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Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada

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
Hon. Arif Virani
  • May/23/24 10:29:07 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, through bills like Bill C-21 and through funding allocations that the member voted against, what we are putting in place are tools for the CBSA and the RCMP to interdict guns and gun trafficking to get them out of the hands of criminals and people who would do harm in our country.
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Hon. Arif Virani
  • May/23/24 9:29:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I would reiterate is that the RCMP, when it makes a decision to open an investigation or conclude an investigation, which may or may not result in an act of prosecution, that is an independent decision. That is important to support in our democracy, and we will always continue to do so.
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Hon. Arif Virani
  • May/23/24 9:27:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I would respectfully point out to the member opposite is the fact that an investigation was launched by the RCMP. It was not directed by any member on this side of the House, or any member of the House, which is as it needs to be. The fact that the investigation has run its course demonstrates that there is no involvement by the Prime Minister, the Government of Canada or my office, as there needs not to be. That is fundamental to the way our democracy operates. I would just reiterate that the distinction bears its hallmarks in legislation that was actually introduced by the member opposite's party.
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • May/23/24 9:23:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would indicate to the member opposite that the investigations into this matter, or any other matter by the RCMP, are handled independently in a democracy such as ours, by the RCMP themselves. It would be untoward for me to be commenting on the nature of that prosecution or its direction.
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Context: House Hansard - 240 - Oct/26/23
Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • Oct/26/23 2:26:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. As I pointed out earlier this afternoon, such conduct is unacceptable in a procurement process. We are well aware that the RCMP is currently investigating those allegations, and we will not comment any further to protect the integrity of the investigation.
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Context: House Hansard - 240 - Oct/26/23
Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • Oct/26/23 2:23:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is being raised by the member opposite is being addressed by the RCMP. As I have said before in the House, we trust our law enforcement professionals to do their work and to do it independently. We will not be participating in, or commenting on, their investigation. We know that it has been referred to them. Our professionals in our law enforcement system will do the work necessary to come to a conclusion.
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Context: House Hansard - 240 - Oct/26/23
Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • Oct/26/23 2:22:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, misconduct of any kind in a procurement process is never acceptable. We are aware of the RCMP's ongoing investigation into those very serious allegations. To protect the integrity of that investigation and the work the RCMP does, we will not be able to provide any further comment.
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Context: House Hansard - 237 - Oct/23/23
Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • Oct/23/23 3:08:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that question, but I also appreciate who it is coming from. The member opposite is somebody I have worked with in the past on the justice committee, somebody who knows the criminal justice system in this country and the difference between political operations and policing operations. There is a bright line in a democracy between those two things. In a democracy, we do not instruct police officers how to do their job. The RCMP conducted an independent investigation and concluded there was no further investigation merited. We trust the RCMP in this country to do their jobs independently. I wish my colleague opposite would do the same.
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Context: House Hansard - 230 - Oct/5/23
Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • Oct/5/23 3:12:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as this is my first day rising in the chamber with you in the chair, I want to congratulate you sincerely on your appointment. Misconduct of any kind in procurement processes is never acceptable. We are aware of the RCMP's ongoing investigation into these serious allegations. To protect the integrity of the investigation, we will not be providing any further comment at this time.
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