SoVote

Mr. Randall Garrison (Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, NDP)

Jun/1/22 5:30:25 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-5

Madam Speaker, I know there is a lot of shared ground here in the House of Commons on wanting to make communities safer. That is a goal we all share, but we share a difference of opinion on how best to do that. I am always disappointed when I hear the Conservatives implying that somehow mandatory minimums create safer communities, when all the research and all the evidence show that this is simply not true. I guess I am hoping the member could acknowledge that we have a difference of opinion about how best to protect communities. It is not that some of us care about communities more than others.

110 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 79 - Jun/1/22

Hon. Rob Moore (Fundy Royal, CPC)

Jun/1/22 5:43:42 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-5

Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to my colleague's speech. The problem is that a number of times I heard the words “simple possession”. The issue is that this is not what Bill C-5 deals with. The mandatory minimum penalties being repealed in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act have to do with trafficking, importing or exporting controlled substances, or the production of schedule I or schedule II drugs, that is, cocaine, heroine, fentanyl and crystal meth. Would the hon. member maintain that production, trafficking and importing are “simple possession”?

95 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 79 - Jun/1/22

Mrs. Julie Vignola (Beauport—Limoilou, BQ)

Jun/1/22 5:44:59 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-5

Mr. Speaker, mandatory minimum sentences have their pros and cons. In any case, I am not against abolishing them. However, there are problems associated with them that must be resolved. They include problems with education, illegal arms trafficking, social issues, and the need for hospitalization and diagnosis. It is time that the government provided health transfers, if only to address the health aspect, so that youth could be monitored from early childhood to prevent them from ending up in jail or other bad situations. This would also ensure better social support. When will this happen?

95 words

Context: House Hansard - 79 - Jun/1/22

Hon. Rob Moore (Fundy Royal, CPC)

Jun/1/22 6:15:27 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-5

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his work on the justice committee. He and I obviously do not agree on Bill C-5, but one thing I hope he would agree with me on is the mandatory minimums being repealed in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The Liberal government likes to speak about simple possession. Mandatory minimums would be eliminated for the offences of trafficking, importing or exporting controlled drugs and substances or the production of schedule I or schedule II drugs, which are cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and crystal meth. Would he categorize those offences as “simple possession”?

103 words

Context: House Hansard - 79 - Jun/1/22

Mr. Randall Garrison

Jun/1/22 6:17:51 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-5

Mr. Speaker, I enjoy working with the member on the justice committee. Of course I support all those measures he is talking about. The law on mandatory minimums is not the solution to everything, but it is a solution to systemic racism and it is a partial solution to the opioid crisis. Do we need more measures to interdict the illegal importation of guns into our communities? Absolutely, I support those kinds of things, but the reason that this does not create public confidence is that some people are putting forward the myth that somehow eliminating mandatory minimum sentences makes our communities more dangerous. It does precisely the opposite.

109 words

Context: House Hansard - 79 - Jun/1/22

Mr. Pat Kelly

Jun/1/22 6:33:03 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-5

Mr. Speaker, the member launches straight into an attack on the previous Conservative government while ignoring that almost all of the mandatory floor sentences being repealed in this bill were not passed under the Harper government. They came from earlier governments. Successive governments, Conservative and Liberal, with different prime ministers, have, over a very long period of time, created these minimums. Most of them predate the Harper government. It was disappointing to hear her use this as an opportunity just to make a dig at the previous government, when this is something that has been ongoing for many years. The hon. member disagrees that there should be mandatory minimum sentences. I can agree with her. I can agree with many people who have spoken about the futility, and the blunt instrument that prison can be, but for the most serious crimes there needs to be a floor.

147 words