44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 14, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/14/22 10:47:07 a.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the parliamentary secretary for the good work that we managed to do together at committee to improve the bill.
We have just seen a couple of examples from the Conservatives and the Bloc of the attempt to somehow say that Bill C-5 threatens public safety. I wonder if the parliamentary secretary could talk about the actual evidence we heard at committee on the impact of mandatory minimum sentences and how their impact, if anything, actually improves public safety by eliminating them.
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- Jun/14/22 11:16:05 a.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, I take particular exception to the remarks by the previous member that completely distort what is going on in Bill C-5. They distort not only what is going on in Bill C-5, but the position of police in Canada on the bill. Both the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Police Federation, which represents RCMP officers, appeared in committee and supported this bill. What is going on here by Conservatives is an attempt to distort the actual impacts of the bill and create some crisis in public safety when, in fact, the bill would do exactly the opposite.
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- Jun/14/22 11:16:40 a.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, I am shocked that the member opposite would suggest that there is not a crisis in public safety, following years and years of soft-on-crime Liberal policies. I talked extensively about that. I guess we will have to see. We will have to see what happens to the crime statistics after Bill C-5 comes in. I hope I am wrong. I hope there are not rapists serving house arrests next to the individuals they raped. Based on the powers of this bill to give discretion to judges, I am deeply concerned that individuals who brandish firearms and shoot them at people in their communities now would not have to go to prison for it. I will not apologize for standing up for vulnerable communities and the risk to them, first and foremost, that this bill would present.
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- Jun/14/22 11:18:51 a.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, earlier today, we heard one of the Liberal members talk about the high rate of reoffending. I fail to see how Bill C-5, if it lets people out of jail early, is going to do anything to protect the public safety when people are reoffending, which is what the Liberals said.
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- Jun/14/22 1:49:15 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the work we have been able to do together in this place.
When it comes to mandatory minimum penalties, I do not agree, first of all, that the bill should be split. This is an important aspect of ensuring that women are not being sent to prison when they should not be sent to prison. The intent of this bill has been misconstrued in the debate today. I heard debate earlier from the Conservative Party that is giving Canadians the impression that public safety would be at risk, and it would not be.
Public safety would actually be enhanced if we are not sending people to prison. In my speech, I talked about how prisons are used to recruit people into gangs. If a young man, and it is predominantly young men, goes to prison and is not a gang member when he goes in, in all likelihood he will be a gang member when he is released. If we can find alternatives for those individuals, our public safety is greatly enhanced.
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- Jun/14/22 2:21:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians should be able to trust that what their government tells them is the truth. Telling the truth is especially important when setting the serious precedent of invoking the Emergencies Act. We now know the Minister of Public Safety has been misleading Canadians. No police force asked for the act. He knows it. We all know it. There was no misunderstanding. The minister has lost credibility and trust.
Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and ask the Minister of Public Safety to step away from his duties?
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- Jun/14/22 2:34:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we understand our responsibility when it comes to public safety. That is exactly why we invoked the Emergencies Act.
We sought advice from police forces. We used that advice to make the decision to invoke the act.
I want to know why those on the other side did not offer to cover the expenses for their own role in extending the illegal blockade. That was even worse; it was very bad. They need to offer to cover those expenses now.
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- Jun/14/22 2:36:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for highlighting my professional experience as a federal prosecutor before I came into politics. I got into politics to make sure we could protect Canadians. On this side of the House, we know what is necessary when it comes to the protection of the health and safety of Canadians. That is why we invoked the Emergencies Act. We obviously consulted police. We sought their advice. We heard the commissioner say before the committee that we got that advice and we used it.
I just want to know why it is, to this point in time today, that the Conservatives refuse to apologize for their role in putting in danger the lives of the people who live in Ottawa and right across the country with their reckless statements.
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- Jun/14/22 2:46:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to double down on the truth, which is on this side of the House.
The truth of the matter is that an unprecedented moment occurred last winter when we saw blockades at ports of entry. We saw people put out of work. We saw families hurt. We saw lives endangered. We took the decision that was necessary, as informed by the consultation and advice we got from police services and as we heard the commissioner of the RCMP say at committee.
I do not understand why, to this moment, the Conservatives have refused to accept their egregious role in extending the danger that was put on public safety as a result of comments made during that unprecedented moment. They should apologize.
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- Jun/14/22 2:47:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the only honourable thing is for the member to look to the interim Conservative Party leader of Canada and ask her to resile from the comments she made during the illegal blockade, which put at risk public safety. It is an absolutely egregious thing to have done. On this side, we were working 24-7 with law enforcement to protect Canadians. It was the Conservatives who put their safety at risk. That was wrong and they should apologize.
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- Jun/14/22 2:48:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is astonishing to hear the member ask that question when I have repeatedly cited law enforcement community leaders who said they needed the Emergencies Act, that it helped to restore public safety and that it helped to fill in existing gaps among authorities, which were ineffective at restoring public safety.
The member should be looking right down the aisle at his interim Conservative Party leader, who undermined public safety as a result of comments by trying to make this a political problem for the Prime Minister. That was fundamentally wrong.
They are soft on crime, they are weak on law and order and they should apologize.
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- Jun/14/22 2:50:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is June 14 and the Conservatives have still buried their heads in the sand about what is necessary to protect the health and safety of Canadians. That is why we invoked the Emergencies Act. We sought and consulted with police forces before we took that decision, and it is the Conservatives who undermined public safety. What they should do is take a mirror and take a hard look at themselves for the way they contributed to the undermining of public safety. It was wrong and there should be an apology today.
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- Jun/14/22 2:55:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we, on this side of the House, have nothing to hide. We are very proud of the work this government did during the illegal blockades. It was an unprecedented situation. We sought the advice of police when making decisions. The Conservatives are the ones who endangered public safety with the comments of the interim leader of the Conservative Party. They need to give us some answers right now. This has gone on far too long.
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- Jun/14/22 2:57:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is incredible that the member has never listened to what the head of law enforcement said about the situation and the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act.
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police said that the Emergencies Act was needed to ensure public safety. It advised us when making our decision in this process. The Conservatives should apologize for the troubling role they played during the illegal blockades.
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- Jun/14/22 3:01:51 p.m.
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Mr Speaker, the minister is desperate to blame someone else, but there is only one person who is under investigation and that is the Minister of Public Safety. The state of his credibility is grievous and irremediable. It is completely untenable to have a Minister of Public Safety who misleads the public about advice he is receiving from the police.
Respectfully, so that his important office can be filled by someone who the public can trust, will the minister please resign?
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- Jun/14/22 3:02:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to inform my colleague, as I have on many occasions, that we invoked the Emergencies Act because it was necessary. We invoked the Emergencies Act because, on this side of the House, we know what it takes to protect the health and safety of Canadians. It is Conservatives who need to take a hard look in the mirror and really reflect on the way in which they put public safety at risk by trying to make it a political problem for the Prime Minister. We will never apologize for doing what we needed to do, which was to invoke the Emergencies Act, yes, after consulting and, yes, seeking the advice of police, as colleagues heard the commissioner of the RCMP say before committee.
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- Jun/14/22 3:10:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are very confident, on this side of the House, that the invocation of the Emergencies Act helped to restore public safety, helped to ensure that Canadians could get back to work, helped to ensure that family members could take their kids to day care and helped to ensure that we could restore public safety.
We will always defend that decision. We will never apologize for doing what is necessary, and it is the Conservatives who have some serious atoning to do after their performance today in question period.
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- Jun/14/22 3:11:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we witness the devastating effects of gun violence in Canada. My constituents in Surrey Centre are no different. As violence increases, we find ourselves relying on programs such as the Surrey Anti-gang Family Empowerment Program, which provides a coordinated approach to address youth gang violence.
Recently, in a survey conducted by my office, my constituents identified community safety and crime prevention as the issues of greatest importance.
Can the minister please update the House on how strengthening gun control will keep our community safe?
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- Jun/14/22 3:53:37 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, we are all doing what we are doing with the best of intentions, and in 2007, when mandatory minimums were introduced, many people thought they would really help to reduce crime and improve public safety. What we have seen is that they have done far more damage than good.
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