Hon. Pierre J. Dalphond: Welcome, minister. My question is about handguns, the tools that are designed to kill or harm people, and how they limit people and are of limited social value.

In the previous Parliament, the government introduced Bill C-21, An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms), which included measures to support local prohibitions on handguns. Much criticism has been expressed regarding the implementation of local prohibitions instead of a national one.

Minister, do you see merit in a national ban on handguns? When are we going to see action on this issue? Thank you.

The Hon. the Speaker: Order, please. Senator Wells, you asked your question. The minister is answering. If you do not like your answer, you can take it up with the minister afterwards.

One of those powers allowed the RCMP, in conjunction with financial institutions, to seize assets, but it was for the purposes of restoring public safety, which we were able to do with the least amount of force, the least amount of injuries and certainly no fatalities. I think that is something we should be grateful for given the challenge of the situation.

I know that since we’ve revoked the Emergencies Act that the RCMP and financial institutions have been taking steps to appropriately render those accounts that were frozen and —

Hon. Claude Carignan: Minister, I had several questions for you. Things don’t seem to be going very well in your department. I had to stick to one question, out of all the areas that concern me. This question is very important for the Montreal region, and it concerns firearms trafficking.

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Huge numbers of illegal firearms are coming across the border, especially across the St. Lawrence River through the Akwesasne reserve, and they end up on the streets of Montreal. There is a big problem with illegal guns in Montreal.

In a radio interview with Paul Arcand on September 16, 2021, Prime Minister Trudeau said, “We are working on tougher penalties for those who resell their weapons illegally.”

The host asked if that meant he was prepared to increase prison sentences, and Mr. Trudeau replied, “Absolutely.”

Mr. Trudeau was campaigning at the time, under the banner of the Liberal Party in those days. Once they came to power, however, not only did the Liberals not increase penalties, they actually reduced them by eliminating some mandatory minimum penalties in a bill.

What do you have to say to the listeners of Mr. Arcand, the most listened-to host in Canada, the ones who voted for the Liberals at that time?

Senator Carignan: For sentencing, you are doing the opposite.

Senator Boisvenu: Is the RCMP required to respect Canadian laws, yes or no?

Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Minister, thank you for being with us in the Senate of Canada. I also want to tell you that I miss you, and want to thank you for helping me with so many files on vulnerable women and children. Thank you, minister.

My question follows upon Senator Pate’s questions. The rates of incarceration of Indigenous women have skyrocketed over the past decades. Nearly half of the women in federal prisons are now Indigenous, and almost 10% are Black. Your mandate letter includes commitments to reconciliation and addressing systemic racism in the criminal legal system.

Minister, you have spoken so eloquently today on the legal system and the challenges within it. We know that one of the challenges is mandatory minimum sentences. Your government has brought forward Bill C-5 that looks at only 14 offences subject to mandatory minimum sentences. Will you give us a commitment to looking at how we can increase the number of offences exempt from mandatory minimum sentencing?

The Hon. the Speaker: I’m sorry to interrupt you, senator, but the minister has arrived, so we will now proceed to Question Period.

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Thank you for your question, senator, because it’s a very important one these days. As you know, yesterday, Minister Guilbeault made an important announcement about what we need to do to accelerate progress on climate change. We must invest $8.1 billion to make more progress on green infrastructure. I hope that this funding will help transform government services, including within my own department, the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency, along with all of the other agencies in my portfolio. For example, vehicles and the transportation industry account for a lot of emissions. I think there is a huge opportunity to use federal investments to accelerate our efforts to reduce GHG emissions and work harder on climate change.

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Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Thank you, senator, for the question. Our rationale for invoking the act, in short, was that it was necessary, and the necessity of invoking the act manifested in the challenges posed by the efforts of those participating in the illegal blockades, which created significant interruptions to not only our economy but also public safety across the country. In Coutts, for example, there were very serious charges laid under the Criminal Code, and here in Ottawa, the illegal occupation laid siege to public safety for a number of weeks. While I agree that there were laws that were on the books, what’s important, senator, is that those laws, at the time of the illegal blockades and occupation, were not effective at restoring public safety.

It was only after careful deliberation and after the advice that had been offered by all levels of the police service — including the commissioner of the RCMP, the commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police and the president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police — that we invoked the act. We invoked it because existing authorities were not effective. Yes, we reached deep into the tool box to use the Emergencies Act for the first time, but it was used responsibly and with restraint, and it helped to restore public safety.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I give notice that, at the next sitting of the Senate, I will move:

That the papers and evidence received and taken and work accomplished by the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights during the First Session of the Forty-second Parliament and the Second Session of the Forty-third Parliament as part of its study of issues related to human rights be referred to the committee.

Hon. Tony Loffreda: Thank you, Minister Mendicino, for joining us today. My question is on cybersecurity. This is an issue that touches all aspects of our lives. We live in an increasingly complex digital world, and we cannot afford to take cyberthreats lightly. You tabled your departmental plan for 2022‑23 earlier this month. In it you’ve made commitments related to cybersecurity, including continuing your work on a critical cybersystems framework to protect our cybersystems in the finance, telecommunications, energy and transportation sectors.

In this rapidly evolving ecosystem, can you elaborate further on what potential initiatives or approaches have been identified to strengthen Canada’s resilience to new threats, hazards and risks? What is the level of concern?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Thank you very much, senator, for the question. I would begin by stating that we are on an appropriately high alert for potential attacks against our cyberinfrastructure. We are living in a very unique moment right now where there are geopolitical events, including in Ukraine but also elsewhere — even here on Canadian soil with the events over the past number of weeks and months — that require that we put in place the necessary investments, tools and supports to ensure that we can protect our cyberspace.

It’s important that — as you pointed out — we move forward with the legislation that gives the appropriate supports for our national security apparatus but, equally, that we work closely with the private sector. Essential work is being done by the Communications Security Establishment, or CSE, and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security to ensure there is education and support in the way of smart cyberhygiene around two-factor password authentication — as well as good, smart practices when it comes to using our mobile devices and other sensible approaches — so that we can ensure that our national interests, security and economy are protected and we can continue to grow and advance with all of the opportunities that lie before us.

Hon. Brian Francis: Minister Mendicino, in 2019 we passed legislation to expedite and reduce barriers for the suspension of records for simple possession of cannabis. Not long ago, the CBC reported that, of the 10,000 people the government initially estimated would be eligible, only 484 suspensions have been granted so far. Minister, given the low uptake of the program after three years, is there any thought of revisiting the program to make criminal record relief more accessible, especially for Indigenous people as well as racialized and marginalized communities?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Thank you, senator. I would begin by saying that I am very open to that concept, and I have had conversations with a number of your colleagues in this chamber as well as with parliamentarians in the other place. As I said earlier, I feel very strongly that we have to look at ways to continue to reform our criminal justice system in a way that gives access to justice and ensures that inmates have every opportunity to rehabilitate themselves.

I think one element of that is by looking at the pardon system that we currently have. In fact, I recently spoke with the Chairperson of the Parole Board of Canada, or PBC — just today, as a matter of fact — and this issue came up.

I assure you it is very much on my radar, but I don’t want to leave you or others in this chamber with the impression that we’re sitting idly by while we contemplate that. We’ve reduced barriers already.

For example, we reduced fees from what they used to be at $650 to $50. This will, we think, enhance access so that those who have fulfilled their sentence and obligations within our correctional services system have every opportunity to reintegrate into their communities, seek gainful employment and be positive contributors back in society. That has to be a pillar that underscores our criminal justice system.

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Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais: Minister, a few weeks ago in Quebec City, you acknowledged yet again that your government must do more with respect to gun control.

I have to tell you that I am somewhat frustrated by this political rhetoric that does not translate into action, even though action is urgently needed. This is not the time to be holding summits on violence; it is time to take concrete action on the ground.

As a former police officer, I know — just as you surely do, unless you have poor advisers — that the guns are arriving from the United States through the Akwesasne reserve, where your government has no right to intervene.

Why not use the information you have to carry out targeted operations around the reserve, in Quebec and Ontario? Are traffickers still free to cross through the Akwesasne reserve because the government has no courage, or is it because the government is afraid of how Indigenous people will react?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: We need to work together with Indigenous communities, even in Quebec, where I know the Canada Border Services Agency, the RCMP and the Sûreté du Québec continue to work with this community to prevent illegal firearms trafficking.

You are right. The work isn’t easy, and there are complications. That’s one of the reasons I travelled to the United States last week to accelerate and strengthen our collaboration with our American counterparts. I believe that there is an opportunity to make further progress on this issue by making investments, and that is one of the things our government promised.

We have to focus on efforts on the ground and invest the necessary resources. We have to be able to provide all the tools to those on the front lines so they can stop firearms at the border.

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Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Thank you very much for the question, senator, and thank you for underlining the scourge of human trafficking, which disproportionately impacts Indigenous women and young girls, as we saw painfully laid out in the MMIWG report, which is one of the reasons why we’re committed to implementing the recommendations that are in it.

I was just in British Columbia a little less than two weeks ago to make an announcement of approximately — and I don’t want to mislead you — but I think it was $3 million to $5 million that was going directly to The Salvation Army and a partnering organization to combat human trafficking on the ground. This is part of a broader investment which we have allocated specifically to reduce human trafficking; I don’t know if you know the statistics, but 90% of all of the victims of human trafficking in Canada are women or young girls, which is truly a shocking number.

I assure you that this is a top priority. I assure you that we are allocating funds to meet that challenge and to provide support to those victims of human trafficking so that they can find their way back into communities safely and securely. I assure you that we are continuing to provide law enforcement with all the tools that they need to fight this scourge.

[Translation]

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Minister, the 2019 Final Report of the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls noted that while Indigenous women represented only 4% of Canada’s population in 2016, they comprised nearly 50% of victims of human trafficking. In September 2019, just before the federal election that year, the Trudeau government reinstated the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking after cancelling the previous Conservative government’s strategy in 2016.

Minister, how much of the $75 million under your government’s strategy has been allocated to directly help and protect Indigenous women and girls against human trafficking? How has this funding been allocated?

Hon. Pamela Wallin: Minister, when testifying last night before the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency. The Honourable Perrin Beatty, the architect of the act said:

Emergencies legislation is designed to be legislation of last resort. It’s explicit on that. It is designed to be used when there is no other legal authority available.

Now that it has been used, it has become easier to invoke. You must not define down the threshold at which extraordinary powers are used to curtail civil liberties.

He continued:

That it made law enforcement easier is clear. However, the issue is whether the deliberately high threshold was met, not whether the powers given were useful.

Of course, the police have said that it was a useful deterrent. The Prime Minister said that he didn’t like or agree with the people. You have said the security of the nation was at stake. Many others have said it was unnecessary as the police had existing powers.

Minister, what then was your government’s actual rationale for invoking the act? It’s a precedent. Please state it as simply and clearly as possible. Thank you.