- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Justice
Attorney General of Canada
- Liberal
- Parkdale—High Park
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 63%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $120,537.19
- Government Page
Mr. Speaker, I would not use that terminology. I would say that when we put a national freeze on handgun sales through a bill like Bill C-21, we are keeping victims safe.
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Mr. Speaker, I would just reflect on the fact that when we were looking at Bill S-12, if I remember the number correctly, with the sex offender registry, we heard greatly from victims about the context of things like non-disclosure agreements and where their autonomy was vitiated, and we looked at how we could recalibrate that so they could have control over their information. That is important and guides me in the work I do. What I would also underscore is that in the victims fund, we injected an amount of $40 million in 2023-24 to support victim-focused measures.
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Mr. Speaker, I would be very open to looking at what is transpiring in California. Centring victims at the heart of our criminal justice strategy is important, and we have been attempting to do that with respect to victims of hatred, through the online hate bill; victims of child sex predation, through Bill C-63; victims of intimate partner violence, through our changes to the bail regime, not once but twice, through Bill C-48 and Bill C-75; and fundamentally, victims of gun violence in this country, through bills like Bill C-21, which would put a freeze on handgun sales and ensure tougher penalties with respect to things like gun trafficking. These are important provisions, but I am definitely willing to entertain suggestions about what California is doing and look at whether the model could be brought over.
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- May/23/24 9:02:48 p.m.
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Madam Chair, as a point of clarification, the Victims Bill of Rights was reviewed by the justice committee last year. With respect to decisions about individual cases of bail, those are made by independent and impartial justices of the peace in Ontario.
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Madam Chair, our commitment to victims, including victims of intimate partner violence, is steadfast, and that is witnessed through our reforms in Bill C-48 and Bill C-75, which dealt with the reverse onus on bail for people who are victims of intimate partner violence. That is demonstrating our commitment to victims, and we will continue to do so.
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Madam Chair, we are constantly working to ensure the rights of victims, including female victims, are entrenched in law in Canada. That is why Bill C-21 included red flag laws. That is why we established the sex offender registry. That is why I have worked on two occasions to ensure there is a reverse—
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- May/23/24 8:57:24 p.m.
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Madam Chair, what I would say to these questions is that I am encouraged by the member's passion in the defence of victims, including women who are victims of violence. What I would hope is that her leader would demonstrate the same commitment toward women's rights generally, including women's rights—
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- May/23/24 8:56:38 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my opinion of victims is demonstrated through the prioritization of legislation we put through the House. I would include, in that regard, the sex offender registry, which was struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada. We worked with Pace successfully through the House and through the Senate to reinstall the sex offender registry to keep women in particular safe from—
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- May/23/24 8:56:12 p.m.
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Madam Chair, with respect to victims services and victims needs, we are attentive to them and are constantly prioritizing them, and that is—
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- May/23/24 8:55:33 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I work in close collaboration with the Ombudsperson for victims and with victims groups around the country. I would say to the victims, including the French family, that my heart feels for them and for the loss they have experienced at the hands of a very heinous killer. That crime affected the entire nation and continues to affect the entire nation.
I would also reiterate for the member opposite that decisions about parole and corrections and release are obviously governed at arm's length by the Parole Board of Canada and are also under the domain of the Minister of Public Safety.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her question and her commitment.
Gender-based violence is an epidemic in Canada. We recently passed Bill S‑12 to improve the national sex offender registry and give victims more power in the criminal justice process. We also passed a bill that guarantees that judges will receive sexual assault training.
We will continue to fight against gender-based violence so that all Canadians, both men and women, can be safe and feel safe.
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- Sep/20/23 4:29:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important because we see who is behind this bill. We have women's advocates such as LEAF behind the bill. We have the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police saying these proposed legislative amendments recognize the rights of victims, promote public safety and respect the rights of the accused. We have the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime behind this bill.
I am very proud to say that, in my first week in this role, I have had the ability to address community safety and the protection of victims in two different instances. On the bail reform piece, Bill C-48, I am thankful for the co-operation that we had to get that passed and sent over to the Senate quickly. Today is no less important. In fact, it is critically urgent given the court timeline we have.
It is a proud day when I am able to stand in the chamber to say that we are doing everything we can to work as expeditiously as possible to protect people's safety and respect victims while promoting their protection and their autonomy. That is fundamental to my job, and that is what I will continue to do.
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- Sep/20/23 4:27:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke for his contribution today and his contributions over many years at the justice committee.
The member is highlighting an important situation. Obviously I cannot comment on a particular case or a particular prosecution, but I think it underscores the points that I was making in my opening remarks. When individuals make an autonomous decision that they want to speak about what has happened to them, we need to enable and empower them to speak about their trauma and not retraumatize them thereby. That is what this bill tries to do.
The bill has two components. The critical component is maintaining a registry that would keep people safe from sexual violence. When sexual offences occur, we have to be focused on the victims and empowering them so that they do not face the type of situation that the member just outlined. That is not a situation we want to replicate. What we want to do instead is empower people to have control of their situation, their own healing and their own path.
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- Mar/28/23 2:08:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, a 16-year old was stabbed to death at Keele subway station in my riding of Parkdale—High Park. Gabriel Magalhaes was simply sitting on a bench minding his own business when a complete stranger, unprovoked, randomly attacked him, stabbing him three times.
On December 8, 2022, two women were stabbed at High Park subway station, also in my constituency. Vanessa Kurpiewska was killed that day. Again, the violence was unprovoked and the attacker and the victims were unknown to each other.
Over 12 months, there have been four homicides and countless assaults. Passengers have been attacked with weapons and pushed onto subway tracks, and a woman was set ablaze. This senseless random violence must stop. Torontonians cannot be frightened about taking transit.
Immediately, we need an increased presence of uniformed staff and TTC officials to reassure passengers of their safety. Going forward, every level of government must commit funding to support mental health and improved housing in our city. Confidence in the TTC must be restored.
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