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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
Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)
  • May/23/24 10:04:44 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the supplementary estimates (A), 2024-25.
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Mr. Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, NDP)
  • May/23/24 7:47:46 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I wish to notify the Chair that I am going to be using my 15 minutes to delve right into questions. I appreciate having this opportunity to speak with the minister at the committee of the whole regarding the estimates for the department. I want to get started on a question regarding legal aid. I note that in these main estimates, the contributions for criminal legal aid would decrease by $57 million, from $193.8 million to $136.8 million. One of the biggest barriers to justice in this country is being able to afford legal representation. Too often, the most vulnerable Canadians do not have access to competent legal assistance in an already overburdened justice system. While legal aid is primarily the responsibility of provincial governments, there is a role for the federal government in providing funding. Can the minister explain why the amounts allocated to contributions for criminal legal aid are being reduced in such a substantial way?
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • May/23/24 7:48:49 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I can simply say that is actually an incorrect understanding of what is in the estimates. What is happening there is that we are seeing money that was a one-off allocation that is being eliminated. However, as I mentioned in my 10-minute speech, what is in budget 2024 is a five-year horizon of criminal legal aid that expands the envelope to much greater than it previously was, with $440 million over five years being provided to criminal legal aid through budget 2024, and $270 million over five years for immigration and refugee legal aid. That is a sum total of $710 million being provided to legal aid in those two categories over the next five years, which is a dramatic increase.
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Mr. Mark Gerretsen
  • May/23/24 9:25:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, correct me if I am wrong, but the questions that are posed tonight are supposed to be with respect to the estimates. Is that correct? If so, the last line of questioning has significantly deviated from that.
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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Hon. Arif Virani
  • May/23/24 10:29:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I would say, in terms of transparency, is that the member opposite's voting record includes voting against $83 million in funding through supplementary estimates (B) that would help with gun and gang violence in this country.
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