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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 168

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 10, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 168 - Mar/10/23
Mr. Frank Caputo (Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, CPC)
  • Mar/10/23 12:26:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people from Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I want to thank my colleague on the justice committee and in the House from Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke. This is an area that is close to my heart, and I anticipate speaking to this issue in a few minutes. It is certainly something that causes great concern. I am curious what my colleague thinks about the penalties we should be ascribing to this behaviour. It should obviously be looked at as criminal behaviour, based on the report. That is fairly clear. Would he see this as being something where we should be looking at having a deterrent effect in sentencing? I am curious to have his thoughts on that.
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Context: House Hansard - 168 - Mar/10/23
Mr. Randall Garrison
  • Mar/10/23 12:27:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think what we are trying to get across as a justice committee and as members of Parliament is that there is a failure to recognize that coercive and controlling behaviour is, in and of itself, a form of violence. As I said in my brief remarks, this is really not about creating a new criminal offence. It is about moving that goalpost to where people can get assistance when they are in problematic relationships instead of making them wait until there is physical harm before social service agencies, law enforcement or whoever else can step in to assist them in escaping coercive and controlling behaviour. I think that this is where we are starting, by recognizing this as a form of violence and doing so explicitly in the Criminal Code of Canada.
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Context: House Hansard - 168 - Mar/10/23
Mr. Gary Anandasangaree
  • Mar/10/23 12:43:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, the Minister of Justice is open to suggestions from all parliamentarians. What is very clear for the minister is that we need smart criminal justice policy that is rooted in evidence, and we look forward to working with all parliamentarians in this regard.
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Context: House Hansard - 168 - Mar/10/23
Mr. Gary Anandasangaree
  • Mar/10/23 12:44:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I absolutely will agree with the member in this regard. I know this is an important issue, and we have heard from many different organizations and individuals who have been directly impacted by it. The minister has been very clear on this a number of times when he has appeared before committee. In fact, he answered the question the member asked several months ago. He will continue to work with his provincial and territorial counterparts in order to advance smart criminal justice policy.
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