Bill C-75 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to, among other things,
(a) modernize and clarify interim release provisions to simplify the forms of release that may be imposed on an accused, incorporate a principle of restraint and require that particular attention be given to the circumstances of Aboriginal accused and accused from vulnerable populations when making interim release decisions, and provide more onerous interim release requirements for offences involving violence against an intimate partner;
(b) provide for a judicial referral hearing to deal with administration of justice offences involving a failure to comply with conditions of release or failure to appear as required;
(c) abolish peremptory challenges of jurors, modify the process of challenging a juror for cause so that a judge makes the determination of whether a ground of challenge is true, and allow a judge to direct that a juror stand by for reasons of maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice;
(d) increase the maximum term of imprisonment for repeat offences involving intimate partner violence and provide that abuse of an intimate partner is an aggravating factor on sentencing;
(e) restrict the availability of a preliminary inquiry to offences punishable by imprisonment for a term of 14 years or more and strengthen the justice’s powers to limit the issues explored and witnesses to be heard at the inquiry;
(f) hybridize most indictable offences punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years or less, increase the default maximum penalty to two years less a day of imprisonment for summary conviction offences and extend the limitation period for summary conviction offences to 12 months;
(g) remove the requirement for judicial endorsement for the execution of certain out-of-province warrants and authorizations, expand judicial case management powers, allow receiving routine police evidence in writing, consolidate provisions relating to the powers of the Attorney General and allow increased use of technology to facilitate remote attendance by any person in a proceeding;
(h) re-enact the victim surcharge regime and provide the court with the discretion to waive a victim surcharge if the court is satisfied that the victim surcharge would cause the offender undue hardship or would be disproportionate to the gravity of the offence or the degree of responsibility of the offender; and
(i) remove passages and repeal provisions that have been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada, repeal section 159 of the Act and provide that no person shall be convicted of any historical offence of a sexual nature unless the act that constitutes the offence would constitute an offence under the Criminal Code if it were committed on the day on which the charge was laid.
The enactment also amends the Youth Criminal Justice Act in order to reduce delays within the youth criminal justice system and enhance the effectiveness of that system with respect to administration of justice offences. For those purposes, the enactment amends that Act to, among other things,
(a) set out principles intended to encourage the use of extrajudicial measures and judicial reviews as alternatives to the laying of charges for administration of justice offences;
(b) set out requirements for imposing conditions on a young person’s release order or as part of a sentence;
(c) limit the circumstances in which a custodial sentence may be imposed for an administration of justice offence;
(d) remove the requirement for the Attorney General to determine whether to seek an adult sentence in certain circumstances; and
(e) remove the power of a youth justice court to make an order to lift the ban on publication in the case of a young person who receives a youth sentence for a violent offence, as well as the requirement to determine whether to make such an order.
Finally, the enactment amends among other Acts An Act to amend the Criminal Code (exploitation and trafficking in persons) so that certain sections of that Act can come into force on different days and also makes consequential amendments to other Acts.

Public Safety

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Madam Speaker, does “Peace, Order, and good Government” have a familiar ring? It is in the Constitution Act, 1867, and that was just part of what Canada was: A place where there was order, good government and peace. Compared to the big, bad U.S.A. and its wild frontier, we had stability in Canada.

What have we become after 10 years of the Liberal government? The motto should now be “crime, chaos and failing government”.

Why do I say that? In the past 10 years, violent crime has gone up 54% and sexual assaults are up 75%. The focus of my comments, referring to the question I had during question period, is on extortion, and it is up a lot.

What is extortion? It is the threat of violence to get cash; it is the classic shakedown of businesses and individuals to get them to pay up. It is not just threats; it is following up on the threats to business with violence, arson, shootings, beatings or killings. We see it in the gangster movies in New York City, in The Godfather or Mafia!, but I am not talking about New York City in the 1930s or 1940s; I am talking about Canada now.

Extortion is up 330% across Canada, and in B.C., where I am from, it is up nearly 500%. My community of Maple Ridge is a beautiful community and a beautiful part of the world, but we even have it right there. The paper reported just last week that a home that had already been targeted was shot at again in the middle of the night. The residence is associated with an individual connected with the Punjabi music industry. There had been extortion threats in the past, and the person had fled the country. In the neighbourhood, they are still wondering; there is still that disruption, insecurity and fear for the surrounding families.

In the same 24 hours, Surrey saw two separate incidents. A residence tied to a Punjabi music producer was once again targeted, and a Surrey industrial business was targeted twice in two days: The suspects poured gasoline on vehicles and, hours later, shot up the property while workers were present.

These types of events used to shock us and used to be rare. Now, they are becoming disturbingly familiar across B.C. This should not be normal; it must not be acceptable, and it is not the Canada that Canadians deserve. Police departments have raised the alarm. Community leaders have cried out for help, and victims have been asking for immediate help.

What have the Liberals been doing? They have tinkered around the edges, defended policies that are clearly not working and refused to confront the legislative choices that have helped to create this crisis.

Extortion is not just a crime; it is a cloud of tar over public safety. Victims live in constant fear unless their perpetrators, all of them, are behind bars, which is a process that can take years. The Liberals are more interested in bail, not jail, as opposed to Conservatives, who want to put them behind bars to keep our public safe, which is our first priority.

The Liberals continue to defend the very legislation that helped create this situation. Bill C-5 eliminated mandatory jail time for serious gun crimes, including extortion with a firearm. Bill C-75 imposed the principle of restraint in bail decisions, resulting in repeat violent offenders' returning to the streets far too easily. This is a pattern we cannot ignore.

Conservatives have brought forward clear, practical solutions that the Liberals have voted down repeatedly. We proposed restoring mandatory minimums of three years for extortion, four years when firearms are involved and five years when connected to organized crime. We proposed bail reform, stronger border protections and measures to support police and protect victims.

Conservatives will not stand by while Canadians lose the right to feel safe in their homes. We will fight to restore mandatory minimums for gun crimes and violent offenders. We will fight to pass our anti-extortion bill. We will demand a repeal of Trudeau's laws so that public safety is first. Canadians deserve better. Conservatives care, and Conservatives will deliver on public safety.

Bail and Sentencing Reform Act

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I think that the Liberals are deaf to this because they do not want to face the fact that their policies of Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 have failed and that they would have to admit defeat.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard from experts, since 2015, that if we brought in Liberal bail, we would have problems in our streets. Ten years later, we have premiers from coast to coast demanding to get rid of the Liberal bail. We have heard from police associations that want the Liberal bail gone. We now have lip service from the Liberals about reforming the system.

What we really need is to go back to how it was before they were elected, before Bill C-5 and before Bill C-75. I would like to hear the member's comments on why he thinks that the government is so deaf to all the premiers and police associations that are demanding this.

[Colin Reynolds, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to rise today on behalf of my constituents in Elmwood—Transcona to talk about Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing reform act.

We have seen crime increase year after year since the Liberals passed Bill C-5 and Bill C-75. These bills broke an otherwise normal, functioning bail system and directed the courts to release accused persons at the earliest reasonable opportunity and under the least onerous conditions, otherwise known as the principle of restraint. This has led to a revolving-door criminal justice system that saw the same repeat violent offenders receiving bail nearly immediately after they were initially arrested.

Now, many years later, we have businesses closing, extortion, auto thefts and home invasions on the rise, and chaos in our streets. We hear story after story about victims who are injured or even killed by a repeat violent offender who is out on bail.

Marina Simard was stabbed to death by her brother in northern Manitoba. Tyrone Simard was out on bail on the condition that he stay away from his sister. Bailey McCourt was murdered by her ex-husband James Plover just hours after he was released on bail following an assault conviction. Savannah Kulla, a 29-year-old mother of four, was shot and killed in a Brampton strip mall while her killer was out on bail.

These are not just horror stories from a Stephen King novel. These are real people who are victims of the Liberals' soft-on-crime bail. These laws put the rights of criminals ahead of the rights of victims.

We now see the consequences of these policies every day in our streets. Violent crime is up 55%. Illegal firearms crime is up 130%. Sexual assaults are up 76%. Homicides are up 29%. Extortion is up a whopping 330%. It never used to be like this. These are unnerving statistics and they are a direct result of Liberal hug-a-thug bail laws. We cannot get numb to this reality. This should not be our new normal. The Liberals have now tabled Bill C-14 to try to fix the problem they caused. It is a bit like having the same plumber come back to fix a system they did not install properly the first time.

Bill C-14 is a start, but it falls short of what this country needs for crime legislation. It does not remove the principle of restraint that releases criminals on the least onerous conditions. It does not restore the mandatory minimum sentences that were removed through Bill C-5. It does not remove the option of house arrest for repeat offenders. It does not do enough to protect public safety by ensuring that judges are required to hold criminals to account for their actions.

We know we cannot fix this problem on our own and we want to work with all members of the House to make a positive difference in the lives of law-abiding Canadians. However, we want to ensure that any new measures that get passed by the House actually work toward fixing the problems we see in our communities.

I have heard from my neighbours and members of my community that they are concerned with the overwhelming rise in crime over the last few years. Parents are afraid to let their children walk to school. Stores are closing down due to theft, and people no longer feel comfortable leaving their doors unlocked at night.

According to a Postmedia-Leger poll, over half of Canadians say that they no longer feel safe in their neighbourhoods and that the justice system is working against their interests. This is a heartbreaking statistic. What has become of our great country when the majority of our citizens say that they do not feel safe living here? We have let fear control our justice system, and we have put the feelings and comforts of criminals ahead of the safety of law-abiding Canadians.

The reality is that we need to empower law enforcement to do their jobs rather than demonize and belittle them. Officers do their jobs to protect our communities, yet the same people they arrest in the morning end up back on the street, usually victimizing the same person, by the afternoon due to our current broken bail policies.

Let us take a local example from my community. In Winnipeg, dozens of 7-Elevens have closed due to the crime wave. Not only is it no longer profitable to operate some businesses due to theft, but the safety of employees is constantly at risk when repeat violent offenders are not held accountable for their actions. We are incentivizing bad behaviour by not punishing the perpetrators.

Recently, some of my Manitoba colleagues and I hosted a jail not bail town hall to meet with Winnipeggers to discuss the damaging effects of crime in our city and what can be done to stop it. During this town hall, I heard many harrowing stories. For example, Julia, who lives in Valley Gardens, the neighbourhood I grew up in, no longer feels safe going on walks alone at night.

It did not used to be this way, and it does not have to stay this way. Members of my community, who are scared to even leave their homes, are looking to all of us for leadership. We must work together to pass meaningful legislation that protects victims and punishes repeat violent offenders. To that end, Bill C-14 is on the right track to fix the Trudeau-era bail policies, but it still needs work.

It may be surprising to some, but outside of the victims, the people who struggle the most from the current disastrous bail policies are actually the police. I recently spoke with a family friend who works for the Winnipeg Police Service, and he recounted how dangerous the job is for him now compared to in years past, how he spends days arresting the same people for committing similar crimes and victimizing the same people.

The scary truth is, more often than not, it is a small group of people committing the same crimes over and over again. In Vancouver, the same 40 people were responsible for over 6,000 crimes. That is nearly 150 crimes per person in a single year. Our society cannot function like this. Hearing from our brave police officers how demoralizing it is to arrest the same people over and over for the same crimes is heartbreaking. The reality is that we can do something about it by passing concrete bail reform legislation that reverses the disastrous policies that have burdened our communities for nearly a decade.

Bill C-14 is the government's own admission that its bail experiment has failed. We have seen a 41% rise in the violent crime severity index since 2014. This means increases in homicide, sexual assault and extortion across Canada. This has led to the marginalization of law-abiding Canadians in favour of repeat violent offenders.

The current system is broken and backwards. It is unacceptable that law-abiding Canadians are living in fear. It breaks my heart that my grandkids are not being raised in the Canada I grew up in, the Canada where we could leave our front door unlocked, walk around our neighbourhood at night without fear and spend time downtown without having to look over our shoulder. This was avoidable, and we need to give future generations the same safety guarantees we grew up with.

I want to reiterate that the bill itself replicates a lot of the asks that our party has made to the government regarding bail reform. It is on the right track. It rights the wrongs from the previous Liberal government and seeks to hold criminals accountable. However, it is not perfect, and it is unfortunate that it took this long to reach this conclusion.

When I listened to the justice minister introduce this bill, I finally felt that the government was starting to get it, that it was finally on the right track when it comes to addressing the serious bail reforms that need to be undertaken in Canada. Bill C-14 has the backing of law enforcement officers and gives them some of the mechanisms they need to do their job, but at this point they are desperate for a solution, and we are ready to work with every member in this House for the betterment of all Canadians.

However, in the spirit of collaboration and working together for the good of Canadians, I hope the government will act upon our recommendations and ensure that Bill C-14 mandates jail, not bail for repeat violent offenders, and that career criminals remain off our streets in order to keep our communities safe. The stats show that when criminals are off our streets, crime rates go down, and crime is disincentivized.

We are all human beings, and we all make mistakes. Everyone in this room believes in second chances; some of us might even have needed one, but we do not believe in 18 second chances. At a certain point, enough is enough. As lawmakers, we must replace the current status quo and the principle of restraint with the principle of public safety, and instruct judges to hold criminals accountable for their actions.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the member for Edmonton Griesbach is back in Ottawa and back in the chamber. It is good to have him back.

He alluded to some of the mistakes of the previous Trudeau government over the last 10 years with Bill C-5 and Bill C-75. We are really in the place we are now with rampant crime and problems because of those failures.

The member alluded in his speech that Bill C-14 is really one thing: an admission of a failed Liberal attempt at justice. Does he agree?

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will give my colleague a straightforward answer.

In committee, the Conservatives raised the issue of Bill C‑75. At the moment, there is no consensus on the principle of restraint, either among the groups consulted or among the justice system stakeholders who testified before the committee. That is the answer I can give him.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley Township—Fraser Heights, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we hear a lot about the Liberal government's introducing the bill as a workaround for its old bill, Bill C-75, which introduced the principle of restraint. Therefore, why not just get rid of the principle of restraint as introduced by Bill C-75, rather than doing these awkward workarounds, which are likely not to be as effective as they could be?

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's father's service. However, the member across the way was a part of the previous Trudeau government that brought in Bill C-5 and Bill C-75, which caused all the problems that it is trying to unwind with Bill C-14.

I just do not understand why, if you are having to fix it now, you brought in Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 in the first place.

[Kurt Holman, Conservative, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to apologize to the member opposite; I am not familiar with the Jordan bill, and I was not here during the 44th Parliament.

Regarding Bill C-14, I do want to mention that police chiefs and stakeholders were consulted widely, but these consultations are not the same as action. Police chiefs have been calling for real bail reform for years. Communities have been saying the same thing. The government is only now agreeing that Bill C-75 created serious problems. Bill C-14 picks up a few pieces, but it does not address the core issue. The principle of restraint is still there, but an automatic release is still the culture. Listening means action and acting on time, not years later.

[Kurt Holman, Conservative, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yes, I do agree that with the Conservatives' proposal, we would have gotten a lot further dealing with the issues at hand, which are courtesy of the Liberals' Bill C-75 and Bill C-5.

I also want to expand on what I was discussing earlier. Bill C-14 would expand reverse onus for violent offences. Expanding reverse onus is better than doing nothing. The issue is that reverse onus still operates inside the same framework the Liberals created with Bill C-75, where release is still the normal outcome. For people with long, violent histories and repeated breaches, the starting point should be public safety. Bill C-14 does not make that shift, and that is why Conservatives want a real presumption of detention for serious repeat violent offenders.

[Kurt Holman, Conservative, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I feel personally offended with regard to making this a partisan issue. Canadian safety is what is being discussed here, especially with regard to the justice system. What I want to add, though, is that Bill C-14 does not go far enough, but it has support, because London—Fanshawe cannot afford more delays while Parliament debates the perfect solution. I am supporting Bill C-14 at second reading because people like me are asking for change right now, but supporting a bill to move forward does not mean pretending it fixes the core problems created by Bill C-75 and Bill C-5. It simply means I want the bill to reach committee, where it can be strengthened. Londoners want real safety, not half measures, and I will be pushing for real improvements.

To add to that, Bill C-14 expands reverse onus for violent offences. Expanding reverse onus is better than doing nothing—

[Kurt Holman, Conservative, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to rise today to speak to Bill C-14 on behalf of the people of London—Fanshawe.

Every week when I speak with residents across my riding, I hear concerns about how crime is affecting their daily life. People tell me that they no longer feel the same comfort and predictability they once felt in their own neighbourhood. They talk about rising incidents of crime in their community and about a justice system that feels too quick to release the same offenders again and again. People ask why the consequences for serious and repeat violent crimes seem weaker than ever.

These concerns are felt especially in the east end of London, in the community I represent. However, it is no longer just an east London problem. In recent weeks, I have attended town hall meetings alongside colleagues in nearby communities, and I am hearing the same stories and frustrations all around London and beyond. People everywhere are dealing with the same patterns, the same risks and the same reality: Repeat offenders are being pushed through a system that releases them by default.

When we look at Canada-wide data, we see that these concerns reflect a national trend that has been growing for years. Across Canada, we have seen the consequences of a system that defaults to release. We have seen heartbreaking cases where individuals with a long history of violence were released, only to commit another serious offence days or even hours later. Families across the country have endured tragedies that should never have happened.

Community groups, victims' advocates and frontline workers have pleaded for change because they see first-hand what happens when warnings are ignored. These voices deserve to be heard. They deserve a justice system that supports them instead of leaving them to pick up the pieces.

For nearly a decade, Canada's bail and sentencing laws have been shaped by Liberal Bill C-75 and Bill C-5. These bills weakened deterrence, reduced meaningful consequences for serious crimes and told judges to prioritize release. They created a system that made it easier for repeat violent offenders to walk free. Police services across the country have been dealing with the consequences ever since.

When I speak with frontline officers, they describe the same pattern: a number of prolific offenders cycling through the system without meaningful consequences. Officers tell me about the frustration of seeing the same individuals arrested on a Monday, released on the Tuesday and back in custody by the end of the week for another violent offence. This is not a theoretical problem; it is a day-to-day reality for the people tasked with keeping our communities safe, and they are asking Parliament to finally give them a system that works.

In London, the effects are clear. Communities that once felt predictable and safe now report rising incidents of property damage, violent behaviour and threatening encounters. Residents describe feeling uneasy on evening walks that used to feel routine. Families talk about being more cautious about where their children go after school. People who finish work late tell me they feel anxious waiting for transit or walking through parking lots. Neighbours who once left their doors unlocked now obsessively check them throughout the day.

These experiences are real, and they weigh heavily on people who simply want to feel safe in their own community. London's chief of police has spoken clearly about this. He has said that the current system is broken and that violent repeat crime is a symptom of a much larger problem in our justice system. He has stressed that communities are being put at risk when individuals with serious histories are released without meaningful safeguards and that Londoners are paying the price for decisions that fail to account for real patterns of violent behaviour.

The chief of police has called for urgent bail reform and tougher penalties for people who commit serious violent offences, making it clear that the status quo is failing the very people it is supposed to protect. He has insisted that it is time to move toward a jail not bail approach that reflects the reality officers and communities are facing every single day.

The warnings did not begin this year; they have been raised constantly by police chiefs, frontline officers, survivors of crime, mayors and community leaders. For 10 years, my Conservative colleagues have been raising these same concerns in the House, calling for stronger bail reform, while the Liberals ignored everyone sounding the alarm.

Now, with Bill C-14, the government is finally acknowledging that the system it created through legislation like Bill C-75 has failed. The bill would introduce a few measures that move in the right direction: It would expand some reverse onus rules, add new aggravating factors and make limited adjustments to sentencing.

Police services appreciate any help they can get, but these steps alone do not solve the underlying problems. The core issues remain untouched. Bill C-14 does not repeal the principle of restraint introduced in Bill C-75. That principle directs judges that if they choose to release someone, they must impose the least strict conditions possible. The instruction sits at the heart of the entire catch-and-release system. It remains embedded in the culture of bail decisions across Canada, and it continues to shape outcomes in a way that leaves communities exposed to unnecessary risk.

Bill C-14 says restraint does not guarantee release, but it leaves the same framework in place. It keeps public safety as an afterthought, rather than the starting point. It does not create a true presumption of detention for violent or repeat offenders. It does not restore mandatory minimum sentences for serious violent crimes. It does not require judges to treat a long record of violence as the serious risk it is. It does not address the concerns raised by police services, including those raised in London, that the system continues to function as an open door for offenders who pose real danger.

This is exactly why Conservatives have put forward a practical solution through our jail, not bail plan, a plan built to close that open door and put public safety back at the centre of bail decisions. Under this plan, violent offenders face a presumption of detention instead of release. People who reportedly break conditions do not get an endless sequence of chances. Serious crimes like sexual offences, robbery, human trafficking, kidnapping, arson and major firearms offences cannot be handled through conditional sentences or house arrest; judges must consider full criminal history every time. People with serious criminal records cannot act as guarantors, non-residents who may flee must surrender passports, and consequences for breaking bail conditions must be automatic.

These reforms reflect what people expect from a justice system that protects them. They line up with what Londoners tell me they want, they match what police officers across the country say they need, and they reflect a simple principle: Safety must come first.

Conservatives will support Bill C-14 at second reading because it moves in the right direction, but we will work to make it stronger. We will push to repeal the principle of restraint. We will push to restore public safety as the main consideration. We will push to bring back mandatory minimums for serious violent crimes. We will push to expand ineligibility for house arrest. We will push to create a real presumption of detention for repeat violent offenders. We will push to ensure that judges must consider full criminal histories and outstanding charges.

People in London—Fanshawe want to feel safe. They want to know that violent repeat offenders will not be released without meaningful safeguards. They want a justice system that protects them, supports victims and holds dangerous individuals accountable. Bill C-14 does not go far enough, but we will work to strengthen that. We will work to rebuild safety and trust in our communities. We will stand up for victims, families and every person who deserves to feel safe in the place they call home.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are tired of that spin. The government's bills, Bill C-75 and Bill C-5, turned our justice system into a revolving door of catch, release and repeat. Since then, violent crime is up 41%. In my own riding, I have sat across from small business owners who are terrified of extortion and families afraid to walk home at night. They are perfect examples of why the system does not work when we loosen it up.

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps I should take a minute or two to thank the great people of Barrie who attended the Barrie Santa Claus parade this past weekend, even in the rain. It was great to see everybody out there. It was nice, a good parade. I thank the Greater Barrie Chamber of Commerce for putting it on.

Let us get into the fun stuff. I am pleased to rise today to speak on behalf of the great people of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte about Bill C-14.

Bill C-14 seeks to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the National Defence Act to clarify that the principle of restraint introduced by the Liberal government does not require release. It also proposes to expand reverse onus offences and would direct courts to weigh the number and gravity of outstanding charges when determining bail. Finally, it would add new aggravating factors, mandate certain consecutive sentences, restrict house arrest for sexual offenders and strengthen youth custody and disclosure powers.

Conservatives have been pushing for meaningful changes to fix our broken bail system for years, and I am pleased to see that steps are being taken to ensure safety in our communities after decades of decline under the Liberal government. In fact, this piece of legislation is a rare admission from the Liberal government that its approach to the criminal justice system has failed. By tabling this legislation, it is acknowledging the 41% increase in the violent crime severity index in the past decade and the increases in homicide, sexual assault and extortion offences, which happened under its watch.

Residents in my community and across Canada are living in fear. Communities that were once peaceful and welcoming are now plagued by crime. The downtown core of almost every major city in Canada is overwhelmed by drug use, break-ins and public disorder. The numbers do not lie. Since 2015, violent crime is up 55%, firearms crime has surged by 130%, extortion has skyrocketed by 330%, sexual assaults are up 76% and homicides have risen by 29%.

The Macdonald-Laurier Institute recently released the “Urban Violent Crime Report”, which studied the crime rates in 20 of Canada's largest census metropolitan areas. The results are shocking. Over the past decade, the violent crime rate and sexual assault rate increased in all 20 census metropolitan areas. Notably, the violent crime severity index is up by 71% in Kitchener, 63% in Quebec City and 61% in St. Catharines. These are not just numbers. These troubling statistics represent shattered lives, broken families and communities living in fear.

How did we get here? The Liberal government introduced soft-on-crime legislation like Bill C-5 and Bill C-75, which gave high priority to releasing repeat violent offenders and took away mandatory jail time for certain violent crimes, unleashing a crime wave across the country. Specifically, Bill C-75 enshrined the principles of restraint in law, which direct the courts to release offenders at the earliest reasonable opportunity and under the least onerous conditions. Bill C-5 abolished most mandatory minimum sentences and made house arrest a possibility for serious, heinous crimes like sexual assault and drug trafficking.

In 2023, the Liberal government tabled Bill C-48, which expanded reverse onus provisions but did not make it more difficult to get bail and did nothing to make it harder for repeat violent offenders to get bail.

I have talked to police services across the country and have been on ride-alongs in several cities from coast to coast, and I hear the same thing time and time again, which is that a very small number of people are responsible for the majority of crimes. These are offenders who are arrested and released the same day and go on to commit crimes while on release. These individuals are placing a strain on our courts, our communities and our first responders.

We witnessed a string of violent incidents over the summer, including the tragic murder of Bailey McCourt by her ex-husband just hours after he was released on bail following an assault conviction. In my own community, OPP Constable Greg Pierzchala, a Barrie resident, was ambushed and murdered by a violent repeat offender who was out on bail and under a lifetime firearms ban.

Just last year, Constable Jim Peters, a Barrie police officer, was stabbed while on duty by a repeat violent offender who was on probation at the time of the stabbing. Thankfully, Jim has recovered. In the two years leading up to this incident, the individual responsible had been arrested and released 17 times and had over 100 interactions with the Barrie Police Service.

Recently, Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, appeared before the justice committee. I asked him how incidents like these are affecting the mental health of officers on the front lines. He told the committee that officers are being assaulted every day by repeat offenders. He shared a horrifying story from April, when an offender attempted to set a police officer on fire by pouring a flammable liquid on him during an arrest attempt.

Thomas Carrique, who is the OPP commissioner and president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, told the justice committee something similar. He stated:

When these perpetrators are brought before the courts, and when they are released and the officers can clearly see an elevated risk—they're released into communities, and they further victimize innocent, law-abiding Canadians, including police officers in the lawful execution of their duties—it is very demoralizing for our officers.

Police services are facing serious recruitment and retention challenges because of the extraordinary risks officers face when trying to apprehend these individuals. This is not just a public safety crisis, but it is a mental health crisis for those on the front lines. Officers are exhausted and demoralized; they are leaving the profession in record numbers. Who suffers? It is every Canadian who depends on them for safety. These tragedies are not isolated and did not happen in a vacuum. They are a result of dangerous offenders' being released on bail, time and time again, because of the Liberal government's catch-and-release bail laws.

While the Liberal government was denying that there were any issues with our bail system, Conservatives were fighting for solutions. In just this session, Conservatives have introduced several pieces of legislation to address skyrocketing crime rates, including Bill C-242, the jail not bail act, to extend reverse onus for major crimes and protect first responders, and Bill C-246, which proposes to make a consecutive sentence mandatory for such crimes as sexual assault. The Liberal government has ignored or voted against both pieces of legislation.

While we welcome any constructive efforts to try to fix our broken bail system and bring safety back to our communities, Conservatives believe that the legislation does not go far enough. The most significant example of the legislation missing the mark is on the principle of restraint. Bill C-14 now confirms that restraint does not require release. However, it still provides a pathway to release and retains the directive to apply the least onerous conditions on an offender.

Conservatives believe that the principle of restraint clause should be replaced entirely by a clause that prioritizes public and community safety as the governing principle. We also believe that the bill does not reform sentencing in a truly meaningful way. Conservatives believe that we must restore mandatory minimum sentences for serious violent offences, including firearms, kidnapping, human trafficking, robbery, extortion with a firearm, arson and others. The repeal of these sentences under Bill C-5 was wrong and has led to crime and chaos in our communities.

Another point that we hope to see improvements on is what offences would be eligible for house arrest. We are very concerned that individuals charged with robbery, drug trafficking and firearms offences would still be eligible for house arrest under the legislation. That being said, it is promising to see changes proposed to the youth criminal justice system. Last session, while studying the auto theft crisis in Canada, we learned about the startling prevalence of young people involved in violent crimes.

Commissioner Thomas Carrique of the OPP noted that a significant number of youth are participating in organized auto theft rings, many of them armed.

Deputy Chief Robert Johnson of the Toronto Police Service told the committee that one-third of individuals arrested for carjacking in Toronto were young offenders.

Beyond auto theft, Clayton Campbell, president of the Toronto Police Association, recently informed the justice committee that in Toronto alone, more than a dozen youth were charged with murder in the past year and 102 illegal firearms were seized from youth in the city. This underscores the urgent need to update our justice and bail laws to reflect the changing landscape of offender profiles in Canada.

Conservatives will work collaboratively to ensure that the legislation is strengthened and genuinely achieves the goal of keeping our communities safe. We hope that all parties will come together during the committee process to pass reasonable amendments. Unless these changes are made, serious and dangerous offenders will continue to walk free, communities will remain at risk and families will continue to live in fear.

Canadians deserve better. They deserve a government that puts their safety first. They deserve a justice system that protects victims, not criminals. That is why we are calling on the Liberal government to work with us to end the scourge of crime, chaos and disorder in our streets. It is time to restore safety, accountability and justice for all Canadians. Conservatives will always stand on the side of victims, families and safe communities.

[Amanpreet S. Gill, Conservative, Calgary Skyview, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after this last Liberal decade, Canadians across the country are living with a level of fear and disorder that none of us should ever accept as normal. Every single day, families wake up to a new story of violence, and repeat offenders are being released on bail only to reoffend, sometimes within hours. Every day, Canadians watch the consequences of a justice system warped by the Prime Minister's reckless catch-and-release ideology, and every day, the government insists that everything is fine, but everything is not fine.

In my province of Alberta, in the city of Calgary, I have seen first-hand the devastation that Liberal soft-on-crime bail laws have caused, and it is the people in these neighbourhoods who have to actually deal with the crimes of repeat violent offenders. It is the families in these communities who bear the burden when repeat sex offenders breach their conditions and nothing changes. It is everyday Canadians who now, unfortunately, think twice before going out to the park, walking to the grocery store or just stepping outside after dark. This is not a failure of circumstances. It is a direct consequence of the choices made by the Liberal government.

The devastation is clear. Since 2015, violent crime has gone up 55%, firearm offences are up 130%, extortion has shot up an insane 330%, sexual assaults have gone up 76% and homicides across the nation have risen nearly 30%. These are not just numbers. Each data point represents a Canadian who might not come home again, families that will never be whole again and communities that will never be the same.

We are also seeing a worrying rise in extortion across the country. Calgary and Surrey have become the clearest examples. Police have launched dozens of new investigations in just the last few months. Business owners are being threatened, intimidated, and in some cases, even shot at. This situation has become so serious that Surrey has created a special police team and has set up a $250,000 reward fund just to help stop the growing crime wave. This rise in extortion shows exactly what happens when repeat offenders know they can go through the revolving door of bail to return to threaten the people in their communities. In Calgary and Surrey, Canadians should not be living in fear of criminals demanding money or threatening their families, yet this is becoming more common under a Liberal failed system.

Despite all of this, the Liberals continue to defend laws that contribute to this crisis, such as Bill C-75, which is a bill that prioritizes the release of criminals rather than protecting communities, and Bill C-5, which replaced mandatory minimum sentences for violent firearm crimes and other serious offences. These actions have led to the government treating violent criminals as victims and law-abiding Canadians as an afterthought.

For years, Conservatives have warned the government that its approach to bail and sentencing was unleashing chaos. For years, Liberals have denied, deflected and dismissed, and for years, Canadians have been paying the price. Now, after nearly a decade of failure, the Liberals suddenly claim that they want to fix the bail system, but what they have tabled is too little too late and nowhere near enough.

Bill C-14 is the latest example of the government scrambling to copy Conservative ideas after spending years blocking them. In fact, the Carney Liberals have been copying Conservative proposals—