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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

May/9/23 4:12:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the minister could provide his thoughts on not only how important the legislation is, but also on bringing in closure, as we are doing right now. Conservatives have made it very clear that they have no intention of passing this legislation, so without bringing time allocation or closure there is no chance we would see it get passed. Indeed, the legislation is a reflection of what Canadians want to see of the government.

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Hon. Marco Mendicino

May/9/23 4:13:05 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-21

Mr. Speaker, my colleague on this side of the government aisle is correct. The vast majority of Canadians, approximately 80% of Canadians, support a national ban against AR-15 style, assault-style firearms. They support a national freeze on handguns. Handguns have become the number one type of gun used in homicides. Canadians support and want to see action that will allow us to reverse the disturbing and alarming trends of domestic abuse and the presence of guns. Again, women are disproportionately victimized as a result of the presence of guns. We want to reverse those trends. We want to save lives, which is precisely why we need to move forward with Bill C-21. Were it not for the Conservatives who continue to obstruct and obfuscate, we would be able to do that more quickly. That is why we are taking the step that we are today, and we will continue to engage with all Canadians so we can keep them safe.

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Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay (South Surrey—White Rock, CPC)

May/9/23 4:14:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have turned to their junior coalition partners to do their bidding at committee tonight. It is laughable that the NDP will call themselves the stewards of democracy and simultaneously support a motion like this. The rural NDP members of Parliament, who all know Grandpa Joe, and once spoke for him, have completely abandoned him. The rural NDP members will need to go back to their communities to answer for this motion and for helping ram through this legislation in such a draconian way. It is simply not true that we are in charge of the government's legislative agenda and that we could somehow forever stop this legislation. There are a lot of members who will have to go back to stand and explain why they did the Liberals' work for them by presenting this motion. They are the members for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, Courtenay—Alberni, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, North Island—Powell River, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, Timmins—James Bay and Nunavut. Can the Minister of Public Safety confirm that the NDP caucus, all of them, will be voting to support him and these Liberals in stripping law-abiding gun owners of their hunting rifles?

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Hon. Marco Mendicino

May/9/23 4:15:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that Conservative member knows full well that that is false. We are not at all targeting, with this legislation, law-abiding gun owners, and her repeated claims that it is true are simply misleading all Canadians. Frankly, it is the other parties with whom we have been working across the aisle, and thanks to the advocacy of the extraordinary members of the Liberal caucus I get to work with, we are putting forward legislation that will save lives by ensuring that we take the next steps to strengthen a national ban on assault-style firearms, as the Mass Casualty Commission from Nova Scotia recommended that we do, by implementing, permanently, a national freeze on handguns, which have become the number one type of gun used in homicides. Those are the types of responsible, evidence-based policies that will help to save lives. It is only the Conservatives who are out there in left field on their own on this issue, and they should be joining this debate to support these policies.

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Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

May/9/23 4:16:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we heard the Conservatives name off a bunch of rural NDP ridings members who have brought to the attention of the government the need to ensure that indigenous peoples and rural hunters can keep their weapons. This motion will get us back to the discussion of the amendments that are needed to improve and strengthen the bill. However, Conservatives do not want to do that. They would drag the bill out until 2027, so it would never happen. We want to bring forward solutions so we can strengthen the bill to protect farmers and indigenous people, and ensure that we have a strong gun law. We could tackle ghost guns and support law enforcement so they are not on the frontline facing dangerous weapons. The law-and-order party abandons our first responders, the police, who are asking us to take action and move forward with the bill. Maybe the public safety minister could speak about those frontline officers who are asking us to make those amendments.

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Hon. Marco Mendicino

May/9/23 4:17:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the question from my NDP colleague. In fact, just yesterday, I joined members from our caucus in Peel region to announce $390 million of support for the work of law enforcement, which they do each and every single day to keep our communities safe, including from gun violence. My colleague from the NDP also mentioned his concerns with ghost guns, and I share those concerns. As a result of the ongoing and constructive dialogue we are having with the Bloc and the NDP on this side of the House, we will be able to take additional action against ghost guns. In fact, we just had the Americans in town a little less than two weeks ago, and we were able to reach four memorandums of agreement. One of those will be the use of new technology to crack down on ghost guns. This is what Canadians want. They want parties to work together across partisan lines, and we are able to do that with the Bloc and the NDP. However, the Conservatives have only put forward simply stale and failed policies.

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Mr. Dan Albas (Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, CPC)

May/9/23 4:19:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the minister why it is so urgent that we cannot have proper debate in the committee. It is not a proper process to program a committee to immediately begin a process where we may end up not even knowing what members are voting on. The question is as follows. Will the minister own up to the issue that he has created a mess at the committee with his leadership on his bill, or will he actually stop, step back and allow the process to go forward, ending in legislation that we may not agree with but that will be better because it will have been examined correctly? I would also point out that I agree with the whip from my party. There are many B.C. NDP members who should think twice about going along with this minister's plan. It is shameful for democracy, and it is shameful for the minister to be invoking closure on a bill that he has garbled so badly.

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Hon. Marco Mendicino

May/9/23 4:20:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it would be bad enough if all that the Conservatives wanted to do was just protract the debate on this so that they could obfuscate some more, but no, that is not all. They have openly campaigned, repeatedly, on a commitment to repeal the policies the government has put into place, including wanting to make AR-15 style firearms legal again. These are guns that were designed for the battlefield. It was the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission, which I know you, Mr. Speaker, are very familiar with, that recommended we take additional steps to strengthen that ban so that we could protect communities from another tragedy like the one we saw in Portapique and Truro. We have been able to have those discussions with our colleagues in the NDP and the Bloc, and for that, I am grateful. It is only the Conservatives who are bending over backwards, doing everything they possibly can, to frustrate debate so they can prevent the passage of this bill into law. I think that is wrong. The Conservatives should reverse course so that we would be able to put this law into action and save lives.

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Mr. Bob Zimmer (Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, CPC)

May/9/23 4:21:22 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-21

Mr. Speaker, it is a real privilege to talk about Bill C-21 and to really stand up against it. Getting an honest answer from the minister is difficult. We have tried. I remember being the one in SECU who actually got the witnesses to admit that law-abiding hunters' firearms were on the banned list. The Liberals have tipped their hand, and most firearms owners across the country know that. I have spoken with Liberal members of Parliament who do not necessarily like the way their own government is going on firearms. This is really a call-out to the NDP. I just heard members from the island. I have been to the Campbell River Gun Club, where people brought huge concerns forward around Bill C-21 and the freedom to access their legally obtained firearms. Again, these are citizens who are vetted on a daily basis. The stats support that people who have a firearms licence are far less likely to commit a crime than an average citizen is. These are impeccable citizens being shown complete disrespect by the Liberal minister. Again, my question for the New Democrat members is whether they will finally stand with their constituents and oppose this legislation.

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The Deputy Speaker

May/9/23 4:22:27 p.m.
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I know the hon. minister is not a member of the NDP, but he is the one answering the questions. The hon. minister.

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Answering

Hon. Marco Mendicino

May/9/23 4:22:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, everybody will be appreciative of that clarification. The Conservative colleague across the aisle talks about his experience. I have met with gun owners in the Eskasoni First Nation community in Nova Scotia. I have met with gun owners in the Yukon, in the Northwest Territories, in British Columbia, in Ontario and, in fact, right across the country, for the express purpose of making sure that we get this bill right. If the member opposite wants to talk about being honest and straight-up, then what he should do is be straight-up with the work that we are doing on this side of the House to make sure that we get this legislation—

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Gun

Mr. Bob Zimmer

May/9/23 4:23:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, when the member impugns my testimony, with respect to it not being straight-up, he is implying that I am lying to the House. I would expect that he would apologize for doing something indirectly that he is not supposed to do directly.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

May/9/23 4:23:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is incredibly rich that that member would make that point of order, when he is basically doing the exact same thing by saying that the minister is not telling the truth. He cannot do indirectly what he cannot do directly, and he was certainly doing it indirectly.

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The Deputy Speaker

May/9/23 4:23:44 p.m.
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We are descending into the debate we are actually having. The hon. minister still had the floor, but I do not know if he was done. Okay. Questions and comments, the hon. member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands.

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Mr. Bob Zimmer

May/9/23 4:23:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, there is still an issue on the table: asking for an apology for impugning another member of the House. I would ask that he respect that and apologize.

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The Deputy Speaker

May/9/23 4:24:07 p.m.
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When the minister stands, he can answer, or not, if he feels like it. The hon. member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands has the floor.

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Mr. Jeremy Patzer (Cypress Hills—Grasslands, CPC)

May/9/23 4:24:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing today is the Liberals admitting they have no idea how firearms regulation works in this country and what it takes to lawfully obtain and transport a firearm. When I was 12 years old, I took my hunter safety course, and then I had to apply for a possession and acquisition licence. There is an extremely arduous process one has to go through to get licensed and to be able to acquire a firearm, including background checks, checks that are run daily by the system. My question for the minister is actually quite simple. Does he even have a possession and acquisition licence, or has he even taken the hunter safety course in Canada?

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Hon. Marco Mendicino

May/9/23 4:24:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have respect for gun owners. I know they place a premium on safety. I know that, when they apply for a PAL certificate, they follow all of the regulations— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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The Deputy Speaker

May/9/23 4:25:05 p.m.
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Order. The hon. Minister of Public Safety has the floor.

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Hon. Marco Mendicino

May/9/23 4:25:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I realize there was a lot of enthusiasm for the answer I was just giving, naturally, because I was showing that we have respect for gun owners who do follow the law. This legislation is not about targeting them, and the more Conservatives try to spread that disinformation, the more they are just resorting to their same old—

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