44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 8, 2022 02:00PM
- Jun/8/22 2:41:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this attack on minimum mandatory penalties, coming from a lawyer, is something that is hard to understand. The situations that he describes are not the situations that would be touched by minimum mandatory penalties.
Minimum mandatory penalties are being abandoned because they fail. It is a failed so-called tough-on-crime policy. The jurisdictions in the United States that inspired the Harper government to bring in these minimum mandatory penalties are abandoning minimum mandatory penalties, one by one.
Serious crime will always be punished seriously. There is no threat to—
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- Jun/8/22 2:42:16 p.m.
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The hon. member for Sturgeon River—Parkland.
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- Jun/8/22 2:42:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, May 19, at the public safety committee, the Minister of Public Safety confirmed that he stood by his statement in Parliament on May 2 when he said, “At the recommendation of [law enforcement], we invoked the Emergencies Act”.
We now know that police did not make this recommendation and his own deputy minister said yesterday that he was misunderstood. When did it become acceptable for a minister of the House to spread misinformation?
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- Jun/8/22 2:43:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the heckling of my colleagues who I know are—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/8/22 2:43:26 p.m.
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Order. The hon. member for Sturgeon River—Parkland asked a question and I think he wants to hear the answer.
The hon. minister.
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- Jun/8/22 2:43:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to give an answer by refreshing his memory and the memory of all members in this chamber that, last winter, we experienced an unprecedented public order emergency in the opinion of law enforcement, which is why, prior to invoking the Emergencies Act, we sought their advice on the powers that were needed to restore public safety.
Let me quote from Commissioner Lucki's testimony before the committee when she said—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/8/22 2:43:51 p.m.
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I am going to interrupt the hon. minister. I want to make sure we can hear that quote.
The hon. minister.
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- Jun/8/22 2:44:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was just about to say that Commissioner Lucki said the following: “the Emergencies Act did give us the tools that we needed to get the job done quickly.” We invoked the Emergencies Act to restore public safety. It was the right and responsible thing to do.
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- Jun/8/22 2:44:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our memories are very clear on this side of the House. The minister repeatedly stated that police recommended that the government invoke the Emergencies Act. However, now we know that not a single police force in this country made that recommendation. The minister has had multiple opportunities to clarify, but he stood by his statement. Now his deputy minister is saying that the minister was misunderstood.
Who is telling the truth? The public safety minister or his most senior public servant?
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- Jun/8/22 2:44:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to be absolutely clear that last winter when we saw an unprecedented public order emergency in the opinion of law enforcement, we filled the gaps that existed within authorities that were not effective at the time to restore public safety.
Prior to invoking the Emergencies Act, we sought advice, as any responsible government would do, prior to invoking the act. We heard Commissioner Lucki say that we needed, for example, power to compel tow trucks as a result of protesters who would not leave. I wonder why they would not leave. They would not leave because Conservatives were egging them on to stay. That was wrong and we invoked it to protect Canadians.
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- Jun/8/22 2:45:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety knows the severity of invoking the Emergencies Act, the historical significance and the impact on due process and charter rights. The details of why and how the government invoked the act are key. It will set a precedent in Canada on government powers. I am sure the minister would agree there is no room for being misunderstood when setting a historical precedent. There is also no room for hiding cabinet documents from Justice Rouleau's inquiry.
Will the Liberal government waive cabinet confidence and release the documents to Justice Rouleau?
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- Jun/8/22 2:46:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we have said all along, the government will co-operate with Justice Rouleau. We will co-operate with the joint parliamentary committee to be transparent because I agree with my colleague that we need to scrutinize the invocation of the Emergencies Act.
My point is that the facts are very clear. We were in the midst and in the throes of an unprecedented public order emergency in the opinion of non-partisan, professional law enforcement. When we sought their advice about which powers were needed to restore public safety, we listened to them and we invoked to restore public safety.
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- Jun/8/22 2:46:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister is being a bit vague answering my question on whether his government is going to release the documents. The question of cabinet confidence is critical to the Rouleau inquiry as argued by a former clerk of the Privy Council who said cabinet confidence “should not be utilized to impede the search for the truth where the validity of government action is seriously contested and the law demands that it be reviewed, as is the case with the recent declaration of emergency in response to the trucker convoy protests and blockades.”
In other words, this is a really big deal. Will the Liberals respect Justice Rouleau's request and hand over the cabinet documents, yes or no?
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- Jun/8/22 2:47:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when we invoked the Emergencies Act, we did it to restore public safety after we sought the advice of law enforcement. Following that, we commenced the public inquiry giving—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/8/22 2:47:38 p.m.
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I am sure the hon. member for Kildonan—St. Paul missed the first part.
Please start right from the top, minister.
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- Jun/8/22 2:47:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we invoked the Emergencies Act to restore public safety. We did it following the conversations and consultations we had with law enforcement, including on which powers were needed to restore public safety. At the conclusion of it, we revoked the Emergencies Act and, as part of that, we are now participating in an exercise of transparency, including with Justice Rouleau, who has the power to compel witnesses and documents, including classified information.
Of course, the government will co-operate because we agree that the act should be scrutinized so that it is never abused. We will always follow that principle.
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- Jun/8/22 2:48:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a record number of complaints were filed with the Commissioner of Official Languages this year. He received 5,409 complaints, which is triple the number filed last year.
The main reason for this barrage of complaints is the Prime Minister's decision to appoint people who do not speak French, particularly the Governor General. The Prime Minister is personally responsible for one-quarter of these complaints.
Will the minister remind her boss that French is not a second-class language?
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- Jun/8/22 2:49:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Théberge, the Commissioner of Official Languages, for his work and his report.
The House of Commons is still studying the bill to modernize the Official Languages Act. This is a very important bill because we want to do everything we can to protect and promote the beautiful French language. I hope that the Bloc Québécois will work with us to pass this bill as quickly as possible.
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- Jun/8/22 2:49:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the commissioner also courageously denounced the slippery slope that the federal government is on. He feels that French is seen as “an impediment to embracing diversity and advancing true reconciliation with Indigenous peoples”. He also said: “I believe that official languages and diversity are complementary, because they are both ways to be more inclusive.”
When will the federal government understand that the French language and diversity are two compatible assets and that it is not being inclusive when it undervalues French proficiency in the appointment process?
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- Jun/8/22 2:50:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear that protecting and promoting the French language is a priority.
I am not here to pick a fight with the Bloc either. Quite the opposite, in fact. I want to work closely with the Bloc and ensure that Bill C‑13 gets adopted, because it will make a difference in the lives of Canadians.
What we saw this week in committee was members wasting time. I hope that the Bloc Québécois and all of the opposition members will really work with us to pass Bill C‑13 as soon as possible and to hear from the witnesses who have important information to share that will help us pass a good bill.
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