44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 23, 2024 10:00AM
- May/23/24 8:15:46 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I think there are a lot of issues here that we need to really understand.
First of all, I do make the appointments for the superior court-level judges around the country, at the superior courts, the courts of appeal and even, sometimes, the Supreme Court of Canada and the federal courts. The administration of justice, pursuant to our constitution, indicates that the administration of justice is the purview and constitutional responsibility of the provinces, so what the parliamentary secretary was indicating is exactly correct. That relates to the courthouses, the court personnel and even the Crown attorneys, and I do appreciate that there are Crown attorneys and former Crown attorneys in the room right now.
Their hiring, firing and promotion are all dictated by provincial edicts, provincial budgetary allotments, etc. That also applies to court clerks, court ushers, court translators and court personnel. All of those aspects relate to the administration of justice. That is the province's purview, not my purview.
That being said, I have a strong working relationship with various attorneys general right across the country. That is really important. We are constantly addressing some of their needs. Legal aid was raised by the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford. By supplying legal aid, we are ensuring that there are fewer unrepresented litigants in these courts. Unrepresented litigants take longer to move through the system because they do not have the benefit of counsel.
Second, I would raise, for the edification of the members opposite, that in this rush to pursue mandatory minimums, many of which have been found unconstitutional, we actually present an obstacle towards pursuing a path of potential trial resolution. If an accused individual knows that they will be facing a penalty no matter what, they are more likely to proceed all the way through to trial, which results in more delays and more backlogs.
There are a number of features here that we are trying to address. We are addressing all of them. I am certainly doing my part with judicial appointments, but we need to be working collaboratively with the Crown attorneys and the provinces in overall administration of the system.
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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 8:18:23 p.m.
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I am sorry, but I have to allow the hon. minister time to respond.
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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 8:19:18 p.m.
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Resuming debate.
The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable
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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 8:19:57 p.m.
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Madam Chair, what I can tell the member from Quebec is that the export of stolen vehicles from the port of Montreal is indeed a problem that we need to solve. However, the resale of vehicles is also happening across the country.
We made investments in the port to resolve this problem and we are already seeing results. The CBSA intercepted over 1,000 vehicles at the port of Montreal.
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- May/23/24 8:20:34 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I asked for a number. How many violent car thieves have been given the maximum prison sentence by a court in 2024? I want a number.
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- May/23/24 8:20:43 p.m.
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Madam Chair, those who resort to violence when stealing a vehicle will be subject to harsher sentences thanks to the changes that we—
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- May/23/24 8:20:53 p.m.
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- May/23/24 8:20:57 p.m.
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Madam Chair, how many violent car thieves were given the maximum prison sentence by a court in 2023?
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- May/23/24 8:21:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, from the situations that have been described to me by police officers in Quebec, we need to target the Criminal Code. We are making changes—
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- May/23/24 8:21:13 p.m.
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- May/23/24 8:21:15 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I just want a number. How many car thieves who used violence were given the maximum prison sentence by a court in 2021? I just want a number.
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- May/23/24 8:21:26 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the legislative changes we are making target those who use violence. This member has already said that he opposes changing the penalty for people who use violence—
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- May/23/24 8:21:37 p.m.
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- May/23/24 8:21:40 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will simplify my question. How many car thieves who used violence or car thieves in general were given the maximum prison sentence by a court since this Liberal Prime Minister was elected? I just want a number. How many received the maximum sentence?
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- May/23/24 8:21:55 p.m.
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Madam Chair, thanks to the investments we are making, according to the figures I have, 1,127 vehicles have been intercepted by the Canada Border Services Agency.
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- May/23/24 8:22:12 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I just want to be given a number. How many people have received a maximum sentence from a court? I will give the minister the answer. He knows full well that it is zero.
Can the minister tell us why the Prime Minister's grand plan is to increase maximum prison sentences to 14 years in prison when no one has been given a maximum sentence in nine years?
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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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