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House Hansard - 162

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 16, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 162 - Feb/16/23
Mr. Michael Cooper (St. Albert—Edmonton, CPC)
  • Feb/16/23 10:08:05 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition initiated by my constituents Mike and Dianne Ilesic, whose son Brian, along with two other victims, was brutally murdered in an armed robbery. A fourth victim survived but sustained permanent head injuries. Mike and Dianne felt some sense of relief believing that they would never have to face Brian's killer at a parole hearing, after he was the first mass killer to be sentenced under a law passed by the previous Harper Conservative government that gave judges the discretion to impose consecutive parole ineligibility periods for mass killers to take into account each life lost. However, that law was struck down unjustly by the Supreme Court last year. Now Brian's killer could be eligible for parole in just 14 short years. Mike and Dianne were alarmed when the Minister of Justice failed to respond to the decision and even went so far as to say that he respected the decision. Mike and Dianne, along with petitioners, are calling on the Minister of Justice to, for once, stand up for victims and respond to this decision by invoking the notwithstanding clause so that families like theirs never have to endure a parole hearing, and so that the worst of the worst mass killers in this country remain behind bars, where they belong.
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Context: House Hansard - 162 - Feb/16/23
Hon. David Lametti (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • Feb/16/23 2:25:51 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, as a government, we have acted on several fronts to ensure that victims of sexual assault are treated with dignity and respect. Several bills, including Bill C-3 and Bill C-51, have made substantial reforms to Canada's sexual assault laws to do just that, protect victims. These are some of the most progressive laws in the world. We have invested in programs that help victims of sexual assault. That is our priority. We will continue to support victims of sexual assault.
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Context: House Hansard - 162 - Feb/16/23
Hon. David Lametti (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • Feb/16/23 2:51:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the member for Bourassa, for his question and for participating in our announcement yesterday. The reality is that Black people are overrepresented in our justice system, both as victims and accused persons. We therefore established a steering committee consisting of nine Black experts who understand and live the current reality. The discrimination they face is systemic, and our response must be ambitious, comprehensive and fair.
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Context: House Hansard - 162 - Feb/16/23
Hon. David Lametti (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • Feb/16/23 2:57:34 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-5 
Mr. Speaker, serious crimes always deserve serious consequences. With Bill C‑5, we abandoned policies that clogged our justice system and our prisons, and we decided to fight systemic racism. The Bloc Québécois voted in favour of Bill C‑5 because it knew that minimum sentences do not work. Our government is supporting victims of sexual assault. We are working on this. We introduced legislation and programs to reinforce support for victims, and we will continue that work.
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