SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Rhéal Éloi Fortin

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • Bloc Québécois
  • Rivière-du-Nord
  • Quebec
  • Voting Attendance: 68%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $105,330.31

  • Government Page
  • Jun/8/22 3:05:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am sorry to contradict my colleague, but my question was not on Bill C‑21. As my colleague noted, the gunshots we hear in the streets of Montreal may not always result in deaths, but there is always a victim, and that is the public's sense of safety. Gun culture is taking hold in Montreal, as is gang culture. The solution to the problem of illegal guns requires helping police forces deal with the gang problem. Bill C‑21 is not a bad bill, but it does not offer any solutions to address the shootings. When will the minister realize that to deal with criminal organizations we need to start by having a registry of those criminal organizations?
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  • Jun/7/22 2:44:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we need to give the police more resources so that they can take action. One of those resources is a list of criminal organizations, like the Bloc Québécois suggested. That would greatly ease the burden of proof when the police want to lay charges against members of criminal groups. Given that 2021 was the most violent year of the past decade in Montreal, the minister simply cannot afford to deprive the police of such a tool any longer. Does the minister realize that this sad statistic obligates him to consider our proposal and create an organized crime registry?
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  • Jun/2/22 2:41:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately that is nonsense. What we are proposing is nothing new. It is the same principle as the list of terrorist entities. Right now, being a member of a recognized terrorist entity is illegal and an arrestable offence. We must remember that just last year the government added 13 groups to that list, including the notorious Proud Boys. That is a good thing, but why is the government softer on outlaw bikers, the mafia and street gangs? If the minister believes that having a list of entities helps fight terrorism, does he not think it would be equally useful in fighting organized crime?
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  • Jun/2/22 2:40:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are doing such a good job that last night in Laval, a close associate of the mafia was shot in the middle of a restaurant in front of children. Bill C‑21 is clearly not curbing conflict between crime groups. Organized crime is behind the wave of shootings in Montreal. These groups are importing illegal weapons and using them freely on our streets. The government needs to open its eyes and help police stop this scourge. Do the government members understand how important and urgent it is to create an organized crime registry?
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Mr. Speaker, former Italian prosecutor Roberto Scarpinato, who spent his life going after the mafia, said last week that Canada is a paradise for the mafia. When an Italian prosecutor says that Canada is extremely attractive to the mafia because it offers the best opportunities to get rich, it is time to do something. Canada is a paradise for all organized crime groups, which is why we need an organized crime registry to identify these groups and make it easier for police to do their job. This morning I introduced Bill C‑279 to create such a registry. Does the government plan to support this bill?
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  • May/31/22 2:47:39 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister said that it was the shots fired last week at a Montreal day care that convinced him to introduce Bill C‑21. However, would this bill have prevented that shooting? That is hard to believe. Criminal gangs are simply not targeted in this bill, yet it is these gangs that are front and centre in the illegal gun trade that fuels the shootings. Will the minister finally agree to create an organized crime registry in order to help police catch known gang members?
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  • May/19/22 2:55:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with the rise in shootings, the Bloc is calling for the creation of registry of organized crime, a registry that would allow police officers to immediately question any known member of a criminal group. Yesterday, true to himself, the Prime Minister dismissed the idea. He said it was simplistic and that different approaches need to be taken. Of course they do, but one such approach, and it is essential, is to facilitate the work of police officers. Gang wars will not stop on their own. We have to act. Why are the Prime Minister and his ministers stubbornly rejecting the evidence?
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  • May/18/22 3:00:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we need an organized crime registry to combat the gang wars in the greater Montreal area. This registry would make it easier for police officers to do their job because simply belonging to a criminal gang would become an offence. The day before yesterday, the Minister of Public Safety agreed with the idea. Yesterday, he slammed the door on it. Today, what does the Prime Minister have to say about it? While the federal government dithers, Montreal's shootings are beginning to resemble those of the biker wars in the 1990s. Today, we want a clear response. We are fed up. Will the Prime Minister create the organized crime registry? Yes or no?
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  • May/17/22 2:57:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we need to give the police the resources they need to deal with the gang war in the greater Montreal area. Yesterday I asked the minister whether he had created an organized crime register to help police arrest gang members. The minister said that the short answer was yes, but he did not provide any details. Today we want the long answer. Will the minister create an organized crime register, and if so, when?
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  • May/16/22 2:55:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with shootings on the rise in the Montreal area, Quebec police forces are asking for more power so they can intervene more effectively. One tool that only Ottawa can grant is to start an organized crime registry. This would allow police to arrest on the spot any individual who can be proven to be a member of a recognized criminal group. There is a gang war going on in Quebec and people expect the federal government to do its job. When will the minister make up his mind and give police an organized crime register?
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  • May/9/22 2:57:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that money is being spent on ways to do nothing or to justify doing nothing. Quite simply, what we need is a registry of criminal organizations. If it can be proven that someone belongs to an organization that is on the registry, then it would be an offence. Gone would be the 400-person Hells Angels parties, the intimidation and the shows of force. If someone boasts about belonging to a criminal organization, they will end up in the back of a police car. It is as simple as that. Montreal is flooded with illegal guns that are creating victims week after week. Are government members not sick of watching criminals having parties on TV?
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  • May/9/22 2:55:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the epidemic of gun violence continued Saturday night. Two shootings left one man dead and five injured in Laval and Montreal. In the meantime, in Montérégie, the biker gangs were having a grand old time. Four hundred Hells Angels were partying and laughing about the federal government's failure to deal with arms trafficking and to take action against criminal groups. People are fed up. Is it not time to create a registry of criminal organizations and to crack down on them?
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