- 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
- May/28/24 3:08:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the last three months, we have held an auto theft summit. We have invested $170 million in addressing this issue through investments in law enforcement, through investments in CBSA scanners, through investing in information sharing through Interpol. We are working diligently to break up criminal networks.
We are not pursuing failed policies like the Conservatives' approach year after year under Stephen Harper, most of which were struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada.
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- May/24/24 11:48:50 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the rise in auto theft in our country is not caused by one-off incidents of teenagers taking a joyride; it is perpetrated by networks of organized criminals. That is why we are cracking down on organized crime. These crime rings prey on teenagers to do their dirty work, so we are adding an amendment to the Criminal Code to add a new aggravating factor to make tougher sentences for those who use young persons in the commission of an offence. We are also raising the maximum penalty for those who use violence during a daylight carjacking.
We are going to stop auto theft. We are going to stop organized criminals who are taking advantage of our kids. Enough is enough.
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- May/23/24 10:45:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would indicate that, since the changes and investments that we put in place with respect to auto theft, more than 1,000 vehicles have been intercepted by the CBSA at the Montreal port. This shows that those investments are doing the work they need to do to keep Canadians safe.
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- May/23/24 10:44:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the principle of restraint from the Antic decision does not dictate the outcome of a specific bail hearing. That is fundamental to understand. It does not require the release of a person. It does not change the basis upon which someone can be detained.
With respect to auto theft, for the member's edification, when something or someone is subject to a period of imprisonment of longer than two years, they are automatically immunized from the potential availability of a conditional sentence order. There is also a mandatory minimum penalty that applies for repeat auto theft offenders, and that also immunizes them from the potential conditional sentence order.
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- May/23/24 9:50:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I appreciate from the member's comments is that he obviously delves into his experience as a past minister of finance in Ontario. He understands, as law enforcement has continuously explained to me, that gone are the days of a teenager off on a joyride, stealing a car from someone's home.
This is an organized effort that is very profitable for international crime ranks. That is what we are dealing with here. In order to address auto theft, we need to address the path of the money.
How are we doing that? There are six measures, and some of them were touched upon by my colleague. We are addressing challenges with prosecuting third party money launderers by amending the money-laundering offence. That is in the fall economic statement that, unfortunately, the members opposite have been obstructing.
Second, we are responding to the rapidly evolving nature of financial crime by adapting the production order for financial data so that it more effectively applies to accounts associated with digital assets. We know what that party thinks about digital assets, because at one point the Conservative leader opined that crypto was the way out of inflation. Thankfully, the Bank of Canada was not listening.
Third, we also know that modernizing provisions related to the search, seizure and restraint of proceeds of crime is critical, which is also in the fall economic statement.
Fourth, there is a provision in the current budget implementation bill that deals with issuing an order to require a financial institution to keep an account open to assist in the investigation of a suspected criminal offence.
Fifth, there is a provision that would allow for issuing a repeat production order to authorize law enforcement to obtain ongoing specified information on activity in an account or multiple accounts.
The members opposite love to listen to law enforcement. I would urge them to do this, at least on this one occasion, because law enforcement is asking for these tools that they are actively voting against.
The last piece is an offence that would explicitly criminalize operating a money service business that is not registered with FINTRAC. That is really critical because that is something that again helps us to track the money.
With the learned knowledge of my friend, in terms of his background in finance, he has applied a critical lens to what we are doing on auto theft. If members think that we can tackle this one at a time, by targeting adolescents who have been deployed by an organized crime ring, and solve the auto theft crisis, the members are sorely mistaken.
In order to do this, we need to operate on multiple fronts, including tracking the money. That is what these auto theft provisions would do. That is why we are behind them and are proceeding with them with pace. We just wish the Conservatives would get on board.
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- May/23/24 9:19:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I absolutely can. I will say that cross-party collaboration is happening, at least, between the federal and the provincial governments, with my counterparts in Ontario and Quebec, where I have a strong collaborative relationship with Attorney General Doug Downey. What we have said is that we need to be working together. That is why we are investing in law enforcement, which assists the province.
That is why we are making changes to the Criminal Code. What are those changes? We are introducing an aggravating factor where, if an adult organized criminal is using a child or an adolescent, we will ensure that they are subject to a tougher penalty. We are ensuring that if one does a carjacking, a violent car theft in broad daylight, one is subject to a tougher penalty of up to 14 years. If there are threats of violence or the involvement of organized criminality, that will trigger differential penalties.
In addition, the possession and distribution of the device that is used, the key fob theft devices, etc., will trigger additional penalties. These points are critical for tackling the pressing issue of auto theft. They have been welcomed by the law enforcement community and partisan people of every political stripe around this country at multiple levels. The only people who do not seem to be welcoming and embracing these changes are those in the official opposition, and it leads me to wonder why.
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- May/23/24 8:23:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, what I can note is that the Canada Border Services Agency needs these investments to resolve the auto theft situation. With an investment of $28 million—
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- May/23/24 8:22:35 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to clarify something to the member across the way. When we amend the Criminal Code to increase a maximum prison sentence we are sending a message to judges and the justice system that we very strongly condemn auto theft.
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- May/23/24 8:18:31 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is critical to be supporting local law enforcement, and what we are doing on auto theft is not only proposing amendments to how it is financed through the feds and through the budget, both of which the members opposite are opposing, but also funding law enforcement to the tune of $121 million, which we announced on January 31. What that does is help in Ontario and Quebec with putting more officers on the ground, so they can deal with the pressing need to enhance law enforcement.
We are beefing up supports through the CBSA with $28 million at the border. We are providing $15 million for things like better Interpol information exchange. Through record investments of about $170 million, plus dedicated changes to the legislation, we are tackling this issue. The number of intercepts is up. We are trying to bring the number of auto thefts down.
This is a comprehensive problem, and it requires a comprehensive solution. I would hope the members opposite would get on board with the legislation.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be providing 10 minutes of remarks, and I will be welcoming questions from my parliamentary secretary, the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore. I will be using my time to discuss measures in the recent budget to combat crime, especially auto theft and money laundering. I will also touch on legal aid investments and provide an update of our work on online safety.
Auto theft is a serious problem that affects communities across the country. Not only does it affect people's wallets, it also causes them to feel unsafe. The number of these thefts has risen and, in some areas, they are growing more violent. These criminals are increasingly emboldened. Our government is committed to ensuring that police and prosecutors have the tools they need to respond to cases of auto theft, including thefts related to organized crime.
We also want to ensure that the legislation provides courts with the wherewithal to impose sentences commensurate with the seriousness of the crime. The Criminal Code already contains useful provisions for fighting auto theft, but we can do more.
This is why we are amending the Criminal Code to provide additional measures for law enforcement and for prosecutors to address auto theft. Bill C-69, the budget implementation act, sets out these proposed measures. These amendments would include new offences targeting auto theft and its links to violence and organized crime; new offences for possession and distribution of a device used for committing auto theft, such as key-programming machines; and a new offence for laundering proceeds of crime for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, a criminal organization. We are proposing a new aggravating factor at sentencing, which would be applied to an adult offender who involves a young person in the commission of the crime. These changes are part of the larger federal action plan on combatting auto theft that was just released on May 20.
Auto theft is a complex crime, and fighting it involves many partners: the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments, industry leaders and law enforcement agencies.
I will now turn to the related issue of money laundering. Addressing money laundering will help us to combat organized crime, including its involvement in automobile theft. However, the challenges associated with money laundering and organized crime go beyond auto theft.
That is why we are continually reviewing our laws so that Canada can better combat money laundering, organized crime and terrorist activity financing.
Bill C-69 would give us more tools to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. These new measures would allow courts to issue an order that requires a person to keep an account open to assist in the investigation of a suspected criminal offence. Currently, financial service providers often unilaterally close accounts where they suspect criminal activity, which can actually hinder police investigations. This new proposed order would help in that regard.
I hope to see non-partisan support from all parties, including the official opposition, on these measures to address organized crime. It would be nice to see its members support something, rather than simply use empty slogans or block actual solutions. We see this as well in their efforts to block Bill C-59, the fall economic statement, which has been in this chamber for literally months. That also contains a range of measures to combat money laundering, which have been asked for by law enforcement. For a party that prides itself on having a close relationship with law enforcement, I find this obstruction puzzling.
What is more, under Bill C-69, the courts will also be authorized to make an order for the production of documents for specific dates thanks to a repetitive production order. That will enable law enforcement to ask a person to provide specific information to support a criminal investigation on several pre-determined dates over a defined period. That means that the individual will be required to produce specific information to support a criminal investigation on several pre-determined dates.
These two proposals resulted from the public consultations that our government held last summer. We are committed to getting Bill C-69 passed by Parliament in a timely manner so that the new measures can be put in place as quickly as possible and so that we can crack down on these serious crimes as soon as possible.
I would now like to discuss our investments in legal aid. Just as we need to protect Canadians from crime, we also need to ensure that people have equitable access to justice, which is an integral part of a fair and just society, and a strong legal aid system is a key aspect of this. It strengthens the overall justice system. Budget 2024 includes measures to increase funding to criminal legal aid as well as legal aid for immigrants and for refugees to Canada.
For criminal legal aid, budget 2024 provides $440 million over five years, starting in 2024-25. This would support access to justice for Canadians who are unable to pay for legal support, in particular, indigenous people, individuals who are Black and other racialized communities who are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Indeed, legal representation helps to clear backlogs and delays in our court system as well.
This essential work is only possible with continued collaboration between federal, provincial and territorial governments. The proposed increase to the federal contribution will assist provinces and territories to take further actions to increase access to justice. This legal aid will help with the backlogs I just mentioned. Unrepresented and poorly represented litigants cause delays in our justice system. Making sure that these individuals have proper support and representation will help ensure access to a speedy trial. This, in combination with our unprecedented pace of judicial appointments, 106 appointments in my first nine months in office, will also address backlogs. In comparison, the previous Harper government would appoint 65 judges per year on average. I exceeded that amount in six months.
For immigration and refugee legal aid, budget 2024 would provide $273.7 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, and $43.5 million per year ongoing after that. This funding would help support access to justice for economically disadvantaged asylum seekers and others involved in immigration proceedings. This investment would help maintain the confidence of Canadians in the government's ability to manage immigration levels, and to resettle and integrate refugees into Canadian society. To do this very important work, Justice Canada continues to collaborate with provincial governments and with legal aid service providers, as well as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Together, we are exploring solutions to support sustainable access to immigration and refugee legal aid services.
Before I conclude, I would like to talk a little about Bill C-63, which was raised by the member for Fundy Royal. The bill addresses online harms and the safety of our communities online. Much has already been said about this very important legislation, which would create stronger protections for children online and better safeguards for everyone in Canada from online hate and other types of harmful content. What is critical about this bill is that it is dedicated to promoting people's participation online and not to limiting it.
This legislation is informed by what we have heard over five-plus years of consultations with diverse stakeholders, community groups, law enforcement and other Canadians. This bill focuses on the baseline responsibilities of social media platforms to manage the content they are hosting and their duty to keep children safe, which means removing certain types of harmful content and entrenching a duty to act responsibly.
This bill is about keeping Canadians safe, which is my fundamental priority and my fundamental duty as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of this country. It is about ensuring that there is actually a takedown requirement on the two types of most harmful material: child pornography and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, also known as revenge pornography.
There are five other categories of material that would be dealt with under this bill, including material that includes inciting violence, incitements to terrorism, hatred as defined by the Supreme Court of Canada, bullying a child and also inducing a child to self-harm. I am speaking now not only as the Minister of Justice but also as a father. I think that there is nothing more basic in this country for any parent or parliamentarian than keeping our children safe.
I am thankful for the opportunity to speak about how we are making Canada safer and making our justice system stronger, more accessible and more inclusive for all people.
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- May/23/24 7:14:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated in this chamber, there is already a mandatory minimum sentence in place for people who are repeat offenders for auto theft.
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- May/23/24 7:14:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the member for Thornhill was listening, I had indicated that car theft is on the rise. Car theft is a serious problem. I have said that at the microphone many times, and we have taken significant steps to address it.
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- May/23/24 7:13:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am in contact with law enforcement in Toronto, including the TPS, and they have advised me that car thefts are up. I do not have the specific quantum. What I can reflect to the member opposite is that we are taking aggressive steps to deal with car theft in Toronto and throughout the country.
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- May/23/24 7:12:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the number of car thefts is up in various provinces around the country. I do not have the statistics for Ontario.
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- May/23/24 7:11:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am aware that car thefts have gone up, and the number of car thefts in Canada in 2022 is 105,673 vehicles.
If the member is committed to combatting auto theft, what I would put to her is that she should get behind the fall economic statement and budget 2024, which deal with auto theft initiatives.
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- May/23/24 7:10:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am aware that car theft is on the rise in Canada. That is why we are taking aggressive steps to address it, including in the fall economic statement, including in the budget and including in the national action plan to deal with auto theft, which was announced on Monday.
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- May/23/24 7:10:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am aware that auto theft is on the rise in Canada as we speak.
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- May/23/24 7:10:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I can indicate is that auto theft is on the rise in Canada right now.
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- Apr/29/24 3:09:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that member knows and should know that the bail reform bill, which the member actually voted in favour of, tackles serious violent repeat offenders, which include those who use serious violence in committing an auto theft.
What the member should also realize is that when the very bill he impugned, Bill C-75, was before this chamber in the 42nd Parliament, we promoted an augmentation, an increase in the penalty available for auto theft. He and all of his colleagues voted against that.
What I would prefer is some collaboration and a bit less hypocrisy.
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- Apr/18/24 3:06:19 p.m.
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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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