44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 23, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/23/22 2:34:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious and appalling situation. Darren Campbell, a senior RCMP officer, has said that there was partisan political interference in the Nova Scotia tragedy. This is both appalling and disgusting.
A lot of people trust Mr. Campbell, including us. The Globe and Mail quoted former RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson, who said that Darren Campbell “is one of the best investigators in the force and a highly reliable officer with tremendous integrity”. Why does the minister not believe Mr. Campbell?
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- Jun/23/22 2:34:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. I am not in any way questioning the integrity or the honesty of the superintendent. I know former commissioner Paulson very well, and I take him very much at his word when he commends the officer for his integrity. However, I will just simply remind the House that, in this case, there was no interference in this matter and, second, that the commissioner has issued a statement in which she also says that there has been no interference in this matter. Those are simply the facts.
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- Jun/23/22 2:35:17 p.m.
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Here are the facts, Mr. Speaker. A minister claims he did not interfere, but a senior RCMP officer, Mr. Campbell, says that there was in fact political interference. Who is telling the truth?
Some very serious people say that Mr. Campbell is telling the truth. Peter Lepine also told The Globe and Mail, “I've followed Darren Campbell since the day he was a recruit. He's an extremely competent police officer and extremely well trained in the world of major investigations.” If we have to choose between the minister and Mr. Campbell, the Conservative Party chooses Mr. Campbell.
Why does the minister refuse to acknowledge the truth?
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- Jun/23/22 2:35:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, as I understand it, Superintendent Campbell referred to a conversation, to which we were not party, that he had with his commissioner. I am not in any way questioning the man's integrity. My understanding is that he is an exemplary police officer.
Let me be very clear: There was no interference in this matter, and the commissioner has confirmed that in the statement she released on Tuesday.
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- Jun/23/22 2:36:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has hit a new low to ram through legislation.
Superintendent Campbell noted that Commissioner Lucki told the RCMP that she had promised the Minister of Public Safety and the Prime Minister's Office that the force would disclose the types of firearms used in the mass shooting because it would advance the government's pending gun control legislation.
Will the Prime Minister admit that he used the suffering and death of Nova Scotians for personal political gain?
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- Jun/23/22 2:36:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that statement is absolutely false. In fact, I would remind the House that our government promised Canadians in the summer of 2019 that we would strengthen gun control and that we would ban military-style assault rifles—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/23/22 2:37:12 p.m.
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I am going to have to interrupt.
The hon. minister can start from the top, please.
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- Jun/23/22 2:37:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, unfortunately, the member's comments are absolutely false. In fact, I would remind the House that in the summer of 2019 we made a promise to Canadians that we would strengthen gun control and ban military-style assault rifles.
When the Prime Minister appointed me public safety minister, he placed, in my mandate letter, a direction to ban military-style assault rifles. We made that promise to Canadians, and we kept that promise to Canadians.
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- Jun/23/22 2:37:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during the April 28 meeting with the RCMP commissioner and Superintendent Campbell, there were notes handwritten that stated that the commissioner promised to release information about an active criminal investigation to support a pending announcement on gun control. The Minister of Emergency Preparedness has been standing in the House saying that there was no interference, but the Prime Minister just said there was no undue interference. The story is changing.
The commissioner was working with the government to advance its political agenda. Does the minister deny this?
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- Jun/23/22 2:38:30 p.m.
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Before we go on to the answer, there are two things: I want everyone to respect each other, and when we are making statements in the House, please be very judicious on the words you use accusing someone of being something. I am hearing names from one side and other absolute terms from the other. I just want to remind everyone to be judicious. We want to leave on a nice note before the summer.
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- Jun/23/22 2:38:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps it would be helpful if I read the entire statement that the RCMP commissioner issued Tuesday.
The commissioner writes:
It is important to note that the sharing of information and briefings with the Minister of Public Safety are necessary, particularly during a mass shooting on Canadian soil. This is standard procedure, and does not impact the integrity of ongoing investigations or interfere with the independence of the RCMP.
She concludes by stating:
I take the principle of police independence extremely seriously, and it has been and will continue to be fully respected in all interactions.
There was no interference.
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- Jun/23/22 2:39:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the passport crisis comes as no surprise to anyone.
The union warned the government in January. This was foreseeable. Since 2018, the government has cut 450 jobs in passport offices. In the midst of a crisis, the 600 new hires the minister is talking about do not represent an increase in service. Those hires just bring the number of staff back up to prepandemic levels. We are in the midst of a crisis, and that requires crisis-level effort.
When will the minister deploy enough staff to keep the offices open seven days a week?
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- Jun/23/22 2:40:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, passport offices are open weekends in the busiest urban centres to make sure that people who urgently need their passport can get it.
We have hired 600 people since January and we are in the process of hiring 600 more. We are reassigning hundreds of employees from Service Canada and other organizations, including the Canada Revenue Agency, Statistics Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
We are making every effort to resolve this situation, which is truly unacceptable for Canadians.
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- Jun/23/22 2:41:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is not what is happening; the union is looking for those 600 people. It found five at the Guy‑Favreau complex. So much for that.
The union projects a return to normal only in October. The chaos cannot last another four months. The minister can bring people out of retirement to help. She can transfer resources from other departments. She can create a training blitz for the new employees. At the very least she can let in the people who are sleeping outside and ensure that they are treated humanely, even if that means renting rooms. That is how to manage a crisis.
What is the minister waiting for?
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- Jun/23/22 2:41:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have already done all of those things that my hon. colleague is calling for. It takes 15 weeks to train a passport officer. This has already been going on for months. The first class of passport officers starts on Monday. This is not something that changes overnight. It is already in place.
The situation in Montreal improved today. In Laval and in Saint‑Laurent, everyone was given an appointment. At the Guy-Favreau complex, everyone is working to ensure that the hundreds of people there get their appointment.
We will continue to prepare and do everything we can to serve Canadians.
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- Jun/23/22 2:42:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a discrepancy between what we are hearing and what we are seeing. The passport crisis is not just an administrative fiasco. People are standing out in the rain at their wits' end. People are missing their parents' funerals. People are losing contracts. The minister's message to them? “Your call is important to us.”
When will the people standing in line truly feel their situation is being taken seriously?
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- Jun/23/22 2:43:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are taking the situation very seriously. That is exactly why we adjusted our approach in Montreal. The situation in Montreal is exceptional. It is not like anywhere else in the country.
Every day for the past seven days, between 1,500 and 2,000 people have lined up outside passport offices. Each person in line today got an appointment card for either today, tomorrow, Saturday or even Sunday, because we want to make sure they get their passport.
That is what we want, and that is what we are doing.
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- Jun/23/22 2:43:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness politically interfered in a mass murder investigation to advance his own party's political agenda. RCMP Superintendent Darren Campbell witnessed this interference first-hand, but the minister is claiming he made this all up. Former RCMP commissioner Paulson said Superintendent Darren Campbell “is one of the best investigators in the force and a highly reliable officer with tremendous integrity.”
Why should Canadians believe the minister over a well-respected RCMP officer?
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- Jun/23/22 2:44:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have absolutely no doubt Superintendent Campbell is in fact an exemplary officer and I have absolutely no intention of questioning his integrity. However, I also want to make it very clear that there was no interference in this case for any reason.
With respect to the prohibition of assault rifles, it was something we were deeply committed to. The vicious murder of 22 Canadians using firearms deepened our resolve to make Canadians safe and to keep our promise.
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- Jun/23/22 2:45:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise to hear that the minister and the Prime Minister pressured the RCMP commissioner into doing their bidding. Let us remember that the Ethics Commissioner found the Prime Minister guilty of political interference when he pressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to do his bidding, but she got fired because she said no.
Now the minister is accusing Superintendent Darren Campbell, who has a stellar reputation, of just making up a story. How can the minister expect Canadians to believe his unethical, scandal-plagued government over a stellar RCMP officer?
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