Oral Questions
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, I want to thank the former Conservative shadow minister for economic development in Atlantic Canada for finally being permitted to ask a question about Nova Scotia in the House of Commons. It speaks volumes about the Conservative Party that since the member joined the government, it has yet to replace him and goes without a voice from Atlantic Canada representing the economic interest…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-16, An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to criminal and correctional matters (child protection, gender-based violence, delays and other measures). (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour of tabling, in both official languages, the 2023-2024 annual report from the office of the federal ombudsperson for victims of crime.
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Mr. Speaker, this particular bill, since inception, was designed to combat hate in this country and to offer protections for minorities, including religious minorities, who are facing hate. My priority is to see the bill adopted so we can offer protections for communities who, frankly, do not deserve to be faced with the hate crimes that they have been subjected to. That is going to require that w…
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Mr. Speaker, it is essential that we propose measures to combat hatred across the country. It is very important that the House pass Bill C-9 to ensure that the Criminal Code protects communities. When it comes to the religious exemption, we need to work with the various parties to understand their perspectives, but the decision will be made by the members of the Standing Committee on Justice and H…
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Mr. Speaker, clearly we have a responsibility to combat crime in general, including hate crimes, all across the country. The government needs to introduce legislation to implement measures that will combat hate and improve the bail system. It is essential that we continue to do what we can to fight crime in this country. We have seen delay and obstruction come from the Conservative Party. I look f…
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Madam Speaker, when members resort to personal attacks and deal in conspiracy theories, it speaks to a larger issue. The member from the province of Alberta is unable to celebrate the agreement we have achieved. His own premier is celebrating in public about the opportunity to protect the environment and create good jobs. If he will not stand up for Alberta, I, as somebody from the east coast who …
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Madam Speaker, I think my colleague left his tinfoil hat in the men's room before he attended question period today. He is here talking about things that do not matter to the people at home as much as things like doctors, jobs and lower taxes do. Frankly, it is a shame that members of this House of Commons are simply not focused on the priorities of Canadians. The GDP increased 2.6% in the past qu…
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Madam Speaker, the Liberal caucus is only cracking open wide enough to welcome Conservatives to come join us. My hon. colleague would like a date for a pipeline to the west coast. How about May of last year, when the Trans Mountain expansion got new Canadian products to markets, which is driving up the price of Canadian resources? The Conservatives failed to get anything built when they were last …
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Madam Speaker, the member is talking about the constitutional authority of the Prime Minister. If she actually read the entirety of the section that she is referring to, she would notice that it also gives the constitutional authority to provincial governments to build or not build the infrastructure, the roads, the electricity and the water services that would make it possible to have a pipeline …
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Mr. Speaker, it has been interesting to see the Conservatives have a new-found interest in Canada's Constitution. They point out that on occasion the federal government has certain authorities in this respect, but they have not taken care to actually read the entirety of the provision they so routinely cite, which similarly empowers provincial governments to build the infrastructure necessary to o…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians want this Parliament to take action to combat a rising trend of hate crimes in this country. For our part, we have introduced Bill C-9, the combatting hate act, which seeks to protect Canadians by putting in place criminal penalties for those who would commit hate crimes against people, whether on the doorsteps of our religious institutions or in our communities more broadly…
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Mr. Speaker, just because my colleague does not read the legislation the government puts on the floor of the House of Commons does not mean it does not exist. I would invite him to read Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing reform act, which would make it difficult for people who are charged with violent extortion to be released on bail. I invite him to read Bill C-2, the strong borders act, which wo…
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Mr. Speaker, Oscar Wilde described a “cynic” as someone who knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing. On this side of the House, we value investments in health care, we value investments in jobs, we value investments in the Canadian Armed Forces and we value investments in housing. We have irony and hypocrisy on full display when the member stands up to advocate for more money for hou…
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Mr. Speaker, a working-class Canadian voting Conservative would be like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders, my goodness. When I talk to people who live in rural Nova Scotia, they want simple things. They want good jobs, better health care and lower taxes, and this budget would deliver all three. Members do not have to take my word for it; they can listen to a statement from the provincial Progre…
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Mr. Speaker, let me be unequivocal: Child abusers are heinous criminals and should be treated as such by Canada’s criminal laws. We will be moving forward with legislative solutions that would give clear directions to the courts to ensure that serious crimes are met with serious penalties. If the Conservatives want not only to ask questions in the House but also to actually achieve progress on thi…
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Mr. Speaker, I see I have been missed by my friends opposite. I have good news on the subject that grounds the member's question. This is one where I think we can collaborate in a non-partisan way. The government has just tabled legislation, Bill C-14, that includes protections for first responders by adding aggravating factors to the sentences, which would result in harder penalties for those who…
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Madam Speaker, before I address the member's question directly, I want to thank him for the conversations we have had and for his advocacy in advancing some of the specific reforms that are included in this bill. This bill was not necessarily intended to revisit the penalties associated with every offence that exists in the Criminal Code. Of course, serious offences deserve serious penalties, but …
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Madam Speaker, to the extent that we can adopt this bill quickly, we expect to see the positive implications it will have on communities more quickly. What is important, to the member's question, is that I would prefer to do that in a way that is collaborative, not just with members in the House but with different levels of the government and policing associations. The fact that this bill has attr…
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Madam Speaker, I first want to thank my colleague and the Bloc Québécois for their position on this bill. It is very important that we work together to implement the changes it proposes. I will continue in English in order to be more clear. My colleague has raised a very real concern about the number of people in Canada facing pretrial detention. The right answer, in my view, insists that we imple…
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Madam Speaker, it is important that we actually make space for all parties to be heard and to have a conversation. It is essential that we take action to ensure that people who are violent, who commit serious crimes, who are dangerous and who pose a risk to public safety do not continue to find themselves released into our communities if they pose a public safety threat to Canadians. This is going…
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Madam Speaker, before I address the question directly, I want to thank the hon. member, because I had the opportunity to work with him a number of years ago when he put forward Bill C-211 in our first Parliament, which addressed the need to better support first responders and their mental health in particular. I know he has been a champion for first responders, as I have been, from the day we were…
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Madam Speaker, it is difficult. There are members of the opposition who are seeking to heckle and interrupt. I would very much prefer to have your assistance in keeping this debate civil on matters of such importance.
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Madam Speaker, my friend and colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands is right that there is a paucity of data when it comes to the administration of bail in Canada. Part of the reason is that we have different provincial systems with different challenges. We have challenges not only as to when a person may be released on bail and how often they may receive bail, but also as to the reasons behind those…
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moved that Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the National Defence Act (bail and sentencing), be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, today we have the opportunity to commence debate on an important bill that would help reinforce and strengthen Canada's criminal laws and promote public safety in communities in every part of th…
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We understand that Canadians have the desire to see the criminal law keep up with the experience in their communities. We do not think it is acceptable that repeat violent offenders would be routinely released after having their bail hearings.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his very important question. Our government is taking action to keep Canadians safe. The bill will have tougher consequences for repeat violent and sex offenders and will end house arrest for sex offenders. The bill also strengthens bail rules to ensure that detention is the default for repeat violent offenders. That would protect victims and our c…
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Mr. Speaker, there is not a less credible voice when it comes to criminal justice reform than the Leader of the Opposition. In the past few weeks, he has called the RCMP “despicable”. He has attacked Crown prosecutors, and he has suggested his political opponents should be jailed. The legislation we tabled today will make it harder to get bail for violent repeat offenders and will strengthen sente…
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Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that the federal government defend our charters, defend human rights and protect the Constitution. This case is before the Supreme Court of Canada. It is the federal government's responsibility to intervene to defend the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Constitution. There are no circumstances under which the federal government would not intervene. It i…
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Mr. Speaker, when a member chooses to misinterpret a quote for his political position, it is clear he believes his own argument is very weak. The positions that we have advanced in the Supreme Court of Canada are that the notwithstanding clause does not allow governments, federal or provincial, to permanently damage the rights of Canadians, and that it does not permit governments to silence the co…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Hamilton Mountain for her question and for her work on the justice file. A hate crime is targeted not at an individual but at an entire community. With this bill, we are creating a specific offence for hate crimes. We are adding the Supreme Court of Canada's definition of “hatred” to the Criminal Code. Once passed, the law will help condemn hate, p…
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Mr. Speaker, the federal government did not initiate these proceedings, but we are going to participate in the case before the Supreme Court of Canada. It is very important that the federal government defend the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and defend human rights. After several years, the case has made its way to the Supreme Court of Canada. It is unimaginable to think that the federal…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking my colleague for the question. As the member knows full well, we are introducing new bills to protect communities that face hate from another community. This piece of legislation includes the criminalization of the wilful promotion of hatred using specific hate symbols. Of course, as the hon. member knows, decisions as to which groups are included are subje…
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Mr. Speaker, this bill specifically includes symbols that encourage the intentional promotion of hatred, including Nazi symbols as well as symbols of terrorist organizations. It is essential that the decisions as to which organizations are treated as terrorist organizations in this country are made independently by the national security apparatus. However, should the hon. member wish to put this t…
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Madam Speaker, the questioner knows the affection I have for her as a friend and the respect I have for her as a parliamentary colleague. With enormous respect, my goal here is to offer protections to Canadians who do not see themselves reflected in the hate crimes included in Canada's Criminal Code today. We see too often that people are able to commit heinous acts with impunity against their fel…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for the conversations we have shared not only on this matter but on a series of different areas of criminal justice reform in recent days. I think it is important to understand what we are seeking to achieve. We are not seeking to criminalize people who may dislike one another. We are not seeking to protect people from being offended or hearing someth…
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Madam Speaker, I want to share a reflection about the parliamentary work of my colleague. She has been an inspiration to me for many years. I remember what she was subjected to when she had the courage to move forward with what was then Motion No. 103 to deal with Islamophobia in this country. Though I was proud to support it, I was so disappointed with the reaction from some corners of society to…
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Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to accept criticism from the Conservatives when it comes to issues of crime, given their completely lackadaisical approach to protecting Canadians against gun violence. When we look at their record, when they were last in government, they eroded investments at the border, making it easier to have guns illegally smuggled into this country. At every opportunity, they hav…
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Madam Speaker, my position on this exemption is that there is now an obligation to demonstrate good faith. I do not think it is in good faith for someone to use the exemption to avoid responsibility for a criminal offence. I am open to that. If the majority of the committee members vote to change the exemption based on the testimony they hear, I am open to that change.
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moved that Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places), be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, today we begin debate on the combatting hate bill, which would offer additional protections to communities of people across this country that have been the subject of unjust actions of hate, not just tow…
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Madam Speaker, first, allow me to thank my colleague for his question and for giving me the opportunity to practise my French. During my conversations with visible minority groups, many people told me that the reforms set out in this bill need to be implemented. Some people made suggestions similar to the one the member just raised. I heard stories about religious leaders using the religious exemp…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague has raised two questions. With respect to the first, by way of summary, we engaged directly with law enforcement who asked for simple definitions that would offer clarity to them and help them in enforcing the criminal law when it comes to hate crimes in this country. On the second issue, which engages the topic of the requirement that exists today that the Attorne…
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to public safety in this country, we agree that there is work to do when it comes to bail reform and to tightened sentencing, which is why we will be introducing legislation that makes the criminal justice system treat serious crime with more serious consequences going forward. A point of disagreement between the government and the opposition is the role of assault-style…
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Mr. Speaker, it should not have been a surprise. We have held the same position for years. When the case reached the Supreme Court of Canada, we filed an intervention. It is very important for the federal government to defend the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and defend the rights of people across the country. As the member knows full well, the case ended up at the Supreme Court of Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we do not want to change the Constitution. We want to give the Supreme Court the opportunity to clarify the Constitution. It is very important for the federal government to defend our Constitution. Now, the case is before the Supreme Court of Canada. That is the appropriate forum for presenting arguments, not the House of Commons.
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Mr. Speaker, we cannot be serious about public safety if we are not serious about gun crime. My hon. colleague on the other side of the House raises concerns about the illegal flow of guns across the border. When he was in government, he made cuts that made it easier for illegal guns to come across the border. We are going to be adding 1,000 officers at the border. He has also campaigned on a comm…
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Mr. Speaker, with respect to the commitment to hire 1,000 officers at the border, I would point my hon. colleague opposite to the election campaign platform that Canadians across the country, including in the riding of Carleton, supported to make sure that we would defend our border against the flow of illegal guns and drugs coming into Canada. For years, I have watched Conservatives brush away gu…
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Mr. Speaker, if the member is concerned about advancing legislation that is actually going to keep Canadians safe, he would work across the aisle with us as we seek to table legislation during this legislative sitting to ensure that violent repeat offenders are kept behind bars and make sure the most serious offenders are facing stiffer penalties. It is hard to accept criticism, when it comes to k…
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Mr. Speaker, I have news for my friend on the other side of the House of Commons. If he believes that I have not moved forward with legislative efforts this sitting when it comes to criminal justice reform, I would have invited him to show up for work on Friday last week, when we did that very thing. The member should look forward in this fall sitting to seeing two additional pieces of criminal le…
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