Hon. Renée Dupuis: Welcome, minister. For decades, many First Nations have been asking the federal government for adequate police and public safety services.

For example, I am thinking of the James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, where tragic events have led to the death of community members. This community has asked the government to put in place Indigenous police services.

I am also thinking of the legal action taken, including by the First Nation of Pekuakamiulnuatsh, in Quebec, against the federal government. A decision by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal confirmed that inadequate funding constitutes discrimination.

In the 2023-24 departmental plan, a joint plan that you submitted with the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, you indicated that promoting public safety approaches led by Indigenous peoples remains an absolute priority.

Minister, what is your action plan and what deadlines does your department have for eliminating this discrimination against First Nations and putting in place police services under the authority of each First Nation?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Thank you very much for the thoughtful question, senator. I would begin by underlining that foreign interference impacts every aspect of life: our economy, our democratic institutions — including some of the profoundly concerning reports that we’ve heard around parliamentarians — and, equally, communities themselves. The degree to which we are seeing transnational repression impact for the purposes of discouraging members of the communities from fully participating in their communities is one of the singular motivations that has seen us create new authorities and new mechanisms of transparency.

It is that last value that I want to take a quick moment to expand on. Even as the debate continues on what the best path forward is, for me, and based on the conversations that I have had with Canadians, we have to put them at the centre of this exercise. I believe that by having public hearings that engage Canadians directly and thoughtfully on the tools we need to equip our establishment with to protect ourselves from foreign interference is the way to refine these tools to ensure we are dealing with and reducing foreign interference and building the confidence of Canadians in our institutions.

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Canadians can trust that they will get the answers they deserve on foreign interference because it is our government that has created the NSICOP and NSIRA. It is our government that has appointed a Special Rapporteur to shine a light on the way in which this government is dealing with and combatting foreign interference.

The trouble that I have with the Conservative Party of Canada’s position on this issue is that while we have offered time and again the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, an opportunity to be briefed at the highest classified levels, thus far, he has refused to take the briefing. Our suggestion is that he take the briefing so he can be equipped with the information he needs to have a thoughtful conversation about how we can fight foreign interference together.

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Hon. Claude Carignan: Minister, in 2018, you legalized the use of cannabis. Then just about everything you were told would happen did happen. The black market still exists, it is competing with the legal distribution network and consumption among youth has increased.

Studies show that one third of Canadians surveyed who have used cannabis in the past year reported having driven while under the influence of the drug. There were 541 children hospitalized across the country for cannabis poisoning between January and September 2021. You were warned about all these types of incidents.

The Competition Bureau of Canada now wants to stimulate consumption, foster innovation and ask for higher THC limits.

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Thank you for the question, senator. It has to be as quickly as possible, but it has to be in the right way. That is the enduring lesson of reconciliation. I assure you that we have been working around the clock with Indigenous leaders, including Regional Chief Teegee and Regional Chief Picard, both of whom sit on the joint task force for Indigenous policing with the Assembly of First Nations, or AFN, but equally with rights holders and title holders directly in their communities, to ensure that we are building this legislation in a manner that is consistent with the principles of co-development.

In the meantime, we have allocated a historic level of funding under the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program, which we are rolling out at an accelerated rate — $860 million. This is resulting in concrete progress, like the announcements we have made with Siksika Nation, with James Smith Cree Nation and in Nunavut, as well as the work we are doing in the Mohawk territory, including in Akwesasne, where just last week we made another global announcement of $12.1 million in partnership with Chief Abram Benedict. That is the proof that we are making progress, but we still have work to do on the legislation; we are committed to doing it.

[Translation]

Hon. Yuen Pau Woo: Good afternoon, minister. The so-called Montreal police stations that Senator Housakos has maligned is the Service à la Famille Chinoise du Grand Montréal, an organization that has been providing community services to Chinese Canadians in Montreal for nearly 50 years. You have said the so-called police station at the centre has been shut down, but you have not provided any information about when it operated, what it did, what was objectionable about what it did, who was involved and, most importantly, how the centre can recognize such activity so that it does not happen again. Minister, when will you clear the good name of the Service à la Famille Chinoise du Grand Montréal so they can continue to do the good work they have been doing for nearly 50 years?

Hon. Marty Klyne: Minister, your mandate letter includes continued work with First Nations partners to co-develop a legislative framework for First Nations policing, and to continue to engage with the Inuit and Métis on policing matters.

You previously indicated your hope to table such legislation in fall 2022. However, last month, The Canadian Press reported uncertainty about when — and if — the government will table a First Nations policing bill this year, including to recognize First Nations policing as an essential service. I note that Budget 2021 made significant funding commitments for the co-development process. Minister, in terms of delivering the subject legislation, when can Canadians expect the bill’s introduction?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: That was, perhaps, one of the most educational and enriching experiences that I have had as the Minister of Public Safety — and as someone who comes from the big city of Toronto. I was able to go to the Yukon and take a trip on the Dawson Overland Trail with people who are gun owners — people who are not only engaging in a hobby because, for them, this is a pastime. It’s part of the fabric of who they are.

I was there to see how they carry out this pastime in a way that is safe and secure, as well as how they use legal firearms to hunt, trap and, in some cases with First Nations communities, protect themselves from the wildlife that is there. I assured them that Bill C-21 is not about targeting law-abiding gun owners, as we often hear by the Conservative Party, but rather going after the AR-15-style firearms that have been used and could be used again in the future in mass shootings.

As you know, the Mass Casualty Commission from Nova Scotia called on our government to strengthen the national ban against those AR-15-style firearms. We took that action, and we did it with a broad consensus of three of the four major recognized parties in the House of Commons, but also in a way that is respectful of life in the North. That will continue to be the way in which we do this work.

[Translation]

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: I want to thank you, senator, for the question. The first and most important principle I would underline is that — and I hope this is a sentiment that we all share — any foreign interference should be both held accountable and condemned, as it is contrary to the Canadian national interest. Our government has put into place the tools that are necessary to deal with that scourge as it becomes increasingly pervasive and complex.

My job as the Minister of Public Safety is to advocate for the new tools that our security establishment is advocating for, as well as ensure that we bring along Canadians who may be marginalized or stereotyped — because it is they who, at times, have been the victims of foreign interference. I want to assure you, as I have in the past, that we will continue to have that dialogue going forward.

In regard to the so-called police stations and the foreign interference activities that have been reported in relation to them, as you know, the RCMP has made public statements that they have disrupted those activities in the past. In any ongoing investigations going forward, questions should be directed to them because they are conducting those operations in a manner that is independent from the elected government — consistent with constitutional principles.

Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais Minister, I want to come back to Bill C-21. Do you think it will prevent crimes committed by street gangs in Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal, when the bill will simply hurt law-abiding citizens who take the time to register their firearms?

Hon. Pat Duncan: Minister Mendicino, thank you for your attendance today. In January, you travelled to the Yukon, and met with the Canadian Rangers, the Yukon Fish and Game Association and gun owners, as well as the Yukon government and the First Nations government. You also went out on the land and stated to the Yukon media that you were “able to experience . . . how firearms are used safely and responsibly.” You concluded your quote to the local media by saying that you learned a lot.

Minister, in my efforts as the senator representing my region, would you tell me how this learning experience — what you heard from Yukoners — is reflected in Bill C-21?

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Madam Speaker, I share the honourable senator’s concerns about the challenges that individuals face when dealing with mental health and substance use issues, including drugs.

In the context of the federal government’s approach, the work being done by Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, focuses on public health and mental health services to help those who need it.

[English]

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: As I answer that question, I do think it’s important to shine a light on the significance of the work and the function of the office that I occupy as Minister of Public Safety when it comes to signing CSIS warrants. These are among the most powerful tools of surveillance that the service uses to keep our country safe, which is why it is incredibly important that, in my role as minister, I look very carefully at those warrants to be assured that they comply with all of the rigours of the law. That is a part of the way in which we strike a balance between ferreting out threats to national security but doing it in a way that is consistent with the values of the Charter, so that each of us can continue to enjoy our rights as individual citizens.

Yes, there is urgency to this work, but it is also not a rubber-stamp process. That is one of the most important responsibilities that I exercise in this office.

[Translation]

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: I want to thank you, senator, for that question. Like you, I am deeply concerned about the rise of far-right extremism, a movement and a phenomenon that is based on ideologically extreme motivations. We have seen it take many different shapes including in the illegal blockades a little more than a year ago.

To be clear, what we are talking about is a very small but hardened subset of the individuals who participated in that — to use the words we’ve now heard publicly reported from the cell at Coutts — to “go down” for their cause. We all need to be very much sober about what that threat is.

At the same time, the government has taken concrete action, listing entities like the Proud Boys, which is a notorious White supremacist group based largely out of the United States. We need to continue to be vigilant in giving the tools to our establishment so that they can look at the intelligence and analyze it, but do it in the right way. This is what we’re doing on the accountability and the enforcement side.

The other thing the government needs to do, though, is to engage with Canadians to look at the root causes of these movements and address them through strategies of dialogue that address disinformation and make sure we are reducing those risks as we go forward. That’s work we’re doing with the G7, Five Eyes and others.

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Thank you, minister, for being with us today. I would like to query you about the rise of far-right extremist movements in Canada. We saw some of this spill over in real time when some members of the “Freedom Convoy” terrorized the residents of Ottawa for three weeks. What is the government doing to track this? Specifically, are you tracking how these extremists are influencing politicians in Canada? Are intelligence agencies briefing parliamentarians who are being targeted by the far-right extremist movements? I know the talk is all about foreign interference, but what about domestic interference?

Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: Thank you for being with us today, minister. My question has to do with community safety. In your December 21, 2021, mandate letter, you are asked to do the following, and I quote:

 . . . make our communities safe and increase forest resilience to wildfire, including training 1,000 new community-based firefighters, investing in equipment . . . to reduce risks from wildfire . . . .

How many new firefighters have you trained and what new equipment has been acquired? As senators know, Canada manufactures excellent water bombers.

The Hon. the Speaker: Thank you, minister.

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Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Thank you for your question. That is a really important and essential subject, particularly given the fires that are currently raging in Nova Scotia. Our thoughts are with Canadians in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

In Budget 2022, the federal government invested $516 million to train 1,000 new firefighters. That shows our dedication to strengthening firefighters’ ability to fight fires. Finally, I would like to add that, with climate change, there is an increased risk of wildfires that must be managed through additional investments for firefighters.

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Hon. Michèle Audette: Minister, I have two questions about working with Indigenous leaders. The bill responds to a Call for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. There are groups of Indigenous women living in the communities who could propose initiatives or share important messages, knowing that our communities are in crisis, including my own.

With the growing problems of drug trafficking and violence, police officers are running out of steam. Do you have any immediate solutions?