for a press conference to celebrate the achievements of that legislation. If the member is interested in doing more to combat extortion, he coul…
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to extortion, the Conservatives have been uniquely unhelpful in advancing the laws that police are telling us they need to combat it. I received a message this morning from Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, saying that the Peel Regional Police have asked him to pass along the message that the strong borders act is necessary to provide lawful access to help law enforc…
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Mr. Speaker, dangerous people who commit serious crimes should not be allowed to roam freely in our streets where they can reoffend. Now—
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Mr. Speaker, after months and months of Conservatives obstructing bail reform in this country, we have finally seen a spirit of collaboration. My only hope is that the spirit their leader seemed to embody during his opening remarks of this session will be what carries the day, instead of the nonsense we are seeing today in the House.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her advocacy for stronger criminal laws to help protect her community. The reason members of her community are commending this bill is that they see the feedback that they provided in the process reflected in the text of the bill. It was through feedback from law enforcement that we figured out how to best deal with violent repeat criminals when …
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Mr. Speaker, they are going to regret their applause in a moment, I can assure members, and that is because when the member posed the question, he blamed the principle of restraint. Let me tell members something about the principle of restraint. It is the subject of a change in Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing reform act that the Conservatives have been obstructing for months. Despite calls from…
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Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. member that what he calls Liberal bail is supported by the Canadian Police Association, the Ontario police association, the police chief in my community and the police chief in his community. In fact, when his police chief showed up at committee, he urged all members, including the Conservative Party, to actually accelerate the process. The member is citing rev…
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Mr. Speaker, after several months of obstruction and delay, and getting in the way of measures to improve public safety, my hon. colleague has finally realized that people are seeing that it is he and his colleagues who have been delaying and denying justice, preventing it from advancing in this country. Right now, not only do we have an opportunity to move forward on bail and sentencing reform, b…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague her support in advancing the protecting victims act, which would treat more seriously femicide in this country, which would criminalize coercive control and which would include new higher maximum penalties for a range of sexual offences. In addition, this bill would restore mandatory minimum penalties for a range of sexual crimes and trafficking-relat…
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Mr. Speaker, me thinks the member doth protest too much. We have watched him and his colleagues filibuster the work of the justice committee for many weeks on end. He says that he is not responsible for it, but it is actually all on video. For hours they go on discussing their preference for puppies or kittens when they in fact could be debating laws that are designed to keep Canadians safe. It is…
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Mr. Speaker, the speed with which the member will cite these kinds of tragic crimes as a political prop is simply beneath this—
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are now even finding a way to filibuster question period. In all honesty, this is the readiness with which the Conservatives come to this conversation. They will cite heinous crimes to make a political point, but then stall the proceedings to actually advance the laws that police chiefs are asking for, that victims are asking for and that law enforcement from their o…
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