44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 23, 2024 10:00AM
- May/23/24 2:08:20 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's soft-on-crime agenda has led to a crime wave of motor vehicle theft, and Canadians are paying the cost. The cost of insurance claims for auto theft has skyrocketed to $1.5 billion, smashing the previous record. Not only are Canadians having their vehicles stolen, but they are also facing higher insurance premiums, thanks to the Liberal government's refusal to crack down on auto theft. In Ontario alone, the Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated that auto thefts added an extra $130 to insurance payments last year, and that number is set to go up again.
Conservatives would hit the brakes on auto theft. We would end the Liberal's catch-and-release justice system, which gives bail to repeat offenders within hours of their arrest, and we would repeal Bill C-5 to take away house arrest for auto theft, so criminals could no longer walk out their front door to steal another car. Our common-sense plan would protect people's property and bring home safe streets.
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- May/23/24 7:10:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I can indicate is that auto theft is on the rise in Canada right now.
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- May/23/24 7:10:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am aware that auto theft is on the rise in Canada as we speak.
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- May/23/24 7:10:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am aware that car theft is on the rise in Canada. That is why we are taking aggressive steps to address it, including in the fall economic statement, including in the budget and including in the national action plan to deal with auto theft, which was announced on Monday.
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- May/23/24 7:11:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he does have answers to these questions.
Can the minister tell us what percentage increase in car theft has taken place between 2015 and 2022?
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- May/23/24 7:11:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am aware that car thefts have gone up, and the number of car thefts in Canada in 2022 is 105,673 vehicles.
If the member is committed to combatting auto theft, what I would put to her is that she should get behind the fall economic statement and budget 2024, which deal with auto theft initiatives.
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- May/23/24 7:13:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am in contact with law enforcement in Toronto, including the TPS, and they have advised me that car thefts are up. I do not have the specific quantum. What I can reflect to the member opposite is that we are taking aggressive steps to deal with car theft in Toronto and throughout the country.
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- May/23/24 7:13:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been three times since 2019. Does the minister not agree that car theft is a problem?
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- May/23/24 7:14:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the member for Thornhill was listening, I had indicated that car theft is on the rise. Car theft is a serious problem. I have said that at the microphone many times, and we have taken significant steps to address it.
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- May/23/24 7:14:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated in this chamber, there is already a mandatory minimum sentence in place for people who are repeat offenders for auto theft.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be providing 10 minutes of remarks, and I will be welcoming questions from my parliamentary secretary, the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore. I will be using my time to discuss measures in the recent budget to combat crime, especially auto theft and money laundering. I will also touch on legal aid investments and provide an update of our work on online safety.
Auto theft is a serious problem that affects communities across the country. Not only does it affect people's wallets, it also causes them to feel unsafe. The number of these thefts has risen and, in some areas, they are growing more violent. These criminals are increasingly emboldened. Our government is committed to ensuring that police and prosecutors have the tools they need to respond to cases of auto theft, including thefts related to organized crime.
We also want to ensure that the legislation provides courts with the wherewithal to impose sentences commensurate with the seriousness of the crime. The Criminal Code already contains useful provisions for fighting auto theft, but we can do more.
This is why we are amending the Criminal Code to provide additional measures for law enforcement and for prosecutors to address auto theft. Bill C-69, the budget implementation act, sets out these proposed measures. These amendments would include new offences targeting auto theft and its links to violence and organized crime; new offences for possession and distribution of a device used for committing auto theft, such as key-programming machines; and a new offence for laundering proceeds of crime for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, a criminal organization. We are proposing a new aggravating factor at sentencing, which would be applied to an adult offender who involves a young person in the commission of the crime. These changes are part of the larger federal action plan on combatting auto theft that was just released on May 20.
Auto theft is a complex crime, and fighting it involves many partners: the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments, industry leaders and law enforcement agencies.
I will now turn to the related issue of money laundering. Addressing money laundering will help us to combat organized crime, including its involvement in automobile theft. However, the challenges associated with money laundering and organized crime go beyond auto theft.
That is why we are continually reviewing our laws so that Canada can better combat money laundering, organized crime and terrorist activity financing.
Bill C-69 would give us more tools to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. These new measures would allow courts to issue an order that requires a person to keep an account open to assist in the investigation of a suspected criminal offence. Currently, financial service providers often unilaterally close accounts where they suspect criminal activity, which can actually hinder police investigations. This new proposed order would help in that regard.
I hope to see non-partisan support from all parties, including the official opposition, on these measures to address organized crime. It would be nice to see its members support something, rather than simply use empty slogans or block actual solutions. We see this as well in their efforts to block Bill C-59, the fall economic statement, which has been in this chamber for literally months. That also contains a range of measures to combat money laundering, which have been asked for by law enforcement. For a party that prides itself on having a close relationship with law enforcement, I find this obstruction puzzling.
What is more, under Bill C-69, the courts will also be authorized to make an order for the production of documents for specific dates thanks to a repetitive production order. That will enable law enforcement to ask a person to provide specific information to support a criminal investigation on several pre-determined dates over a defined period. That means that the individual will be required to produce specific information to support a criminal investigation on several pre-determined dates.
These two proposals resulted from the public consultations that our government held last summer. We are committed to getting Bill C-69 passed by Parliament in a timely manner so that the new measures can be put in place as quickly as possible and so that we can crack down on these serious crimes as soon as possible.
I would now like to discuss our investments in legal aid. Just as we need to protect Canadians from crime, we also need to ensure that people have equitable access to justice, which is an integral part of a fair and just society, and a strong legal aid system is a key aspect of this. It strengthens the overall justice system. Budget 2024 includes measures to increase funding to criminal legal aid as well as legal aid for immigrants and for refugees to Canada.
For criminal legal aid, budget 2024 provides $440 million over five years, starting in 2024-25. This would support access to justice for Canadians who are unable to pay for legal support, in particular, indigenous people, individuals who are Black and other racialized communities who are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Indeed, legal representation helps to clear backlogs and delays in our court system as well.
This essential work is only possible with continued collaboration between federal, provincial and territorial governments. The proposed increase to the federal contribution will assist provinces and territories to take further actions to increase access to justice. This legal aid will help with the backlogs I just mentioned. Unrepresented and poorly represented litigants cause delays in our justice system. Making sure that these individuals have proper support and representation will help ensure access to a speedy trial. This, in combination with our unprecedented pace of judicial appointments, 106 appointments in my first nine months in office, will also address backlogs. In comparison, the previous Harper government would appoint 65 judges per year on average. I exceeded that amount in six months.
For immigration and refugee legal aid, budget 2024 would provide $273.7 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, and $43.5 million per year ongoing after that. This funding would help support access to justice for economically disadvantaged asylum seekers and others involved in immigration proceedings. This investment would help maintain the confidence of Canadians in the government's ability to manage immigration levels, and to resettle and integrate refugees into Canadian society. To do this very important work, Justice Canada continues to collaborate with provincial governments and with legal aid service providers, as well as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Together, we are exploring solutions to support sustainable access to immigration and refugee legal aid services.
Before I conclude, I would like to talk a little about Bill C-63, which was raised by the member for Fundy Royal. The bill addresses online harms and the safety of our communities online. Much has already been said about this very important legislation, which would create stronger protections for children online and better safeguards for everyone in Canada from online hate and other types of harmful content. What is critical about this bill is that it is dedicated to promoting people's participation online and not to limiting it.
This legislation is informed by what we have heard over five-plus years of consultations with diverse stakeholders, community groups, law enforcement and other Canadians. This bill focuses on the baseline responsibilities of social media platforms to manage the content they are hosting and their duty to keep children safe, which means removing certain types of harmful content and entrenching a duty to act responsibly.
This bill is about keeping Canadians safe, which is my fundamental priority and my fundamental duty as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of this country. It is about ensuring that there is actually a takedown requirement on the two types of most harmful material: child pornography and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, also known as revenge pornography.
There are five other categories of material that would be dealt with under this bill, including material that includes inciting violence, incitements to terrorism, hatred as defined by the Supreme Court of Canada, bullying a child and also inducing a child to self-harm. I am speaking now not only as the Minister of Justice but also as a father. I think that there is nothing more basic in this country for any parent or parliamentarian than keeping our children safe.
I am thankful for the opportunity to speak about how we are making Canada safer and making our justice system stronger, more accessible and more inclusive for all people.
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- May/23/24 8:17:42 p.m.
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Madam Chair, on the issue of the complexity of problems, I am going to go to auto theft.
The minister has been quite candid in acknowledging the fact that this is a serious problem. I find candour is a rare commodity in politics these days, so it is refreshing to see somebody who is willing to admit that there is a problem and that circumstances require a response, but one of the issues is auto theft. The minister spoke about this earlier. I am sure we will hear about it more tonight. One of the complexities is that it involves multiple levels of government and multiple parties.
Here is a fact: There are 800 fewer police officers in the streets in the GTA, where I come from, since 2015—
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- May/23/24 8:18:31 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is critical to be supporting local law enforcement, and what we are doing on auto theft is not only proposing amendments to how it is financed through the feds and through the budget, both of which the members opposite are opposing, but also funding law enforcement to the tune of $121 million, which we announced on January 31. What that does is help in Ontario and Quebec with putting more officers on the ground, so they can deal with the pressing need to enhance law enforcement.
We are beefing up supports through the CBSA with $28 million at the border. We are providing $15 million for things like better Interpol information exchange. Through record investments of about $170 million, plus dedicated changes to the legislation, we are tackling this issue. The number of intercepts is up. We are trying to bring the number of auto thefts down.
This is a comprehensive problem, and it requires a comprehensive solution. I would hope the members opposite would get on board with the legislation.
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- May/23/24 8:19:22 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with the members for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo and Calgary Forest Lawn.
The port of Montreal is the export hub for most stolen vehicles. According to the RCMP commissioner, “vehicle theft is reaching concerning volumes with a level of violence never seen in Canada”. The main reasons for that are the Prime Minister's incompetence and inability to take action to prevent auto theft
My question is this: How many violent car thieves have been given the maximum prison sentence by a court in 2024?
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- May/23/24 8:22:35 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to clarify something to the member across the way. When we amend the Criminal Code to increase a maximum prison sentence we are sending a message to judges and the justice system that we very strongly condemn auto theft.
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- May/23/24 8:23:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, what I can note is that the Canada Border Services Agency needs these investments to resolve the auto theft situation. With an investment of $28 million—
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- May/23/24 8:23:43 p.m.
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Madam Chair, does the minister honestly believe that simply recovering stolen cars and not arresting the criminals will stop auto theft?
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- May/23/24 8:24:01 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the measure is completely useless because there has never been a case where a criminal was arrested and received a maximum sentence for car theft. How can the minister try to make people believe that his proposal will change anything about auto theft?
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- May/23/24 9:19:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as members of Parliament, we were all elected by Canadians with the duty to improve their lives and make Canada a better and safer place. The issue of auto theft should not be partisan; at the end of the day, we are all here with a genuine wish to bring these crimes to an end. One way to do this is through collaboration. As we have seen, the federal government stood on Monday alongside police forces and municipalities.
Can the minister share with us his thoughts on the importance of cross-partisan collaboration, in order to put an end to auto theft crimes?
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- May/23/24 9:19:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I absolutely can. I will say that cross-party collaboration is happening, at least, between the federal and the provincial governments, with my counterparts in Ontario and Quebec, where I have a strong collaborative relationship with Attorney General Doug Downey. What we have said is that we need to be working together. That is why we are investing in law enforcement, which assists the province.
That is why we are making changes to the Criminal Code. What are those changes? We are introducing an aggravating factor where, if an adult organized criminal is using a child or an adolescent, we will ensure that they are subject to a tougher penalty. We are ensuring that if one does a carjacking, a violent car theft in broad daylight, one is subject to a tougher penalty of up to 14 years. If there are threats of violence or the involvement of organized criminality, that will trigger differential penalties.
In addition, the possession and distribution of the device that is used, the key fob theft devices, etc., will trigger additional penalties. These points are critical for tackling the pressing issue of auto theft. They have been welcomed by the law enforcement community and partisan people of every political stripe around this country at multiple levels. The only people who do not seem to be welcoming and embracing these changes are those in the official opposition, and it leads me to wonder why.
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