44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 23, 2024 10:00AM
- May/23/24 10:54:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his contribution to this evening's discussion and reflect on a couple of things.
What I personally found most troubling, as somebody who sat on the Emergencies Act parliamentary committee after the declaration, is that we know about extreme far-right movements. We know about what happened at the Coutts, Alberta border crossing, and we know about the group that was found there and about the weapons cache. That group was Diagolon; weapons and ammunition were found there, and that resulted in charges being laid of conspiracy to commit murder against the RCMP.
That is the exact same group that the Leader of the Opposition was engaging with intentionally just a few weeks ago on the east coast of this country, and I think it really begs a lot of questions about whether someone stands for and with law enforcement or whether they stand with the people who have been charged with potentially doing harm to law enforcement.
The second point is that I have also heard assertions that we are misinterpreting what the member for Carleton said about the notwithstanding clause and in fact, if he used it, that it would only be in a restricted manner.
First of all, I do not necessarily believe that, given the voting and track record of the Leader of the Opposition in terms of restrictions on women's rights, including women's rights to choose and recent voting patterns about women's access to free contraception. Second, I would say that the proof in writing is already on the wall, as in other instances where Conservative or right-leaning leaders of provincial governments around this country have either invoked or threatened to invoke the notwithstanding clause in areas that do not relate to criminal justice law.
I think about the usage by Scott Moe with respect to the LGBTQ community or about the threatened usage by Danielle Smith against trans kids. I did not hear a peep from the Leader of the Opposition about the inappropriateness of such an invocation of the notwithstanding clause, which really leads me to question, and I hope Canadians watching right now at this late hour are questioning, how much further it would go if it was invoked for the first time ever by a federal leader, should the member for Carleton assume the mantle of leadership in this country, and how many other rights would be subjugated.
These are really pressing concerns, and they should not be partisan, because they are about fundamental things like our basic rights and freedoms in this country. The member for Vancouver Granville put it quite clearly when he talked about how we do not get to do a grocery-style selection of which rights we are going to defend and which freedoms we are not going to defend. It is an entire package. It is called the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and it is important to stand up for all of the rights therein, even at times when it might not be popular, because ultimately those rights protect vulnerable people and vulnerable minorities from a potential tyranny of the majority. That is not the kind of Canada I want to live in. That is not the kind of Canada most Canadians want to live in.
What Canadians identify with, independent of their political stripe and independent of their voting patterns, are certain hallmarks about what defines us as Canadians, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is one of those key defining documents. That is why I stand behind it. That is why I always will stand behind it. My colleagues stand with me in that regard. I wish the official opposition would as well.
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- May/23/24 10:57:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition voted against same-sex marriage. Does the Attorney General have any confidence that, if given the opportunity, the leader of the Conservative Party would use the notwithstanding clause to take that right away from 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians?
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- May/23/24 10:58:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in that regard I have serious doubts about that, based on the voting pattern that I have seen thus far and the actions that I have observed thus far from the Leader of the Opposition in terms of interactions with the LGBTQ community and willingness to stand up for the rights of the LGBTQ community. I do not see that demonstrated by his actions thus far, and I think that is quite amplified by the fact that I also have not seen him criticize invocations of the notwithstanding clause that are already occurring in provinces in this country against that very same community. I will judge him by his actions, and his actions leave a lot to be desired.
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- May/23/24 10:58:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition voted against funding for Holocaust education and the Holocaust Education Centre in my riding. What confidence does the Attorney General have that the Leader of the Opposition, if given the opportunity, would continue to defund Holocaust education, and what would the consequences of that be?
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Mr. Speaker, I think that is actually appalling, given where we are with the alarming rise in anti-Semitism post October 7. We need to be doing everything we can to shore up the Jewish community and its need for safety and security at this time.
Apropos of that, I find it very troubling that the opposition articulated by the Leader of the Opposition to a bill that I am shepherding through this chamber, Bill C-63, was so vociferous that he did not even wait to read the document. He came out against it before it was even tabled. This is the very same document that groups like CIJA have gone on record about, saying that if we tackle online hatred, we will help them stop anti-Semitism online from turning into real-world consequences in the physical world.
Bill C-63 is critical for the safety of the Jewish community, as it is critical for many vulnerable groups, including Muslims and Arabs in the LGBTQ community, the Black community and the indigenous community. That is what we need to stand for as Canadians. That is what the opposition leader is standing against.
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- May/23/24 11:00:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was in government, launched a snitch line and launched a full frontal attack against Muslims in this country.
What confidence should Muslim Canadians have that, if given the opportunity, the Leader of the Opposition would indeed go after Muslims and attack their rights again?
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Mr. Speaker, I think the track record of the previous Harper government, in which the Leader of the Opposition played a part in its cabinet, is demonstrably curious with respect to that barbaric cultural practices hotline suggestion, with respect to interdictions on the citizenship ceremonies and what people could wear, and with respect to approaches towards settlement of Syrian refugees and who would be selected for settlement in Canada and who would not. The track record is not an enviable one.
On this side of the House, we stand completely opposed to such policies and have implemented policies that are vastly different. That includes challenging Islamophobia. That includes funding for the security infrastructure program to protect places of worship. That includes Bill C-63, which would tackle Islamophobia head-on and help keep all Canadians safe.
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- May/23/24 11:01:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be joining the House from the unceded lands of the Tseshaht and Hupacasath people in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in Nuu-chah-nulth territory.
We continue to hear the Liberal government talk about the toxic drug crisis as a public health issue, not a criminal justice issue. Will the minister tell us if he agrees that it is a public health issue, or is it a criminal justice issue in his eyes?
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- May/23/24 11:01:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with respect to the opioid crisis and the narcotic situation that British Columbia is facing, we have adopted an approach that it needs to be treated as a health issue. We have adopted policies of harm reduction since 2015 and will continue to do so.
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- May/23/24 11:02:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, why is the Liberal government making it a criminal issue east of the Rockies, for the rest of the country, if that is the position of the government?
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- May/23/24 11:02:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this issue has been dealt with as a health care issue since the start, and we have adopted that posture in many of our policies, including responding to the very direct ask by the B.C. government to pursue decriminalizing.
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- May/23/24 11:02:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what evidence does the minister have in terms of public safety concerns linked to simple drug possession?
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- May/23/24 11:02:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, many of these questions would perhaps be better put to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions or the Minister of Health, but what I can say is that we have analyzed the evidence that we have in terms of responding to direct asks for decriminalization.
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- May/23/24 11:02:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, these are justice issues and they are justice issues for every member of Parliament, so he can also answer with his position and viewpoint as a member of Parliament, not just as a cabinet minister.
How much does this government spend on policing drug offences versus investments in harm reduction and treatment and recovery?
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- May/23/24 11:03:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the police of jurisdiction would be able to answer that question on how much money is being spent on policing initiatives, including police of jurisdiction in localities such as Vancouver.
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- May/23/24 11:03:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, regarding the decision to allow the recent amendment of B.C.'s decriminalization pilot and the rejection of the Toronto application, despite the fact that we have seen an 11% decrease in toxic drug deaths in British Columbia since March of 2023 and we have seen a 17% rise in toxic drug deaths in Alberta and a 23% rise in Saskatchewan, what analysis was done to ensure that the right to life, liberty and security of the person for people at risk of dying was adequately considered?
Also, will the minister agree that criminal law has not and will not end drug possession and the use of illicit substances?
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- May/23/24 11:04:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I share the member's concerns about the deaths that are occurring. We are attempting to address this from a harm reduction perspective and a focus on health outcomes as opposed to criminal justice outcomes.
However, it is critical to understand that the responses that we have made have been at the behest or request of provinces or cities of jurisdiction. Thus far, we have had two such requests, one of which we granted and which we moderated when it was also requested of us, and the second one has been rejected.
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- May/23/24 11:04:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if that is the case, why did this government overrule the expertise of a local board of health and the support of the Toronto Police Service and cite public safety concerns to reject Toronto's decriminalization application?
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- May/23/24 11:05:07 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, I would indicate that some of these questions might be best put at committee of the whole to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, who will be here next Wednesday in a similar format. I would also reiterate that, under Bill C-5, changes were implemented to encourage alternative responses to simple possession.
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- May/23/24 11:05:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, why then is the government resorting to failed policy, perhaps preferring political optics over saving lives?
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