44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 18, 2023 11:00AM
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her concern about the lack of services in pretrial detention because it is a very important part of public safety.
I am no expert on the internal workings of the Conservative Party, but it does seem peculiar when its leader, who has said that he was prepared to get this done in a day, no longer seems prepared to do that.
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Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I speak to what I believe is really important legislation. This legislation is being supported not only by me, but also by the minister and the government. From listening to the debate so far in the House, I understand that the principles of the legislation are being supported by all sides of the House, whether one is a New Democrat, a member of the Bloc, possibly a Green, and I have not heard the Greens speak to the bill yet, but I anticipate they will be supporting it based on other observations I have made, or even a member of the Conservative Party.
The leader of the official opposition gave an interesting speech. He has maybe taken a bit of a variation on reality to try to reflect things as being in a relatively negative state here in Canada, but the essence of what he was saying about this particular piece of legislation was in good part supportive, as the Minister of Justice pointed out when he introduced the legislation this morning.
Members have had the opportunity to go through the legislation to see the benefits of passing the legislation. The Leader of the Opposition was actually very supportive of the legislation to the degree that at one point he gave the indication that he would be prepared to sit until midnight for the legislation to be passed. There were a couple of questions posed to the leader of the official opposition because there was a sense of the potential to see the legislation passed relatively quickly and whether he would still entertain that. One of his short answers implied yes. It would appear Bill C-48 has the support of all members of the House.
Before I go any further, I want to inform the House that I will be splitting my time. I will be sharing my time with the member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl.
It is not just members of Parliament who are in support of bail reform. Bail reform has been on the agenda of politicians of all political stripes and from all levels of government for a number of years now. A great deal of consultation has taken place on dealing with the issue of public safety as it relates to bail reform. The legislation before us has substantial support across the country. Provinces and territories have signed on in support of the legislation.
I understand ministers of justice and premiers from different regions of the country have all indicated very clearly that they would like to see this legislation ultimately become law. I heard there are a number of members who would like to see the legislation pass second reading so we can bring it to the committee stage to see if there might be potential changes made to reflect what the consultations led to.
The House is very much open to having the legislation pass. I am curious whether or not, at the end of the day, we will be able to see the legislation pass because we have had a fairly solid green light that the Conservatives would support its quick passage. Having been here for a while, I am going to remain a little optimistic on that point.
It is not just the politicians who support this legislation. I want to read a couple of quotes. Law enforcement officers are often the ones who are on the front line looking for changes, and I thought it would be good to share some of the things law enforcement officers are saying regarding Bill C-48.
Canada's police associations in general welcomed the government of Canada's action on bail reform. Associations representing Canada's frontline law enforcement personnel released the following statements welcoming the introduction of the bill, Bill C-48. I would like to quote a couple of them, if I may. The first reads:
Front-line law enforcement personnel have been asking the government to take concrete steps to address the small number of repeat violent offenders who commit a disproportionate number of offences that put the safety of our communities at risk, and we appreciate that [the former minister of justice] and [the former minister of public safety] have worked collaboratively with stakeholders and introduced this common-sense legislation that responds to the concerns that our members have raised.
This is something that was reported and commented on by Tom Stamatakis, who is the president of the Canadian Police Association.
Mark Baxter, the president of the Police Association of Ontario had something further to say—
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- Sep/18/23 1:56:13 p.m.
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I thought I would interrupt the hon. member for just a moment to say that, although it is great to be back in the House of Commons, seeing all of our friends again and talking about the summer, I would remind folks that, if they would like to have those kinds of conversations, they should take them outside or try out the new time out booths at the back to see how they work. Then we will be able to listen to the the debate that is happening on the floor right now.
The hon. member for Winnipeg North does have the floor.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know if that lulled the volume, but let me go on with what Mark Baxter, the president of the Police Association of Ontario, had to say:
Police personnel haven’t just been asking for a “tough on crime” approach, we have been advocating for a balanced approach that includes prevention and rehabilitation, but also recognizes that a small number of repeat, violent offenders need to be held accountable for their actions. Bill C-48 is a step in the right direction, and we sincerely hope the Courts will use these new measures that are being introduced by the government in cases where circumstances warrant.
The last quote I would like to refer to is from Jon Reid, the president of the Toronto Police Association. He said:
Our members recognize that our Charter ensures we all benefit from a presumption of innocence, but for too long the current balance has put the rights of an accused well above the rights our communities have to public safety and security. Ensuring the public maintains its confidence in the administration of justice is paramount, and I believe the introduction of Bill C- 48, and the clear message being sent by the government that public safety remains a top priority, will help victims of crime, as well as all Canadians know serious, repeat violent offenders can and will be held accountable for their actions.
I believe that reinforces the messages we are hearing from politicians of all political stripes and at all levels of government that recognize we want our communities to be a safe environment for our constituents. Bill C-48 is a progressive piece of legislation that has had extensive consultations. It would make a profound and positive difference by ensuring the communities in which we live are safer. That is why I believe we should look to the Leader of the Opposition and hold him to his word when he spoke of it having a quick passage.
I believe the intent of the House of Commons is to see this legislation passed in a quick fashion to allow it to go to committee. I have not heard anyone say that the principle of this legislation is something they cannot support. With that type of support for Bill C-48, I would conclude that it is the type of legislation that should get passed through the House to allow the committee to do the fine work that it does.
We need to remember that this is all about keeping the communities that we represent safer. To me, that is so very important. That is why I stand today with my colleagues in support of the legislation with the hope of seeing it passed in a relatively quick fashion.
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- Sep/18/23 2:00:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we commence this parliamentary season, our goals remain clear: to serve Canadians from all political backgrounds and effectively address their needs and concerns.
I also want to wish Orléans students a successful back-to-school experience.
May the school year be rewarding and successful for everyone.
Turning our attention to the vibrant community of Orléans, I want to thank the 400 people who came out to my corn roast and barbecue on August 24, as well as the organizations participating.
They all contributed to its success.
Lastly, I would like to express my support and my sincere condolences to the Moroccan community in Orléans and Canada, as well as to the people of Morocco, following the devastating earthquake that struck Morocco.
My thoughts go out to my parliamentary assistant, Mahdi, and his family, who are originally from Marrakesh.
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- Sep/18/23 2:01:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I met with people across the country this summer, I heard the same message over and over again: young people locked out of the housing market who cannot find a place to rent and who now believe they may never be able to own a home of their own; families that have to renew their mortgages, thanks to the Liberal-NDP deficits, inflation and interest rate hikes, are afraid of losing their home; and seniors, thanks to the carbon tax, cannot afford healthy food and to pay their upcoming heating bills.
Canadian seniors, families and young people are the ones who are paying the price of the NDP-Liberal coalition and all their failures.
Canadians are hurting, and after eight years of inflationary Liberal-NDP spending and punishing carbon taxes on heating, eating and everyday life, it is easy to see that the Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.
To restore the Canada where young people could afford a home, to restore the Canada where seniors could afford to eat and heat their homes, to restore the hope of a better tomorrow, Canadians' only hope is a Conservative government.
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- Sep/18/23 2:02:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure I state that TCXpo, the epic second annual day of dynamic and interactive Canadian smart mobility technology demonstrations, will be hosted by Nepean-based Area X.O on Wednesday, September 27 in partnership with the Government of Canada and other sponsors.
Area X.O is an all-weather R and D complex for next generation smart mobility, autonomy and connectivity technologies, founded and operated by Invest Ottawa.
The only national demo of its kind in Canada, TCXpo will bring together hundreds of innovators, entrepreneurs, technology developers, industry leaders, regulators, smart mobility partners and stakeholders from Canada's capital and across the country.
TCXpo will showcase Ottawa's thriving tech ecosystem and the organizations that contribute technology and intelligence to future vehicles and other smart mobility innovations.
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- Sep/18/23 2:04:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one year ago, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, was arrested by the morality police on a street in Tehran. She was arrested for not wearing her hijab properly. Three days later, she succumbed to injuries sustained while in police custody.
Since then, she has become an icon. She inspired the Iranian people to rise up and call for justice from the mullah regime. Her face has since circled the globe as a symbol of solidarity with women fighting for their rights and freedoms in Iran.
One year on, Mahsa Amini still has a message for us, reminding us of our duty to demonstrate international solidarity and reminding us that women's rights are human rights. She inspires us to join all the Iranian women in making this heartfelt appeal to the Islamist regime: “Woman, Life, Freedom”.
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- Sep/18/23 2:05:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn the loss of Phil Lind.
Phil was a Rogers executive for 54 years, working alongside Ted Rogers to build a great Canadian company. Phil was also a tireless advocate for multilingual, multicultural and specialty programming.
In 1992, Phil had the vision to create CPAC, an independent broadcaster whose mission was to connect Canadians to their democratic institutions.
Phil remained steadfastly committed to CPAC and its mission as the indispensable voice of democracy in Canada for over 31 years.
He strongly believed that Canadian news should be told by Canadian producers.
As the founder of what is now Rogers Telefund, Phil spearheaded the process to ensure financing for Canadian film and television producers over four decades.
He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2002 and inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame in 2012.
He is survived by his children and partner Ellen. On behalf of all parliamentarians, join me in remembering this titan of Canadian business.
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- Sep/18/23 2:06:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, crime, chaos and disorder, this is the Prime Minister's legacy after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government.
Violent crime is up 39%. Vancouver homicide is up 55%. B.C.'s London Drugs reports a 500% increase in violence in its stores. Vancouver's JJ Bean Coffee Roasters has closed for good due to crime.
Canadians are living in fear, businesses are closing and the new justice minister says that it is all in their heads.
Vancouver's Light Up Chinatown festival ended in a triple stabbing by an accused who had stabbed his own teenage daughter to death. Celebration turned into fear and tragedy. On top of this is the out-of-control release of government-funded free hard drugs. Overdose is the leading cause of death among B.C. youth.
We need jail, not bail, for violent repeat offenders; mandatory prison time for violent crimes; treatment and recovery for those struggling with addictions; common sense not nonsense. Let us bring it home.
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- Sep/18/23 2:07:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, whether people are in my home riding of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour or in any town in any city across Canada, young entrepreneurs are taking their smart ideas and turning them into viable businesses.
For over 25 years, Futurpreneur has assisted over 17,000 entrepreneurs aged 18 to 39 launch new businesses in communities from coast to coast to coast. It has even helped launched one of Canada's most successful companies, Knix, whose founder Joanna now gives back by sitting as a board member.
I am thrilled to welcome Futurpreneur as it takes part in meetings on Parliament Hill today, including young entrepreneurs from across Canada, like Nicholas LaValle from my riding of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour. Nicholas is the founder of Clean Valley CIC, an innovative clean technology company that specializes in biofiltration.
I ask all members of the House to join me today in celebrating these entrepreneurs and their big ideas. Let us all support Futurpreneur today and into the future.
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- Sep/18/23 2:09:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure to be back in beautiful Ottawa with all my hon. colleagues.
This weekend, members of the Iranian and Kurdish communities across Canada convened to mark the first anniversary of the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, a courageous Kurdish-Iranian woman.
Following Mahsa's murder, over 500 individuals were killed and over 23,000 individuals were detained and incarcerated, yet, despite the Iranian regime's brutality, women, minorities, musicians and cultural luminaries within Iran remain defiant.
As we honour the memory of Jina Mahsa Amini, I would ask all members to listen to members of the Iranian and Kurdish communities in their demands for justice and peace for their loved ones back home.
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- Sep/18/23 2:10:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been said about leaders that many communicate, but few connect. The tremendous address by the Leader of the Opposition about hope and home a couple of weeks ago connected with Canadians from coast to coast, so much so that even the Prime Minister lifted lines from it.
Home has been described as both a place of origin and a place of destiny, a familiar and safe place, and Canadians are feeling truly homesick. They are lost somewhere between where they once were and where they hope to be.
After eight long years of the tired Liberal-NDP government, they find themselves in a strange place where crime is on the rise, the cost of living is soaring and the dream of home ownership is out of reach.
Canadians know that something has changed and it is not them. Canadians are longing for a place called home. As long and dark as Canada's night may be, I have hope that morning will dawn again in our country and with it the realization that our potential is still greater than our perils.
A common-sense Conservative government will bring home that promise for all Canadians. Let us bring it home.
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- Sep/18/23 2:11:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a great Canadian, the Hon. Hugh Segal.
A Conservative senator, who ran for the leadership of the PC Party of Canada, he was chief of staff to former Ontario premier Bill Davis and former prime minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney.
Committed to Canadians and the common good, Hugh was an author, a columnist, on the faculty of the Queen's School of Policy Studies, principal at Massey College and president of the Institute for Research on Public Policy.
Known for his generous conservativism and a champion of basic income, I came to know Hugh when I was Ontario's minister of community and social services, when I had the privilege of working with him on our basic income pilot, and we made it a reality. When the pilot was cancelled by the Ford government, Hugh remained positive, saying, “two steps forward, one step back.”
To his widow Donna and daughter Jacqueline, who are with us here today, may his life's work inspire Canadians and may his memory be a blessing.
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- Sep/18/23 2:12:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what do Canadians need to know about the leader of the official opposition and our next Prime Minister?
Many already know him as the common-sense leader Canada needs. His school teacher parents know him as the boy they adopted and raised in their modest home in the suburbs of Calgary. His dad knows him as the son he took to early morning hockey practice. His neighbours know him as the boy who delivered their newspaper. His two children, know him in français, espanol, and English as papa.
Canadians need to know when he says, “It doesn't matter who you know or where you're from, but rather who you are and where you're going.” Those are not just empty words to secure votes; he has lived it. It is common sense. Let us bring it home.
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- Sep/18/23 2:13:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal carbon tax on farmers who grow the food and the tax on truckers who ship the food is a tax on people who buy the food, and they want to quadruple the tax.
The Conservative leader would axe the tax, so that people pay less and bring home more, and so that they pay less for gas, groceries and home heating.
Carbon tax 1 will add over 45¢ a litre to diesel fuel and carbon tax 2 will add 16¢ cents more plus HST. By 2030, farmers and truckers will pay an extra 69¢ per litre in carbon taxes for fuel they must buy.
I have a newsflash: Food does not transport itself to the grocery store shelves.
A grocer in Dawson City, Yukon told me that he paid an over 94% surcharge on top of the regular cost to get his groceries to the store. After eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, half of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque and the government keeps raising taxes. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost.
The Conservatives will axe the tax, so Canadians pay less and bring home more.
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- Sep/18/23 2:14:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today I wish to acknowledge the loss of a great woman in Canadian politics, the Hon. Monique Bégin.
She was member of Parliament for Saint-Michel in 1972, and for Saint-Léonard—Anjou in 1974, 1979 and 1980. Not only was she a pioneer, becoming one of the first three Quebec women elected to the Canadian Parliament, but she also defended her progressive family values with conviction and success.
As Minister of National Health and Welfare, she was instrumental in securing unanimous support for legislative reforms that strengthened and broadened the universality and accessibility of our public health care system.
I invite all my colleagues to pay tribute to her. Let us continue to honour the women who, like the Hon. Monique Bégin, have broken down barriers so that women parliamentarians can be here in the House and occupy their rightful place in our government and in our society.
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- Sep/18/23 2:16:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for hundreds of thousands of Canadians, it has been an anxious, stressful and even tragic summer. Wildfires have ravaged forests from Nova Scotia to Vancouver Island. Sixteen million hectares have been burned, and 200,000 Canadians have been evacuated from their homes.
I want to thank all the firefighting crews on land and in the air for the difficult and courageous work they have undertaken to keep all of us safe. Tragically, four firefighters have lost their lives in that work this summer.
We need to support the thousands of volunteer firefighters across Canada, and we need a national wildfire fighting force to augment the local and provincial teams that have been overwhelmed, a well-trained force that could be deployed quickly wherever needed.
We need to act to stem the climate crisis that has overwhelmed all of us. With skyrocketing temperatures on land and sea, the planet is warning us that we are in uncharted territory and must act with the urgency and strength that this catastrophe demands.
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- Sep/18/23 2:17:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this was a climate change summer in Quebec. For some, it was rain; for others it was tornado alerts; but for all of us, the worst part was fire.
Fire darkened our skies and polluted our air. Fire burned the forests in my region and threatened our municipalities. Fire forced families to flee with just the bare essentials in their car and no idea what was in store for them.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to thank all those who fought the fires in Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou and elsewhere in Quebec. I salute the work of the mayors, law enforcement agencies and communities that pulled out all the stops to protect our people. In my region and neighbouring ones, people were ready, willing and able to help those who were displaced. I would also remind the federal government that there are still desperate needs.
The Bloc Québécois will continue to stand by the victims, the workers and the forestry and seasonal industries that need government support now more than ever.
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- Sep/18/23 2:18:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this summer, all members of the House have been inundated by messages from Canadians: Atlantic Canadians, Nova Scotians and, to me, most particularly, residents of the counties of Cumberland—Colchester in Nova Scotia who are in dire straits because of the punishing carbon tax. After eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, it is clear that Canadians can no longer afford to feed themselves, house themselves and, if they are lucky enough to have a dwelling, to heat it.
The number of calls, emails and letters with respect to the inability to afford to live is staggering. As a family physician for 26 years, I have never seen or heard of this amount of desperation in the lives of Canadians. The Liberal Prime Minister is asking more from Canadians than they can afford to pay. The Liberal Prime minister is not worth the cost. It is time to axe the carbon tax.
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