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Hon. Arif Virani

Member of Parliament
Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada
Liberal

Parkdale—High Park
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 64%
Expenses Last Quarter: $120,537.19

Government Page

Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24

May/23/24 7:59:29 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-63

Madam Chair, I am pleased to see any efforts that deal with combatting hatred, which is unfortunately spiralling in terms of anti-Semitic incidents and Islamophobic incidents. There is a 130% rise in hate crimes in this country in the last five years. That informs the necessity for bills such as Bill C-63, the online harms bill, which will tackle things like hatred and its festering online, which has real-world consequences. It is very unfortunate that Canada ranks number one in the G7 for the number of deaths of Muslims in the last seven years, 11 in total, due to Islamophobic acts of hate. What I would say, with respect to this bill, is that we are looking at it closely. I would also reiterate for the member's edification that we amended the hate propaganda provisions to include Holocaust denialism and willful promotion of anti-Semitism within the fold of sections 318 and 319, the hate propaganda offences. That was done within the last two years, I believe.

171 words

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

Hon. Arif Virani

Apr/18/24 3:43:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would say that I think our commitment to mental health is replete. In the past 12 to 18 months, members have seen us launch a 988 helpline that deals with suicide. Members have seen an entire new Canada health accord, reaching almost $200 billion, with a dedicated pillar addressing mental health and mental health needs. This budget document itself acutely targets mental health programs that deal with, for example, the needs of Black Canadians. I know the member to be a committed member of the Jewish community. I would say to him that I know how the hatred fuelled by anti-Semitism also has pernicious impacts on the mental health of Jewish Canadians. In this document, he will find not only supports for the special envoy on anti-Semitism but also dedicated supports for fighting anti-Semitism and promoting Holocaust remembrance through a new museum in Montreal. Those are the kinds of investments we need to see in this country. I think we should all get behind them.

171 words

Context: House Hansard - 230 - Oct/5/23

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

Oct/5/23 2:56:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what happened over the past 10 days in the House of Commons was completely unacceptable and embarrassing for all of us. The former Speaker of the House accepted full responsibility and resigned, which was the honourable thing to do. The Prime Minister apologized in the House. Our country has a dark history with respect to Nazis in this country, which is particularly hurtful to all Holocaust survivors and particularly to the Jewish community in this country. Senior officials and civil servants are looking carefully at the Deschênes commission report and will be making recommendations soon on the options that are available. An hon. member: Options? Release them.

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SoVote

Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada

Hon. Arif Virani