- Member of Parliament
- Liberal
- Eglinton—Lawrence
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 64%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $83,797.98
- Government Page
moved:
Motion No. 10
That Bill C-21, in Clause 36, be amended by replacing lines 16 and 17 on page 45 with the following:
“must deliver to a peace officer any firearm that they possess within 24 hours or”
Motion No. 11
That Bill C-21, in Clause 37, be amended
(a) by replacing line 4 on page 46 with the following:
“or a chief firearms officer”
(b) by replacing line 19 on page 46 with the following:
“cer the firearm to which”
(c) by replacing lines 29 and 30 on page 46 with the following:
“ferred to in subsection (4), deliver to a peace officer any firearm that they pos-”
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moved:
That Bill C-21, in Clause 45, be amended by adding after line 5 on page 51 the following:
“(1.11) The portion of paragraph 117(k) of the Act after subparagraph (ii) is replaced by the following:
of firearms, prohibited weapons, restricted weapons, prohibited devices, ammunition, prohibited ammunition, cartridge magazines and components and parts designed exclusively for use in the manufacture of or assembly into firearms;”
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Mr. Speaker, I can assure my hon. colleague from London that, as he knows, we have been working with rural communities and first nations communities right across the country.
In fact, I have spent a good, considerable period of time with a number of experts in gaming and hunting in the Yukon, where I had a chance to see how they participate in their traditions. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the way in which they participate in their traditions in a way that is safe and secure. I have also assured them, as we have done with indigenous communities, that this bill would reflect their lived experiences. What does that mean in plain and simple terms? It means that this bill would not target them. Rather, it would go after criminals. It would go after AR-15 assault-style firearms. Yes, it would implement a national freeze on handguns, because handguns have been growing by approximately 55,000 new registrations every year and they have concurrently become the number one type of gun used in homicides.
Those are the types of evidence-based, informed policies that are in Bill C-21, and that is why it would help save lives.
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Mr. Speaker, there are at least two serious mistakes in the premise of the Conservative member's question. The first is that we are not going after criminals. In Bill C-21, as I have just mentioned, we would raise maximum sentences from 10 to 14 years for illegal gun traffickers. That is an important and powerful signal to anyone who would try to terrorize our communities that they will run the risk of going to jail for a longer period of time.
The Conservative member also referred to prevention. That is precisely what the government is doing with a $250-million building safer communities fund. I would point out that the Conservatives have opposed the building safer communities fund's allocations, which will save lives through prevention by providing mental health services and other supports for people who are at most risk. The Conservatives are also against Bill C-21, which would give law enforcement the additional tools to go after criminals who use firearms to commit crimes. That is why their position is so misguided.
On this side of the House, we are doing the work. We are making sure that we pass responsible gun control legislation, but we are also taking action at the border and advancing strong prevention strategies.
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- May/9/23 4:28:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know my NDP colleague's concerns are genuinely felt in her community, as they are felt in mine and indeed right across the country.
With regard to her specific question on ghost guns, we recently had a cross-border crime forum summit here in Ottawa with our American counterparts. What we are seeing coming out of that are concrete results, such as more capacity to trace illegal guns and more opportunities to leverage new technology to go after ghost guns. Ghost guns are a concern that has been expressed to me by chiefs from law enforcement right across the country. It is by doing this tangible work in collaboration with the United States that we are going to be able to build on the record number of illegal firearms that were seized at the border last year and leverage new technology to go after ghost guns to keep her community safe, and keep all our communities safe, from gun violence.
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- May/9/23 4:20:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it would be bad enough if all that the Conservatives wanted to do was just protract the debate on this so that they could obfuscate some more, but no, that is not all. They have openly campaigned, repeatedly, on a commitment to repeal the policies the government has put into place, including wanting to make AR-15 style firearms legal again. These are guns that were designed for the battlefield. It was the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission, which I know you, Mr. Speaker, are very familiar with, that recommended we take additional steps to strengthen that ban so that we could protect communities from another tragedy like the one we saw in Portapique and Truro.
We have been able to have those discussions with our colleagues in the NDP and the Bloc, and for that, I am grateful. It is only the Conservatives who are bending over backwards, doing everything they possibly can, to frustrate debate so they can prevent the passage of this bill into law. I think that is wrong. The Conservatives should reverse course so that we would be able to put this law into action and save lives.
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- May/9/23 4:15:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that Conservative member knows full well that that is false. We are not at all targeting, with this legislation, law-abiding gun owners, and her repeated claims that it is true are simply misleading all Canadians.
Frankly, it is the other parties with whom we have been working across the aisle, and thanks to the advocacy of the extraordinary members of the Liberal caucus I get to work with, we are putting forward legislation that will save lives by ensuring that we take the next steps to strengthen a national ban on assault-style firearms, as the Mass Casualty Commission from Nova Scotia recommended that we do, by implementing, permanently, a national freeze on handguns, which have become the number one type of gun used in homicides.
Those are the types of responsible, evidence-based policies that will help to save lives. It is only the Conservatives who are out there in left field on their own on this issue, and they should be joining this debate to support these policies.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague on this side of the government aisle is correct. The vast majority of Canadians, approximately 80% of Canadians, support a national ban against AR-15 style, assault-style firearms. They support a national freeze on handguns.
Handguns have become the number one type of gun used in homicides. Canadians support and want to see action that will allow us to reverse the disturbing and alarming trends of domestic abuse and the presence of guns. Again, women are disproportionately victimized as a result of the presence of guns. We want to reverse those trends.
We want to save lives, which is precisely why we need to move forward with Bill C-21. Were it not for the Conservatives who continue to obstruct and obfuscate, we would be able to do that more quickly. That is why we are taking the step that we are today, and we will continue to engage with all Canadians so we can keep them safe.
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Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. Contrary to the ongoing efforts by the Conservatives to stoke fear, we respect gun owners, farmers and the first nations communities who use firearms responsibly. I have engaged with all of them, and we have gone to great lengths to make sure we are weaving their experiences into our laws.
Therefore, rather than stoke fear and disinformation among Canadians, it would be far more productive if Conservatives were prepared to have a debate based on facts, not fear. That is what we are doing with other parties in this chamber, including the NDP and the Bloc, and I want to thank them for their collaboration on Bill C-21.
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- May/9/23 4:09:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from the NDP is correct. There has been obstruction from the Conservatives with respect to the debate on this bill, and on an array of priorities when it comes to delivering for Canadians. I would highlight that we have had 15 meetings, 79 witnesses and approximately 40 hours of debate, despite the obfuscation by the Conservatives.
I thank my colleague from the NDP, as well as my colleagues from the Bloc, with whom we have had constructive discussions on the next steps we need to take to strengthen the national ban on the AR-15 assault-style firearms, which have no place in our communities. It is only the Conservatives who are advocating for policies that would repeal that ban and make those types of guns, which were designed for a battle field, legal again.
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Mr. Speaker, respectfully, that is exactly what the government is doing. Last week, I was very proud to see that members of our caucus had put forward amendments to Bill C-21 that would strengthen the national ban that the government put into place on AR-15 style firearms, which have absolutely no legitimate recreational purpose in any of our communities. It is only the Conservatives who continue to put forward policies that amount to legalizing AR-15 style firearms. That is the wrong path. They need to get behind Bill C-21 so we can save lives.
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- Feb/13/23 3:02:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague will have seen that we are consulting with legal firearms owners. In fact, that is precisely what we have been doing throughout the course of Bill C-21 and will continue to do so, because we know that hunters, trappers and first nations are part of the Canadian social fabric.
More to the point, what we are targeting are those AR-15 style guns that have been used in some of the worst mass-shooting tragedies in this country's history. That is what we are after. We are also going to support the CBSA, which is stopping an increasing number of illegal firearms at our border. That is something that I hope my colleague would support. However, in order to do that, he actually has to vote for those appropriations, and the next time we do that, I hope he will.
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Mr. Speaker, we promised Canadians that we would take action and tackle gun violence.
Our plan includes investing nearly half a billion dollars to stop illegal smuggling at the border, addressing the root causes of gun crime through the building safer communities fund, and introducing legislation that promotes the responsible use of firearms, specifically Bill C-21.
That is why I hope the Conservatives will reverse their position, support our investments and support common-sense legislation.
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Mr. Speaker, before I was rudely interrupted by the Conservatives, and am again—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Hon. Marco Mendicino: I was highlighting the incredible work of our rural caucus, and indeed of all of our caucus, who understand the importance of the traditions of hunting. I have met with them and will continue to be sure we are not targeting those hunting guns. That is why we are working closely with the members of the committee who are undertaking a very careful study of the language of that bill to make sure it is in alignment with our intent, which is to go after those AR-15 style firearms that were used in the likes of Polytechnique. We never want another one of those tragedies again.
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Mr. Speaker, with great respect for my colleague, the intent of the government has always been clear. We are not targeting law-abiding gun owners or hunters. We are targeting the AR-15 style guns used in some of the worst shooting tragedies in this country's history, including Polytechnique.
Recently the Conservatives' friends at the Coalition for Firearms Rights exploited the worst femicide in Canadian history for profit. This was a slap in the face to all the families the victims and survivors of Polytechnique.
Will the Conservatives stand up now, condemn the CCFR and ask it to apologize?
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Madam Speaker, I can assure my colleague and the NDP, and, in fact, all parliamentarians who want to advance a responsible debate about this, that we are not going to target those guns which are used conventionally for hunting.
We are targeting those guns like AR-15 style firearms, which have caused too many casualties right across the country.
I know that my colleague and I, and others who are contributing to a responsible debate about this, will get there.
What is important is that we keep our streets safe from gun violence and that is exactly what we are going to do.
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- Dec/2/22 11:41:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in fact, my colleague from the Conservative Party is wrong. We are not targeting hunters. I met members of the hunting community this morning to assure them that what we are going after are the AR-15 style firearms, which have been used in far too many mass casualties across the country. More than that, we have a plan to tackle illegal smuggling at the border by investing—
An hon. member: You're a liar.
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Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concerns. That is why, in the economic statement, we added $138 million to give tools and resources to the Canada Border Services Agency to stop illegal firearms trafficking at our borders.
That is why Bill C‑21 provides for more tools to target criminal organizations, to stop the terror they inflict on communities with their guns.
It is time for the Conservatives to stop picking fights.
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- Nov/25/22 11:55:16 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the very short answer is yes. That is exactly why we introduced Bill C‑21, which seeks to give police more tools and provide surveillance tools that will help them disrupt the activities of criminal organizations trying to illegally import firearms. That is exactly why we are proposing harsher sentences for members of organized crime. I hope that the Conservatives will finally support this bill.
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- Oct/3/22 2:56:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, our thoughts are with the victims' families. This is a very difficult time.
Over the past year, we have invested $321 million to strengthen the integrity of our border. That is exactly why we have made so much progress going after criminals attempting to import illegal firearms. This is an issue with a lot of challenges.
We will move forward with our plan, Bill C‑21, which will give the police more tools and increase the penalties for those involved in organized crime. We need to pass this bill as soon as possible.
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