44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 21, 2022 11:00AM
- Mar/21/22 2:10:08 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Canadians should be able to live a true and authentic life, free from violence and discrimination, no matter who they are, where they live or how they appear. Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. We know that the elimination of racial discrimination is not confined to 24 hours on March 21, but is required 24-7, 365 days a year.
Nelson Mandela shared the following truth many years ago, which I would like to highlight today. He said, “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of [their] skin, [their] background, or [their] religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Let us keep raising our voices, bringing down the towers of oppression, and keep doing the right thing for generations of the past, present and future.
162 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 2:39:20 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, our government is firmly committed to building safer communities.
To reduce gun crime, we must address social conditions that lead youth to join gangs. We are working closely with municipalities and indigenous communities to provide $250 million over five years to bolster gang prevention and intervention programming. By investing in community programming, we will stop the cycle of gun and gang violence, and prevent youth from enduring a life of crime.
73 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 2:40:25 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we absolutely take this crisis seriously. We know there are many prongs to solving the issue of guns and gangs.
That is why, just last week, the Minister of Public Safety was in Quebec, speaking with organizations, and announced funding for communities, for municipalities and for indigenous groups to deal with the scourge of guns and gangs.
59 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 2:41:27 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we know that protecting communities from gun violence requires a comprehensive and effective strategy to protect communities, not just in Montreal but across the country.
Our position is clear. One of those actions we have taken is that we have said assault-style firearms have no place in Canada. Through a mandatory buyback program, we will remove the threat these deadly firearms pose to our communities from coast to coast to coast.
74 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 6:41:28 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to address this historic first collective agreement for Royal Canadian Mounted Police members.
Let me begin by saying that there is no greater responsibility for the Government of Canada than to keep our citizens and communities safe. RCMP members continue to play a primary role for Canadians in supporting this objective. The RCMP provides policing services across Canada, including much of rural Canada, all of the Canadian north and many towns and large urban centres. It delivers local and regional policing services under a contracted cost-sharing agreement with jurisdictions that have opted to have the RCMP as their police service of jurisdiction. They include all provinces except Ontario and Quebec, as well as the three territories and 155 municipalities.
The Government of Canada shares the cost of RCMP contract policing by paying 10% of salary, equipment and other costs in large municipalities and 30% of these costs in municipalities with a population of less than 15,000. This collective agreement between the Government of Canada and the National Police Federation, the bargaining agent for RCMP members, went into effect on August 6, 2021. It provided a reasonable economic increase and market adjustments to address long-standing wage differences that existed between RCMP members and reservists and other police services across Canada. As a result of the agreement, RCMP salaries are now in line with those of other police services across Canada.
The agreement marked the first time that RCMP members received a pay increase since 2017. Government officials kept partners informed throughout the collective bargaining process starting in 2017, including on anticipated salary increases, to help them plan accordingly. However, the Government of Canada is mindful that policing represents a significant cost for all communities, including municipalities that contract RCMP police services. We have heard the calls from municipalities that the cost of the agreement, while fair for regular members, presents challenges. For this reason, our government remains committed to continuing to meet with contract policing partners in order to effectively implement the collective agreement. In the coming weeks, officials will sit down with jurisdictions to discuss the impacts of the agreement and their specific needs.
The women and men of the RCMP work tirelessly to serve and protect Canadians, including those in rural areas, and for this I thank them wholeheartedly. Our partnerships with all contract jurisdictions to support the RCMP in the communities they police are strong. In these challenging times, our government remains committed to working closely with contract partners, and indeed with all provinces, territories and municipalities, to achieve our shared public safety priorities. We will listen and be there for all communities to support them in ensuring that the public remains safe and secure.
458 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 6:45:46 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I want to make it clear that the Government of Canada remains committed to the public safety of all Canadians across the country and remains proud of the services the RCMP provides to our contract police jurisdiction partners. The agreement was fair for our hard-working RCMP members and for Canadian taxpayers.
To reiterate, we appreciate the financial planning challenges and the complexity of the implementation of the collective agreement, and we are mindful of the significant cost this represents for municipalities, provinces and territories. The Government of Canada remains steadfast in our commitment to continue our strong collaboration with our contract partners, with a view to supporting their ability to meet their financial obligations under the contracts.
120 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
