Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I guess the truth hurts. The hon. member who just protested was proclaiming that he has all the answers and that, in British Columbia, auto theft is not an issue. Did colleagues know that in Victoria, British Columbia, an individual was arrested for auto theft? He was let out on April 21. On April 22, he was arrested for auto theft and let out again. Then, on April 23, he was arrested…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague is quite right. The government and the minister have been all too eager to lose. When they had a constitutional responsibility to defend their laws, they did not appeal decisions that would protect vulnerable Canadians, and when the then minister appeared at the justice committee on Bill C-7, which expanded medical assistance in dying, he assured us it was quite co…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians would be forgiven for thinking they have seen this movie before, because they have. It was only last year that we debated Bill C-39, which provided an extension of the coming into force of this dangerous legislation. Now we are debating Bill C-62, which was introduced two weeks ago thanks to consistent pressure from Conservatives, advocates, experts, organizations and indi…
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Madam Speaker, we know we are in this situation because a radical justice minister and a radical government have pushed this agenda. I want to get the member's thoughts on this quote from 32 law professors. They state: We disagree as law professors that providing access to MAiD for persons whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness is constitutionally required...as Minister Lametti …
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is quite right. With Bill C-7, but for the passage of Bill C-62, the impact would be profound on our health care system, on individuals suffering with mental illness and on the message we send Canadians suffering with mental illness. I can say only that the government has moved forward in this dangerous direction while ignoring at every turn the advice of experts, inclu…
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Mr. Speaker, an auto summit is not what Canadians are calling for. They are calling for action. Auto theft is up 300% in Toronto and 120% in New Brunswick. These are the Liberals' own numbers since they took office. Only Conservatives will do what is necessary to stop the crime with a proven approach of jail, not bail, for repeat offenders; ending house arrest for auto theft; and bringing in manda…
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Mr. Speaker, the justice minister has spent the last week arguing with Conservatives and telling Canadians that strengthening penalties for auto theft will not work. We all know that the Prime Minister has a habit of throwing his justice ministers under the bus. Earlier today, the Prime Minister finally admitted that stronger penalties are required to tackle the auto theft crisis that he created. …
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Madam Speaker, the arrogance of the government knows no bounds. In its brief, based on a “review of evidence, the Board of Directors of the Society of Canadian Psychiatry believes the process leading to the planned 2024 MAID for mental illness expansion was flawed, insufficiently responsive to evidence-based cautions, and resulted in a lack of safeguards.” It is calling on this expansion not to be…
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Madam Speaker, the arrogance and incompetence of the members opposite on this issue is truly alarming and frightening. Are they not aware that 30 legal experts wrote a letter to the former justice minister and cabinet saying, “Parliament is not forced by the courts to legalize MAID”. What does the hon. member make of this argument, from the minister who spoke earlier, that somehow, in her words, t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to podcasts sponsored by government departments or agencies, since January 1, 2016: what are the details of all such sponsorship agreements, including, for each, the (i) name of the podcast, (ii) subject matter, (iii) date the sponsorship began, (iv) date the sponsorship ended, if the agreement has concluded, (v) total amount paid to date, (vi) terms of the sponsorship, if the agreemen…
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With regard to podcasts run by government departments or agencies, since January 1, 2016: (a) what are the details of each such podcast, including the (i) name of the podcast, (ii) subject matter, (iii) date the podcast started, (iv) uploading schedule or how often new episodes are uploaded, (v) number of employees or full-time equivalents assigned to the podcast, (vi) expenditures to date related…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost to Canadians' freedom. In a landmark victory for the freedoms of all Canadians, the federal court has just confirmed what most Canadians already knew, that the use of the Emergencies Act in 2022 was illegal and unconstitutional. Two years ago, the Prime Minister decided to violate the charter rights of Canadians to deal with a political…
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With regard to departments and agencies lowering performance targets in order to claim that more targets are being met: (a) which targets have been lowered, or otherwise adjusted in a manner to make it easier to meet, since 2016; and (b) for each target in (a), (i) on what date was it adjusted, (ii) what was the previous target, (iii) what is the new target, (iv) what is the rationale for adjustin…
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Due to multiple technical issues, I was unable to vote in the vote that took place after question period. I would like to seek unanimous consent to have my vote counted as yea.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the out-of-touch NDP-Liberal government does not even know what a rural community is. In a totally transparent effort to save seats in Atlantic Canada, Liberals will be giving a rural rebate to downtown residents of the city of Fredericton, but not to someone who commutes 100 kilometres a day for work from the actual rural community of St. Martins, which has a popul…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to speak today. I will be splitting my time with the member for Calgary Forest Lawn. The motion we are debating today is, “That, given that the government has announced a 'temporary, three-year pause' to the federal carbon tax on home heating oil, the House call on the government to extend that pause to all forms of home heating.” What could be more fair? This is a r…
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Madam Speaker, I want to ask my colleague a question about Bill S-12. As was said, when we were in government, we brought in changes to have a mandatory listing of all convicted sex offenders put in the registry. We had to respond to a Supreme Court decision, and the government's response has been tepid. One of the amendments that Conservatives put forward at committee would be to require the mand…
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Mr. Speaker, I will take this opportunity to congratulate you on your election as Speaker. I would also like to say that I will be splitting my time with the member for Langley—Aldergrove. The last eight years have not been kind to Canadians, since the Liberal government took power, when it comes to safe streets, safe communities and crime. One only needs to look at the recent StatsCan release to …
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Mr. Speaker, I welcome the hon. member to the justice committee. When we are seized with Bill C-21, we will look at those amendments, as I do share a concern around some of them. It is one thing to say that we want Canadians to be safe. It is another thing to put in place the legislative measures to make sure that happens. I am committed to working with all parliamentarians, including the hon. mem…
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Mr. Speaker, this legislation was a needed response to a Supreme Court decision, but I feel it could have gone further. It could have been tighter. There are a number of offences now that will not meet the threshold for inclusion in the registry, and there will be people who should have been included who will not be with the passage of this legislation. Absolutely what happened with the issue arou…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the work of My Voice, My Choice and its appearance at our justice committee. As Conservatives, we initiated a study on the federal government's obligation to victims of crime. One of the many issues we heard around publication bans was about victims having the right to have their voice heard and taking back their agency, especially in the context of publication bans.…
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. We are studying Bill C-18, and it speaks about freedom, censorship and power imbalance. I notice the member for Lethbridge and the fantastic shadow minister for Canadian Heritage has been getting up to ask questions over and over, and ironically, the Speaker is censoring her on a very important debate that she has much to contribute to. I urge the Speaker…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I would encourage the hon. member to read the recent Supreme Court decision on the sex offender registry, where judges themselves were calling out other judges on the misuse of the discretion for adding serious sex offenders to the sex offender registry. Many of our judges do a fantastic job, but we in Parliament are elected to do a job as well. It is time the government took defend…
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Madam Speaker, is the hon. member for real? Does he not ever get outside of the chamber and see what is happening in the real world? In the real world, where most of us live and where our constituents live, people are concerned about the fact that the government has allowed one of the most notorious sex offenders and murderers in Canada's history to be moved from a maximum-security prison to a med…
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Mr. Speaker, I move that the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, presented on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, be concurred in. I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Brantford—Brant. The seventh report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights speaks to improving the response to victims of crime. I can honestly say, and I think all Canadians…
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Madam Speaker, I think that sometimes situations arise where we have to step up to the demands that Canadians have. I think it is appropriate on a day like today when we are here as parliamentarians, when Canadians are waking up to the news about the situation of Paul Bernardo having been moved to a medium-security prison and the fact that it happened because of the actions of the government. I th…
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Yes, Madam Speaker, I consent to the amendment's being moved.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, doing the bare minimum, tokenism is not enough. It is not enough in light of the challenges that our police face. It is not enough when 13 premiers unanimously call for fundamental change to Canada's broken bail system. Under this legislation, repeat violent criminals charged with weapons trafficking, attempted murder and robbery are all still eligible for bail under this Liberal catc…
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Mr. Speaker, the only bail reform in Bill C-48 is in its name. Violent repeat offenders could still count on the Liberal government for its catch-and-release system to get them back out on the street, sometimes within hours of their arrest. This bill does not substantially improve public safety. In fact, the man who killed Constable Pierzchala would still have been out on release even if this legi…
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Mr. Speaker, one thing that stood out to me very strongly was the member's statement that he does not believe Canadians should own guns. That is a view that he says his constituents share. I represent a rural riding where people enjoy hunting and sport shooting. Generations of my constituents have passed down firearms to their relatives who enjoy hunting and sport shooting. They would take great i…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to close out debate this evening on Bill C-21, and it is an honour, as always, to stand in this House and represent the constituents from the great riding of Fundy Royal who elected me. Many of those constituents enjoy hunting, farming and sport shooting and maybe have inherited a firearm from a relative. Hunting in my riding certainly is something many people like t…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, as we mark Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, we are reminded that individuals and families often feel the fallout long after a crime is committed. Victims and survivors of crime can carry undue burdens, such as physical or psychological trauma, financial loss or property damage. The federal government has a critical role to play when it comes to protecting victims and survivors of …
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' Bill C-75 entrenched the catch-and-release bail system that is devastating Canadian communities. Violent crime has shot up 32% under the Prime Minister's watch. Premiers, police officers and victims groups have been desperately calling on the government to fix their broken bail system, but the bill they introduced today is nothing more than a slap in the face. It will no…
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Mr. Speaker, there is just so much wrong with this presentation. Under the Liberals, violent crime has gone up 32%; gang crime has gone up almost 100%. The minister just spoke about registered firearms, yet the experts who appeared at the justice committee, the police chiefs, said that illegal firearms coming in from the United States are the cause of this problem. Would the minister acknowledge t…
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Madam Speaker, the member is absolutely right. If it were not such a serious issue, it would be laughable to suggest that those who are suicidal would not be eligible for assisted suicide. It makes no sense. The medical assistance in dying expansion to include those who are suffering mental illness makes Canada an international outlier. Liberal members understand that, and that is why, internally,…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak here today to an important bill. We have to ask ourselves: why are we here this evening debating Bill C-39? What brought us to this place? What brought us to this place was a government, once again, that had acted completely irresponsibly and with great overreach, ignoring the experts, ignoring Parliament and ignoring the most vulnerable. We wil…
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Mr. Speaker, today we are seeing an admission of a process that was far too rushed. Just two years ago, the Minister of Justice appeared at a justice committee one morning and said that there was not a consensus on how to move forward with expanding medical assistance in dying to those whose sole underlying condition is mental illness. However, later that day, after the Senate had amended the legi…
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Madam Speaker, the minister seems to be of the opinion that, if we just let people warm up to the idea, it will somehow become a good idea. What I am saying is that this is not something that should be offered to Canadians this year, next year or the year after that. Offering medical assistance in dying to someone who is suffering with mental illness is not the right move forward. The member is qu…
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Madam Speaker, the member is quite right. In such a void that exists right now in the supports that people need, the last thing that a government should be offering by way of help is medical assistance in dying. In my speech, I shared a couple of stories, but these stories are repeated across the country and in many of our ridings. I think we should all be shocked by them. Someone who cannot affor…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, this bail crisis is a crisis of the Prime Minister's own making. What he is doing is not working. Violent crime in the last eight years is up 32%. The Liberal minister loves to stand up and say Canadians deserve to feel safe. What Canadians are saying is they deserve to be safe. Canadians do not have the privilege to travel with armed guards like the Prime Minister …
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not need victim blaming. They need leadership and action. Which stats would the hon. minister wish that we were not cherry-picking? Violent crime is up 32%. Gang-related homicides have increased by 92%. Of 44 shooting-related homicides in Toronto, half of the accused were out on bail, and 40 offenders have been arrested 6,000 times. If the minister has some stats that he …
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the facts do not back up my colleague's assertion. Bill C-75 enshrines in law the principle that the least onerous provision possible has to be put in place for offenders. That means that the onus is on the prosecution to show why a less onerous provision would not be appropriate, which has resulted in a broken bail system. Members do not have to take my word for it. We…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today on what is a very important and pressing issue in our country today. Our justice system under the Liberals is broken. Everybody knows it. All 13 premiers have gotten together to demand change. Our bail system is the responsibility of the federal government. Those provisions are in the Criminal Code. It is this Parliament that has jurisdiction over the Cri…
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Mr. Speaker, well, Canadians take offence to a government that will not listen to the pleas of all 13 premiers, who have seen violent crime go up by 32% in the last eight years. Out of 44 shooting homicides in Toronto last year, half were committed by someone who was out on bail. In a single year in Vancouver, 40 people were arrested 6,000 times. After eight years, in this Prime Minister, career c…
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Mr. Speaker, in Bill C-5, the mandatory penalties for serious gun crimes were eliminated. House arrest was prohibited for certain offences, including sexual assault, under the Criminal Code, thanks to changes that were made during our years in government as Conservatives. We said that arsonists who burn down someone else's house and individuals who commit sexual assault should not serve their sent…
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Mr. Speaker, this is the Conservative Party and these are parliamentarians. We are going to take action through every avenue at our disposal as an opposition for now. We are going to take every avenue in the House, at committee and everywhere to ensure that the government listens to the police, to victims, to communities and to the 13 premiers in this country who are calling for bail reform. We ma…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of a soft-on-crime Liberal government, Canada's justice system is badly broken. A young police officer was shot and killed by someone with a lifetime firearms ban and a serious criminal history, yet they were out on bail. The Liberals' broken bail system is putting Canadian lives at risk, yet the justice minister refuses to answer the call of all 13 premiers, and pol…
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With regard to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development's position on the treatment of Uyghurs by the Chinese government: what is the minister's position?
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Mr. Speaker, the minister has it all wrong. Everything he just said is contradicted by the actual text of the bill, the text that we understand, that Liberal backbenchers understand and that their constituents understand. Just because he says it is so does not make it so. The Liberals' entire philosophy and approach to crime is flawed. The evidence is in. Since they took office, violent crime is u…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems the only person in this chamber who does not understand this bill is the minister himself. The bill lists in black and white the exact hunting rifles the bill is banning. Constituents who are calling their members of Parliament, both NDP and Liberal, understand it bans hunting rifles. Carey Price, an NHL goalie, understands it bans hunting rifles. The CBC, and we know the Lib…
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