SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 302 - Apr/18/24

Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)

Apr/18/24 2:19:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would point out to the member opposite and other members in the chamber that we passed significant bail reform legislation in this chamber with the co-operation of premiers around the country and law enforcement officials around the country. I would also point out to the member opposite that I share her concern about organized criminality. In fact, I share it so much so that the budget implementation act contains measures that will address money laundering and address financing through criminality. I desperately hope that the member and all of her colleagues will be supporting that aspect of our legislation and helping us to tackle organized crime and money laundering. Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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Context: House Hansard - 302 - Apr/18/24

Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)

Apr/18/24 2:21:23 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, our resolve to ensure communities are safe is strong. What we did over the past 18 months was that we enacted legislation that addresses the acute causes of crime. What we have done in the past 18 months was ensure that the bail reform system deals with violent, serious offenders. We had the support of law enforcement right around this country. The other thing that law enforcement has been talking to me and my colleague, the Minister of Public Safety, about is the acute need to address organized criminality in this country. The previous times legislation has been in this chamber, they voted against such legislative initiatives. They have one more opportunity, but they have already announced that they will not be supporting us getting tough with money laundering and organized criminality.

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Context: House Hansard - 302 - Apr/18/24

Hon. Dominic LeBlanc (Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, Lib.)

Apr/18/24 3:01:31 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend knows that the government takes that very worrisome rise in criminality very seriously. I had a very good conversation last week with my counterpart in Ontario, the solicitor general. We agreed on a series of measures that we can continue to do together with local police forces; the Ontario Provincial Police, which is doing important work in this area; and, of course, the RCMP, which is always a partner with the Canada Border Services Agency around transnational organized crime. We will continue to do everything possible in collaboration with our partners to bring this worrisome trend down.

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Context: House Hansard - 302 - Apr/18/24

Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)

Apr/18/24 3:06:19 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, the bill that the Conservative Party loves to discuss in this context includes things such as increased penalties for auto theft, a key criminality issue that is seizing Canadians right now. It is an issue we all need to address. I find it a bit disturbing and hypocritical that the member and all his colleagues voted against that bill at the time, which would have helped to augment the crimes of people who steal automobiles. The Conservatives have another opportunity, but unfortunately, they have already declared, vis-à-vis the further efforts we are taking to address automobile theft, that they are continuing to vote against it.

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