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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 316

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 23, 2024 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Mr. Bryan May (Cambridge, Lib.)
  • May/23/24 2:18:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the work of the military veterans wellness program, championed by Constable Aaron Dale of the Toronto police. This program provides increased training and awareness for law enforcement assisting veterans in crisis. In my riding, constables David Cassidy and Brian Serapiglia have been instrumental in bringing the program to Waterloo region. Thanks to their initiative, we can provide our first responders with a better understanding of military culture and de-escalation training, and we can rapidly refer veterans to national support services. This partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada has expanded to 80 police forces, helping over 200 veterans to date. I encourage all my colleagues in the House to reach out to their local law enforcement to ensure that they have access to this incredible free program. Together, we can equip Canadian law enforcement with the tools they need to support veterans across Canada.
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Mr. Tako Van Popta
  • May/23/24 9:38:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Constable Shaelyn Yang of the Burnaby RCMP was murdered in October 2022, about 18 months ago. She was stabbed to death by a drug-crazed person when she was doing a wellness check at a homeless camp in Burnaby. This happened right at the time when the current Liberal government together with the NDP provincial government of British Columbia tried a pilot project of decriminalizing drugs. Now that is not working. Clearly it has been a disastrous failed experiment, and it is now being rolled back to some degree, but would the minister agree that it is a failed experiment that should be rolled back completely for the sake of public safety?
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Mr. Tako Van Popta
  • May/23/24 9:39:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about Constable Greg Pierzchala of the OPP, who was murdered by a man who was out on bail for similar crimes. There were bail restrictions of course, but the police who were in charge of those told the justice committee that they did not have the tools, the resources, the ability or the manpower to be able to supervise those bail conditions. What can the minister tell us about helping police and giving them the resources so they can keep people safe?
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Hon. Arif Virani
  • May/23/24 9:40:33 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-48 
Mr. Speaker, let me just outline the tremendous courage, bravery and service of people like Constable Pierzchala and Constable Yang. We are in debt, as always, to men and women in uniform who serve in this country. With respect to Constable Pierzchala, his murder started a very important conversation over a year ago about bail reform, which we responded to with pace, in conjunction with law enforcement and with provincial and territorial governments around the country. That produced Bill C-48, which we passed in a short amount of time, ensuring that we changed bail laws in this country.
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Mr. Frank Caputo
  • May/23/24 10:35:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, would Constable Pierzchala's alleged killer have been detained on the bail law that the minister has lauded so many times today?
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Hon. Arif Virani
  • May/23/24 10:35:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Constable Pierzchala's death was a tragedy, and it motivated us to act, and act quickly. I am thankful for the support of that member in terms of the quick passage of that bill.
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