44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 2, 2023 10:00AM
- Feb/2/23 2:54:05 p.m.
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The hon. member for Fundy Royal.
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- Feb/2/23 2:54:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not need victim blaming. They need leadership and action.
Which stats would the hon. minister wish that we were not cherry-picking? Violent crime is up 32%. Gang-related homicides have increased by 92%. Of 44 shooting-related homicides in Toronto, half of the accused were out on bail, and 40 offenders have been arrested 6,000 times. If the minister has some stats that he would like to share, we welcome them.
Until then, we need to get our heads out of the sand and take action We need to listen to the police, communities and the premiers and reform this failed Liberal bail system.
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- Feb/2/23 2:54:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier today in the House of Commons, statistics from the Toronto police over the past few years show that offenses committed while individuals are out on bail have gone down over the past two years.
We appreciate that Canadians need to feel safe and Canadians have a right to feel safe—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/2/23 2:55:11 p.m.
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Order.
The hon. minister will please continue.
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- Feb/2/23 2:55:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-75 codified what were essentially Supreme Court decisions and made it harder to get bail in a number of cases. It did not change any of the severity of bail conditions for violent criminals, yet we are still going to look at other possibilities with the provinces to move forward to make Canadians feel safe.
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- Feb/2/23 2:55:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in Montreal, there are now 73% more people on social assistance than there were a year ago. This is not because of a job shortage, but because of Roxham Road.
The federal government has invited asylum seekers to enter by Roxham Road. Once they are on Canadian soil, it cannot issue a work permit for them. That takes almost one year. The federal government plunges them into poverty and they are then forced to go on social assistance. This costs Quebec an additional $20 million every month.
Will the government pick up the tab? It is responsible for this situation.
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- Feb/2/23 2:56:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec continues to be one of the government's valued partners, and we recognize that the province is working hard to support asylum seekers.
Our government has provided $534.5 million in assistance to the provinces, including $374 million to Quebec to alleviate the pressure of housing asylum seekers.
We have also invested $740 million to guarantee that they continue to have access to medical coverage to meet their immediate and essential medical needs.
We will continue to work with our partner.
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- Feb/2/23 2:57:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals, who are notoriously sanctimonious, are forcing asylum seekers to seek social assistance, but it does not stop there. There is a shortage of housing, mainly because of federal underfunding, so dozens of homeless asylum seekers are turning to community organizations that are already stretched thin and to shelters that are already overcrowded for help.
People are going to end up on the streets because we do not have the resources to accommodate them. Where will these people go?
Why not suspend the safe third country agreement, make sure that asylum seekers are not all entering the country at the same place and give them the dignified welcome they deserve?
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- Feb/2/23 2:57:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois holds the international title for sanctimoniousness.
If my colleague had looked at the relevant documents, he would have seen that, between 2017 and 2020, the Government of Canada contributed $374 million to address the situation at Roxham Road. Quebec just gave us the bill for 2021-22. Obviously, we are going to sit down together and do our part. We are also covering asylum seekers' health care costs.
We are here and we are working with Quebec. The Bloc Québécois may not like it, but we are keeping our commitments.
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- Feb/2/23 2:58:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today the justice minister said that, if someone poses a significant threat to public safety, the law tells us they should not be released on bail, but in reality, in Toronto last year, of the 44 gun murders, 24 of the suspects were out on bail when they committed these murders. Those 24 people clearly posed a threat to public safety, yet they were out on bail.
When will the minister get his head out of the clouds and commit to reforming our broken Liberal bail system, which he helped to create?
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- Feb/2/23 2:59:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a fundamental principle that, if a person poses a threat to public security, he or she should not get bail. That is balanced with the fact that bail is not only a charter right, but a common law right of long date, because in our system one is innocent until proven guilty.
We allow judges to make that determination based on the arguments that prosecutors and defence attorneys put before them, so I will not revisit an individual case, but what I can say is that we are working with our provincial counterparts to see how we can improve the bail system to make Canadians feel more safe.
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- Feb/2/23 2:59:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, violent crime in Canada has increased by 32% since 2015 and gang-related homicides have increased by 92%.
What is more, the Liberals, supported by the Bloc Québécois, passed Bill C‑5, a piece of legislation that eliminates minimum sentencing. That is what is happening in Canada after eight years under this government: more crime and more criminals out on bail.
Can the Minister of Justice face reality and admit that his policies favour criminals and penalize victims?
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- Feb/2/23 3:00:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the bail system is a fundamental part of our system. If a person poses a threat to public security he or she should not get bail.
We have to strike a balance and we will work with the provinces, because even though criminal law is under federal responsibility, it is with the provinces that we will determine how to administer the system. We will do that together.
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- Feb/2/23 3:01:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in office, a serious crime resulted in serious consequences. Now, there is no longer a minimum sentence for rapists. That is what happened with Jonathan Gravel, a man found guilty of rape, who will serve his sentence from the comfort of his own home. A Quebec Crown prosecutor had the courage to stand up and speak out against this completely unacceptable situation.
Did the minister forget that the word “justice” is part of his title? There is no justice for victims.
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- Feb/2/23 3:01:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we firmly believe that all victims of sexual assault deserve a justice system that treats them with dignity and respect. I would like to recognize the resilience of the victim in question. As I have said many times, serious crimes deserve serious consequences. My colleague knows that I cannot comment on specific cases, but I can say that this was a decision of the Quebec court and that it could be appealed by the director of criminal and penal prosecutions, the DPCP. Obviously, we are awaiting the DPCP's decision.
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- Feb/2/23 3:02:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice just announced today his intention to delay by one year the expansion of the medical assistance in dying legislation to those suffering solely from a mental illness. We know that medical assistance in dying is a complex issue and very personal for many Canadians.
Can the minister explain the reasons for his decision?
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- Feb/2/23 3:02:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, grazie to my colleague from Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel for her question and her leadership. It is indeed a very complex issue. That is why we have listened to the experts, the members of the medical community and the citizens who asked for more time to develop clear standards.
Canada has developed medical assistance in dying legislation that supports autonomy and freedom of choice while protecting the vulnerable. We will continue in that direction and we will do it right.
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- Feb/2/23 3:03:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of fiscal mismanagement, the Liberal government is not even hiding it anymore. It has now decided it no longer needs to accept the advice of the Auditor General, who says $27 billion in COVID support payments need to be investigated. Instead, the CRA says it is not worth the effort.
Will the government take the advice of the independent Auditor General, or does it believe it is not worth the effort to recover money for taxpayers?
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- Feb/2/23 3:04:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the pandemic hit, we acted quickly to get recovery benefits into people's bank accounts without delay. To achieve that goal, we planned to verify eligibility on the back end after the fact. This approach kept workers attached to their jobs and positioned our economy to come roaring back.
The report found that our individual support programs achieved their intended goals of getting money to Canadians quickly, allowing Canadians to stay home safely and avoiding severe social and economic consequences. The AG also noted that lower-income workers and groups most impacted by the pandemic were able to benefit from the programs.
We are proud of the measures we took to support Canadians.
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- Feb/2/23 3:04:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the words “costly coalition” have been given new meaning. Last week, we heard that the head of the CRA said it would “not be worth the effort” to fully review $15.5 billion in what might be incorrect pandemic wage benefits.
After eight years of the Prime Minister, Canadians are using food banks more than ever and are finding it impossible to buy a home. Does the Liberal government think it is not worth the effort to fully review payments worth a total of $32 billion in Canadian tax dollars?
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