- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Eglinton—Lawrence
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 64%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $83,797.98
- Government Page
- Jun/19/23 2:43:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have made clear now on a number of occasions, I have taken corrective steps to ensure that briefing protocols are provided in a timely manner, especially when it comes to sensitive decisions involving the transferring of dangerous offenders like Paul Bernardo.
As soon as I found out, I contacted the commissioner to express the concerns of the Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French families. That is precisely what the responsibility of this position is, as well as issuing new instructions to ensure that this kind of things does not happen again.
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- Jun/15/23 2:38:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by taking a moment to express my support for the families of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, which have no doubt been traumatized time and time again by the decision that was taken under Correctional Service Canada. That is why, when I found out on May 30, I took immediate action to reach out to the commissioner to express those concerns.
I want to work with all members to make sure that this does not happen again. The directions that I have put into motion will ensure that I am directly briefed and, most important, that victims are given advance notice before these decisions are taken in the future.
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- Jun/14/23 2:37:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member is absolutely right. I stood with the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, because I have great care for them, as do all Canadians. That is why I called the commissioner to express my concerns. That is why she is conducting a review of the decision. That is why I am issuing new instructions to the CSC.
The hon. colleague refers to the Emergencies Act. I will always defend the government's decision to invoke that act. While we were working around the clock to restore public safety, what were the Conservatives doing? What was the leader of the Conservative Party doing? He was serving up Timmy's. On this side of the House, we will always defend law and order.
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- Jun/14/23 2:27:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada lays out a prescription for political interference, which foreshadows what Canadians would get with a Conservative government.
On this side of the House, we recognize the independence of those decisions. When I became aware of the fact that Bernardo had been transferred to a medium-security institution, I raised it with the commissioner. I raised the concern—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/14/23 2:23:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nothing could be farther from the truth. As I said earlier, I was informed on May 30, the day after Paul Bernardo was physically transferred to a medium security institution. At that time, I took immediate action, expressing the concerns of the families of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French to the commissioner. There is an internal review process.
I have also made it clear to my staff that this should have been briefed immediately. Corrective steps have been taken. I have dealt with it, and we will now always defend the rights of victims.
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- Jun/13/22 2:49:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague's question allows me to highlight again that Commissioner Lucki testified before committee that there was a problem procuring tow trucks in the midst of the illegal occupation, which is one of the reasons why we included that power in the Emergencies Act. We sought that advice prior to its invocation. We took the decision informed by our consultations, and we did it because it was necessary. We will never apologize for doing what is necessary to protect the health and safety of all Canadians.
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- Jun/13/22 2:29:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a prime example of cherry-picking from the commissioner's testimony. If he went on to read, he would see that the commissioner said, in her own words, that the Emergencies Act was needed to restore public safety.
While he continues to bury his head in the sand on the material facts, and while he continues to bury his head on the conduct of the interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, who egged on the illegal blockades long after they became a threat to public safety, we were working 24-7 with law enforcement to restore public safety. We will never apologize for that.
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- Jun/13/22 2:19:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we invoked the Emergencies Act to keep Canadians safe. It was the right thing to do. Commissioner Lucki herself testified that the Emergencies Act gave them the tools they needed to get the job done fast.
Let us be clear. The government decided to invoke the Emergencies Act. That decision was informed by advice we got. We consulted police forces on various issues, including, as Commissioner Lucki said, on the powers in the Emergencies Act that were necessary.
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- Jun/8/22 2:44:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was just about to say that Commissioner Lucki said the following: “the Emergencies Act did give us the tools that we needed to get the job done quickly.” We invoked the Emergencies Act to restore public safety. It was the right and responsible thing to do.
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- Jun/8/22 2:43:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to give an answer by refreshing his memory and the memory of all members in this chamber that, last winter, we experienced an unprecedented public order emergency in the opinion of law enforcement, which is why, prior to invoking the Emergencies Act, we sought their advice on the powers that were needed to restore public safety.
Let me quote from Commissioner Lucki's testimony before the committee when she said—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/16/22 2:44:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me clarify again for my hon. colleague what the commissioner said. She said:
...what I can say is that the Emergencies Act did give us the tools that we needed...to get the job done quickly.
She said:
I can tell you from an RCMP perspective, for example, that we were in the midst of trying to enforce at Coutts and we could not enforce, because we couldn't access any tow trucks.
Those are just two very clear statements from the RCMP commissioner who explained how the Emergencies Act helped to restore public safety.
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- May/12/22 2:56:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have already said several times, the commissioner testified that invoking the Emergencies Act helped restore public safety. It gave police forces new powers and new authority to protect Canadians' health and safety. That is why we invoked the Emergencies Act.
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- May/12/22 2:54:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will tell this chamber who is misleading Canadians. It is that hon. colleague over there who continues to paraphrase, very recklessly and inaccurately, the actual testimony of the commissioner, who said that she used the Emergencies Act to restore public safety.
We will continue to be transparent with all members of this chamber and all Canadians about why it is that we invoked that act. It was to protect Canadians.
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- May/12/22 2:53:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me take the opportunity to refresh my hon. colleague's memory about what Commissioner Lucki actually said at the committee. She said that the Emergencies Act allowed police to “maintain a secure perimeter” and “refuse entry of individuals travelling to the illegal protest with the intent of participating”. She said it gave police “the enforcement authority to arrest individuals who continued to supply fuel, food and other materials”. She said it gave police “new powers to compel individuals to provide essential goods and/or services for removal”. That is what the commissioner said, not the paraphrasing of my hon. colleague.
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- May/3/22 2:23:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there was a plenty of evidence of disruptions at the border, in our communities and to our economy. Many Canadians lost their jobs temporarily. That is one reason why the Emergencies Act needed to be invoked.
Now we must participate in a transparency process, and the government will co-operate with the commissioner, Justice Rouleau.
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- May/2/22 2:39:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to my colleague's original comment about his not wanting the commissioner and the parliamentary committee to consider the testimonials and lived experiences of Canadians, including the president of the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas, small business leaders and ordinary Ottawans who live outside of this chamber, I would encourage him to revisit his position. We are listening to Canadians about the impacts of the illegal blockades.
Of course, Judge Rouleau will carry out his inquiry independently and transparently to ensure there is accountability on his decision.
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- Apr/28/22 2:36:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the illegal blockades forced the closure of the borders, the closure of businesses and the layoff of workers, it was Canadians who paid the highest price.
It was on the advice of law enforcement that we invoked the Emergencies Act. It was necessary and it worked.
We have launched a wide-scale independent inquiry and appointed Judge Rouleau as commissioner. We look forward to co-operating with the inquiry in the interest of transparency.
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- Apr/26/22 2:35:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would encourage my colleague to read the orders and the legislation. The guidelines are there. The conditions that apply are there for Justice Rouleau.
We will work with the commissioner to encourage transparency, accountability and integrity. We invoked that law for many reasons, and we must be fair towards all Canadians. The process must be transparent.
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- Apr/26/22 2:31:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the illegal blockades forced borders to close, businesses to shut and workers to be laid off, it was Canadians who paid the biggest price. It was only after we got advice from law enforcement that we invoked the Emergencies Act. It was necessary, and it worked.
We launched a full-scale independent inquiry, appointing Justice Rouleau as commissioner. He has the power to compel witnesses, documents and information, including classified information. We look forward to co-operating with the inquiry to foster transparency and accountability and to incorporating lessons learned so that this never happens again.
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