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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 73

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 17, 2022 10:00AM
  • May/17/22 2:20:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is mind-boggling that the Prime Minister thinks that gangsters who use guns on our streets do not deserve jail time. Conservatives know for a fact that law-abiding firearms owners are among the least likely people to commit an offence with a firearm. The original long-gun registry was a $1-billion boondoggle that did nothing to enhance public safety. This new Liberal backdoor registry will not either. Why will the government not focus on criminals and smugglers and leave law-abiding Canadians alone?
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  • May/17/22 2:21:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, coming out of the events last weekend in Buffalo and seeing this country suffer from numerous tragedies involving gun violence, we took the extraordinary step of banning AR-15s, because they are designed to do one thing and that is to kill people. We have banned those assault rifles, and now we are committed to buying them back. Our plan was backed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. What is the Conservatives' plan? It is to make those AR-15s legal again. It is shocking. On this side, we will continue to make sure that we take the steps necessary to keep Canadians safe.
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  • May/17/22 2:22:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a database with Canadians' personal information attached to a unique identifying number attached to the serial number of a firearm and administered by the firearms registrar is a gun registry. We know the Prime Minister does not think much about Canadians who support legal firearms ownership, but we are not fools. What is foolish is gutting penalties for criminals who steal firearms, possess stolen firearms, traffic in firearms or smuggle firearms. Could the Prime Minister explain why he has such a vendetta against target shooters in Estevan while he lets gun-wielding criminals run free in ridings his backbenchers represent?
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  • May/17/22 2:22:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just last week, we introduced a stronger ID verification for gun purchases and require businesses to keep records of gun sales, which they are already doing. We have heard from some of those businesses, and they say this is common sense. Now police will be able to better investigate fraud and locate criminals who steal or try to engage in straw purchasing, which is a legitimate concern. The Conservatives can spin all they want, but Canadians see through it because they have no credibility when it comes to fighting against gun crime.
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  • May/17/22 2:23:40 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is currently in power. There were three shootings in Laval last week. A man was killed in broad daylight in Montreal. Laval police say that today's criminals are impulsive and disorderly. What is the Liberal government doing? It is proposing to eliminate minimum mandatory sentences for firearms possession offences with Bill C-5. Essentially, the Liberal approach consists of letting armed criminals continue to walk the streets. Can someone explain to the Prime Minister that his approach is irresponsible and that it will only make things more dangerous than they were before?
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  • May/17/22 2:24:22 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, those who commit serious offences will continue to receive stiff sentences. Our bill is about getting rid of the failed policies that filled our prisons with low-risk first-time offenders who needed help, not to be put in jail. These failed policies do not deter crime and did not keep us safe. They target the vulnerable and racialized Canadians.
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  • May/17/22 2:24:54 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, I would like my colleague to tell that to Laval's chief of police, who stated, “The people who are willing to commit such offences are hardened criminals. It is fine to be an idealist, but they will not stop when they get out of jail.” Here is what one person had to say. “We can no longer go out. My wife is very nervous and she is afraid.” Another stated, “My daughter was lucky, but in broad daylight with children.... There could be a stray bullet the next time”. Here is another fact. With Bill C-5, the Liberals want to leave these criminals on the streets with the support of the Liberal MPs from the Montreal area. Why is the Prime Minister defending criminals and not victims?
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  • May/17/22 2:25:33 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, with all due respect for my colleague, that is not true. We have a solid plan to prevent criminals from getting their hands on guns. We implemented more rigorous criminal background checks, which the Conservatives opposed. We invested over $350 million in policing to crack down on gangs and put an end to trafficking at the border. The Conservatives opposed that too. That is unacceptable.
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  • May/17/22 2:26:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, you must be wondering why gas is so expensive. That is such a good question that Radio-Canada analyzed where every penny people spend on a litre of gas goes, and the answer is: into oil companies' pockets. They are the gluttons here. Their refining margin has climbed steadily since 2008 from 9¢ to 48¢. That is over five times more. Meanwhile, the federal government has been subsidizing them like there is no tomorrow. In the budget, it gives them $2.4 billion of public money. When will it cut these gluttons off instead of fattening them up?
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  • May/17/22 2:26:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is the Government of Canada, the Liberal Party, that is taking care of the issue of affordability for Canadians and Quebeckers. On this side of the House, we have a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and we have a plan to bring down the cost of living. We are going to put $6,000 back into the pockets of students, $500 back into the pockets of seniors and $1,000 back into the pockets of families who pay a price on pollution. This side is all about affordability. That side just wants to bicker.
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  • May/17/22 2:27:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the greedy executives are laughing it up. They are sucking us dry at the pump while making record profits. They are taking even more taxpayers' money through federal subsidies. Glug-glug go the gluttons. Every new coin they see is more golden than the last. Suncor made $3 billion in profits last quarter. These fat cats do not need public money. Rather than fattening them up any further, why will the federal government not give that money to the less fortunate or put it towards the energy transition?
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  • May/17/22 2:27:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. As he well knows, we have committed to eliminating fossil fuel subsidies by 2023, two years sooner than our G20 partners. We are the only country to have made that commitment, and the subsidies have already been reduced by more than $3 billion a year since 2018.
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  • May/17/22 2:28:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the cost of gasoline is over two dollars a litre across this country. That is hurting families. At the same time, these very same oil and gas companies are experiencing massive profits and continue to receive fossil fuel subsidies to the tune of billions of dollars from the government. Will the Prime Minister support our plan to end the fossil fuel subsidies immediately and reinvest them back into people by doubling the GST tax credit?
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  • May/17/22 2:28:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when we are talking about economic drivers in this country, we talk about the oil and gas sector, we talk about aerospace and we talk about the auto sector. It is an important sector for this country, and if we are talking about the rise in gas prices, this is the time when everybody in this House should be focused on getting Vladimir Putin out of Ukraine, not playing cheap politics. That is the real mission. We will keep working on affordability and not worrying about economic engines for this country.
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  • May/17/22 2:29:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is subsidizing profitable companies while they are making massive profits. It does not make any sense. Gas is over $2 a litre, and that is hurting families. Meanwhile, these companies are making massive profits and continue to receive billions of dollars from the Liberal government. Will the Prime Minister support our plan to eliminate oil subsidies immediately and reinvest the money in helping families by doubling the GST/HST tax credit?
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  • May/17/22 2:30:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. I have two pieces of good news for him. We are investing record amounts in the energy transition, more than has ever been spent in the history of Canada, more than every G7 and G20 country. We are investing more in the green transition as part of our economic recovery plan than any other G20 country. We committed to eliminating the fossil fuel subsidy by 2023, two years sooner than all our G20 partners.
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  • May/17/22 2:30:29 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, we are seeing more and more shootings by street gangs. There were three in Laval last week. The Quebec association of police chiefs does not support Bill C‑5, and for good reasons. In addition, the Montreal police service reports that there has been an incident involving a firearm every two days since the beginning of 2022. Does this mean that the Prime Minister follows expert advice only when it suits him?
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  • May/17/22 2:30:58 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague that there are many tragedies caused by firearms. That is precisely why we want to take real action and why we are doing more. Last year, the CACP seized a record number of firearms, and this is partly due to the federal government's investments at the border. All that the Conservatives did was oppose these investments. It makes no sense.
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  • May/17/22 2:31:32 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, the minister is deliberately conflating two different matters. We are talking about Bill C‑5, which would change the law so that the offences of using a firearm during a robbery, discharging a firearm with intent or being in possession of an unlawful firearm will no longer carry a minimum sentence. Street gangs are making fools of us all. This is sheer hypocrisy. Can the minister talk about Bill C‑5 and stop talking about the other gun problem?
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  • May/17/22 2:32:01 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, those who commit serious offences will continue to receive serious sentences. Let us not get this confused. Our bill is about getting rid of the failed policies that filled our prisons with lower-risk first-time offenders who need help, not to be put in jail. These failed policies did not deter crime and did not keep us safe. They targeted the vulnerable and racialized Canadians.
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