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.

Bail and Sentencing Reform Act

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague across the floor. The Conservatives have constantly changed their position on Bill C‑75, first vowing to repeal it entirely, then targeting the principle of restraint and now proposing to amend it. Bill C‑14 now clarifies that restraint does not mean “automatic release”.

With such constant flip-flopping, why trust a party that is so unclear on the principles of fundamental justice?

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to speak to Bill C-14, an act that proposes a long-awaited reform to Canada's bail and sentencing framework. For too long, the system has focused more on the rights of offenders than on the safety of our communities. Together with police associations, provincial governments, victims and survivors, we have listened to our communities and advocated for stronger bail and sentencing regulations.

However, it is important to remember that these reforms come after years of Liberal policy failures. It took Liberals years to even acknowledge the problems they caused with Bill C-75 and Bill C-5. Even now, under Bill C-14, they have not removed the principle of restraint, the rule that tells police and judges to focus on releasing accused people as quickly as possible under the least restrictive condition. The principle remains the heart of Canada's catch-and-release crisis.

The numbers tell the story of rising crime in our communities. In my riding of King—Vaughan, between 2020 and 2024, assaults increased by 73%, robberies increased by 119% and homicides increased by 100%. In case we missed it, twice the number of people were murdered between 2020 and 2024. Breaking and entering increased by 69%; sexual violations increased by a staggering 194%, and thefts of a motor vehicle increased by 122%. Between 2019 and 2025, York Regional Police charged 19,522 individuals with criminal offences. Of those, 32.6% were charged again for breaching bail or other release conditions. These numbers show a system that too often fails to protect the public from repeat offenders.

Recently, at a town hall in Vaughan, the community came together to hear the story of Darian Hailey Henderson-Bellman, a beautiful young woman of 25 years who was fatally shot on July 28, 2020. The accused killer, Darnell Reid, had been arrested four previous times for violating the condition of his bail, for contacting her. He was also arrested and charged in May 2020 for being in possession of an illegal firearm.

The Liberal catch-and-release principles of restraint ensured that he only spent six days in custody before being released again. A mere three months later, he shot and murdered a young, beautiful soul with her whole life in front of her. Darian's parents, Mr. Paul Henderson and Mrs. Flo Bellman, told the community that courts must make public safety a priority and consider the rights of victims and survivors when deciding bail.

Mr. Henderson said, “Right now, it's on the police officers, Crown attorney and victim to say why the offender should stay in custody, which doesn't make any sense.... What we're suggesting is that [this] needs to be flipped around.”

He continued, “If he hadn't been released on bail again, Darian would be alive today.... The courts put faith in a surety to justify bail, even though the same surety had failed multiple times before with no consequences. That failure cost our daughter her life.”

The pain for Mr. Henderson and Mrs. Bellman is unimaginable. They relive the tragedy every single day: the moment their daughter was shot, the grief of losing her and the knowledge that the system failed her.

The sad story for Mr. Henderson and Mrs. Bellman is their having to relive the tragic death of their daughter and the brutal way in which she was killed. She was shot four times, including once in the eye. Her parents went on to say, “The system seems to prioritize the rights of offenders over the safety and well-being of victims and survivors.... The daily loss of life is unacceptable.... Violent offenders—keep them off the streets to protect those who are most vulnerable in our communities.”

According to an article, the Durham Regional Police's “Chief Peter Moreira said the number of people out on bail committing serious crimes is a ‘growing epidemic’ across Ontario.”

He said, “without a strong deterrent, those people who have already demonstrated that they don't deserve to be in the public spaces, living among us, are out there reoffending and victimizing more and more people”.

York Regional Police chief, Chief Jim MacSween, was clear that the Liberal policy on violent offenders needs to change. Chief MacSween stated, “Once again, we're seeing cases where individuals released on bail are involved in serious crimes within our communities. To ensure public safety and protect our officers, we need a bail system that effectively addresses repeat violent offenders while maintaining public confidence.”

King—Vaughan has seen this first-hand. Months ago, a father of four, Abdul Aleem Farooqi, was shot and killed in front of his children during a home invasion in Vaughan. Just last week, York Regional Police announced arrests and charges. One of the suspects, Mohammad Abuhmaid, a 26-year-old from Mississauga, was out on bail at the time of the murder. He faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder, breaking and entering with intent, robbery with a firearm, possession of stolen property over $5,000 and breach of probation.

Police said, “There are four separate forms of release that he was out in the community on.... The offences vary in severity...but it is concerning when this type of event happens.”

In addition, a 16-year-old remains at large, wanted for multiple offences, including first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. These tragedies are preventable. If bail laws had prioritized public safety instead of the Liberal principle of restraint policy, Mr. Farooqi might be alive today. His children would still have their father, but this family now has to live with unimaginable loss.

Bill C-14 proposes some improvements, but it does not go far enough. It fails to remove the principle of restraint, the very clause added in Bill C-75 that tells judges and police to prioritize release. Mandatory minimums repealed by Bill C-5 have not been restored, leaving sentencing highly discretionary. The limits imposed on conditional sentences do not go far enough. Those sentenced for robbery, firearms and human trafficking offences can still access home arrest.

A police detective recently told me a story about an individual he arrested who was in possession of an illegal firearm. When arrested, the individual laughed and said that he would be out before the paperwork was finished. He also told the detective that since the Liberals removed the mandatory minimum for illegal gun possession, he would not have to do a minimum of three years in jail. He would be out in no time. He was smiling from ear to ear.

The Liberals have spent years ignoring the mess they created with Bill C-75 and Bill C-5. They finally admitted that changes were needed, but their so-called reforms still leave dangerous repeat offenders in the systems that prioritize their release over public safety.

[Dalwinder Gill, Conservative, Calgary McKnight, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 are the root causes of the issues we are trying to tackle here today. The Conservatives have led the debate on key issues like the cost of living and the carbon tax, forcing Liberals to take action. I hope the Liberals take note of my constituents' concerns that I have shared here today.

[Dalwinder Gill, Conservative, Calgary McKnight, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to trust someone to fix a problem they created. Liberal Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 have proven to be disasters and have caused harm to Canadians. I hope the Liberals can right their wrong and provide effective relief to Canadian communities and families.

[Dalwinder Gill, Conservative, Calgary McKnight, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as always, it is an honour to rise in the House on behalf of the people of Calgary McKnight. I want to speak specifically to this bill today because the safety of Canadians is something I am very passionate about, as I am sure many of my colleagues, members of the House, are as well.

I believe that along with the cost of living crisis, the increasing crime level across Canada is the most important issue needing to be tackled by the current Parliament. This rising wave of crime is not just something I have observed; recent reports by Stats Canada tell the same story. Since the Liberals were elected in 2015, violent crime is up 55%, gun crime is up 130%, sexual assaults are up 76%, homicides are up 29% and extortion is up 330%.

In Calgary, roughly 75 repeat offenders are responsible for a large chunk of the crime calls all around the city. A Calgary police superintendent said that the same 75 criminals commit hundreds of disturbances, from assault with a weapon to store robbery and illegal drug use. We have heard stories like this from all across the country. In Vancouver, the same 40 offenders have been linked to over 6,000 negative police contacts. Calgary police inspectors say that these criminals just cycle through the system and continue to recommit offences upon release.

In my riding in northeast Calgary, there were five attacks on transit workers over the course of this summer. In one incident, a bus driver was pepper-sprayed and then beaten so badly that they were sent to the hospital in critical condition. In another case, a bus driver was stabbed and beaten, and, again, was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

This summer in Kelowna, a woman was murdered by her ex-husband just three hours after his assault conviction. He was supposed to have been released for a 10-week period while waiting on delivery of a psychiatric report, but only four kilometres away from the courthouse and only three hours later, he attacked his ex-wife and another woman with a hammer, ultimately killing his ex-wife.

Just last month, a mother of four was gunned down by her ex-boyfriend outside a Brampton strip mall while he was out on bail. Another man who was out on bail committed a mass stabbing in Manitoba this September and even killed his 18-year-old sister. The stories go on and on.

I commend the effort and bravery of our police and other first responders in fighting the rise in crime, but I am disappointed by the Liberal government's agenda to limit the ability of our justice system to keep dangerous offenders behind bars. The rise in crime has come in large part due to Liberal Bill C-75 and Bill C-5.

Passed in 2019, Bill C-75 forced judges to release offenders at the earliest possible opportunity and under the least onerous conditions. To make matters worse, in 2022, Bill C-5 further weakened deterrence by repealing numerous mandatory minimum sentences for serious offences like sexual assault. It also repealed mandatory jail time for serious gun crimes like extortion with a firearm.

Extortion has turned into one of the fastest-growing crimes in Canada. Police across the country have reported waves of threats against small business owners in communities like Brampton, Surrey, Vancouver and Calgary. Families in their homes are regularly shot at, firebombed and threatened. Just last week while I was in my riding, four separate constituents approached my office for help after receiving extortion calls. South Asian communities have faced the brunt of extortion cases in Canada, and authorities in B.C. even had to establish a special task force dedicated to these incidents.

Extortion has gotten so bad that over half of Canadians no longer feel safe in their homes. That is why, last year, my Conservative colleague, the member for Edmonton Gateway, introduced Bill C-381, the protection against extortion act. The bill would have delivered stricter mandatory minimums for extortion and treated arson as an aggravating factor. Shamefully, the Liberals watered it down and left Canadians stranded without the protection they desperately need.

More recently my colleague, the member for Oxford, introduced Bill C-242, the jail not bail act. Bill C-242 would prioritize public safety and the rights of survivors rather than the freedom of criminals. It would introduce tougher bail rules for major crimes like gun offences, sexual assault, robbery, kidnapping and human trafficking, and it would require judges to take an offender's full criminal record into account. Most importantly, Bill C-242 would stop the revolving door of bail by blocking repeat violent offenders from being released over and over again.

Now it seems that the Liberals are finally starting to listen to mayors, premiers and police associations from coast to coast calling for an end to the failed catch-and-release bail experiment. After Conservatives campaigned for four years to scrap Liberal bail, the Liberals have finally accepted the reality that the rights of survivors are more important than those of criminals.

Bill C-14 would expand reverse onus bail rules for certain violent and weapons-related offences and would ask judges to more intently consider community safety and an offender's history, but it would still keep the existing principles of restraint and the foundation of the bail system.

Considering the state of fear that Canadians currently live in and the fact that Canada's violent crime severity index has gone up by 41% in the last 10 years, I do not believe that Bill C-14 as it currently stands would go far enough to address the issues of bail reform or to restore the trust in our justice system to keep the public safe.

A Conservative plan for bail would prioritize public safety over the principle of restraint. We would restore mandatory minimums for firearms, sexual assault, kidnapping, human trafficking, robbery, extortion with a firearm, arson and other serious violent crimes. We would exclude people who have committed robbery, gun violence and trafficking, as well as property offenders, from being eligible for conditional sentencing. We would also mandate the consideration of criminal history instead of just encouraging judges to keep it in mind.

I believe that unless these changes are made, serious and dangerous offenders will continue to be released onto our streets to pose a threat to our communities.

[Michael Ma, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today, when we are discussing Bill C-14, the Liberal government seems to be rushing us through its consideration and wants to send it to committee. Members have talked about the ineffectiveness of committees.

We are rushing through a bill that does not address the fundamental issues in Bill C-5 and Bill C-75. I would like to ask the member to comment further on that. Why is the Liberal government rushing us through Bill C-14, an incomplete bill with shortfalls?

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to be in the chamber to rise on an issue that is affecting Canadians from coast to coast to coast. I have spoken about this issue many times. I brought forward the jail not bail bill to help crack down on repeat violent offenders.

We held town halls right across our beautiful country, in Surrey, Winnipeg, St. Thomas, Vaughan and Peel. Canadians are very concerned. They are very scared of what is going on in their communities. The town halls were packed with hundreds of concerned residents who showed up without any political affiliation. For many of them, it was the first time they had gone to a town hall meeting. They expressed deep concern about public safety.

I was in Vaughan recently with my hon. friend, the member for King—Vaughan. We met with victims, business owners, young students and other Canadians. They said they do not recognize the country they knew and still love today. They are concerned about the level of crime that is happening in their community, as well as the severity of the crime. The shift that is happening in our system now, whether it is in a big city or a rural community like Oxford, is not just about an increase in crime but about the type of crime. There are shootings in broad daylight, violent home invasions and carjackings. This is stuff we have never seen before at this level in our country.

The government often talks about charter rights, but we are seeing it protecting the charter rights of criminals. I talk to Canadians every day, and they are saying that criminals are getting a free pass and a free ride. Liberal policies on crime are easy on criminals and tough on Canadians. In my riding of Oxford, a victim in Beachville wrote to me and said it feels like she is the one on house arrest, while her attacker is walking free around the community. She has to change her behaviour to avoid seeing him at a public library, a museum or a grocery store. The criminals are not worried about anything. That is the type of system the Liberals have created.

Conservatives have always asked, “What about the charter rights of law-abiding Canadians who follow the rules and are not criminals?” What about the charter rights of that 71-year-old grandma who went to buy groceries? All she wanted to do was go to the store, pick up some food, come home, make a nice meal and enjoy time with her family. She was brutally stabbed to death in a parking lot. She had done absolutely nothing wrong. What about the charter rights of Bailey McCourt or Cait Alexander, or any of the other victims going through these troubling times?

Liberal policies have caused a massive shift. Instead of them being about public safety and keeping Canadians safe, they have shifted toward empowering the criminals. There is no deterrence in our system right now. Criminals know how to game the system, and they are gaming it every single day. There is no fear of consequences. The law is supposed to deter people from committing crime, but when soft-on-crime, catch-and-release legislation like Bill C-75 and Bill C-5 is brought in, these are the problems that come from it.

This did not happen overnight. This is a direct result of the policies the Liberals brought forward, and now we are living with this nightmare. The headlines we are seeing are like something from a Hollywood movie. Just last night, in Abbotsford, there was another extortion call. We never had an extortion problem in our country. When I was in Surrey, doing my jail not bail town hall, I met with residents who shared stories of their homes being shot at. This one gentleman said a bullet flew over his daughter's bed. If she had been standing up or walking around, she could have been hit.

The Prime Minister was in B.C. a few days ago. He was taking a nice stroll on the beach, looking at the water and admiring what was going on. Not too far away, there was a town hall on extortion. Families and victims were coming together to share their concerns. In all of the press conferences the Prime Minister did while he was in B.C. and at all of the tour stops he did, buying ice cream and living the good life, not once did he speak about extortion. I would think that a prime minister who cared about public safety would talk about one of the biggest crises happening in that community, but he did not. These people's words meant absolutely nothing to him.

This is about action. For seven months, the Liberals delayed, denied and obstructed. For years, we talked about bringing forward legislation and pushed them to raise these issues, and we were ignored. They simply ignored our calls to take action. I have said this before and I will say it again: I am glad they have finally admitted that we have a problem. That was step number one. With any problem, if we do not accept that there is a problem, which they did for four years, the problem continues. I am happy that they are finally acknowledging, through political pressure, that we have a problem.

The piece of legislation the Liberals have brought forward, as I have said before and will say again, is trying to treat a gunshot wound with a band-aid. This is a band-aid solution that would stop some of the bleeding, but it would not heal the wounds or the problems we see in today's society. It is a step in the right direction for sure, but it does not go far enough. It would not stop the crime wave we are seeing in our communities.

I brought forward the jail not bail act, which would go a lot further than Bill C-14. It would repeal the Liberals' principle of restraint that allows repeat violent offenders to be released at the earliest opportunity and on the least restrictive conditions, which justices of the peace are constantly quoting as they release these criminals. The Liberals said that, yes, there is a problem with the principle of restraint, and they were going to tinker around with it and make some changes, but it still exists.

The Conservatives believe in making sure that public safety is a primary consideration. The Liberals talk about law enforcement. They make these big announcements, like hiring 1,000 new RCMP personnel. They have been saying that for years. They are not hiring anybody. The Minister of Public Safety just said it is not his job to hire.

The Liberals are ignoring the will of Canadians. They are ignoring that their actions are causing the problems we are facing today. That is why we brought forward legislation in the House to stop extortion. They voted against it. We brought forward legislation to stop these violent carjackings and auto thefts happening in the community. They voted against it. We brought forward a motion to fast-track the jail not bail act, which has support right across our country. They blocked it. They have been standing in the way of keeping our communities safe.

Conservatives are united. We will continue to raise these issues. We will come back to a Canada where anyone from anywhere can live on a safe street, raise their families, enjoy a stroll in the park and have coffee with their friends without the café being shot at. We will have a life where everyone feels safe, secure and protected. The Liberals cannot do it. We will.

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said when we started, whether Bill C-75, Bill C-5 or anything we can name, all these pieces of legislation are still on the books, and all of a sudden, we are supposed to believe that Bill C-14 is going to fix all the problems. That is what the Liberals are telling Canadians.

We know it is not true and it is not going to happen. That is the premise of the question I asked in my speech today. I just hope Canadians are seeing through what the Liberals are trying to do in trying to erase history. I think Canadians are living with the effects of crime on their streets, and that is not going to be erased any time soon.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague gave an excellent speech. I have been here for 10 years, and the Liberals have been saying they are going to address criminal justice from the beginning. First, they had Bill C-75, and the police said that it was awful and allows repeat offenders out on the streets. Then they had Bill C-5, which took away mandatory minimums and put house arrest in place. That made things even worse. They saw crime skyrocketing, and under Arif Virani, when he was the minister of justice, they tried again at bail reform.

I would ask the member the same question he is asking Canadians: Is he confident that Bill C-14 is going to fix the problem the Liberals have been talking about fixing for 10 years?

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate having the time to talk about Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing bill the government has proposed to fix all the Liberal problems from over the last 10 years, supposedly.

I am going to ask Canadians a question: Are they confident that the same Liberals who broke our justice system are actually going to fix our justice system? As Conservatives, we are asking that exact question. Here is a government that has been in power for 10 years, despite it calling itself new. Now, the members are pretending they want to fix the problem. Maybe some of them actually want to fix the problem, but again, this is a problem they created.

Problems of rampant crime, drug use and overdoses due to their soft-on-crime and safe supply ideology are not just figments of our imagination, as many Canadians are realizing the hard way. These statistics are from “British Columbia Crime Trends, 2014 - 2023”: In 2014, the total of violent offences was 53,209. In 2023, that number went to 86,205 offences. It is not just us talking about it. These effects are real.

This is partly due to the Liberals' Bill C-75 and the principle of restraint in the bill, which ensures release at the earliest opportunity is favoured over detention. It requires reasonable bail conditions. This has really gone across the justice system across the nation. Whether it is prosecutors or the judiciary, they are following the direction of the government, and it has actually been ruinous for our country.

Across British Columbia, violent crime has increased almost 50%, while the total number of sexual assaults has gone up over 95%. These are incredible numbers. Extortion has shot up a staggering 481% across the province of B.C. The consequences of Liberal policies are real, and people are feeling that, as my colleague from Saskatchewan just alluded to. Since 2015 in Canada, violent crime is up 55%; firearms crime is up 130%; extortion has skyrocketed by 330% across Canada; sexual assaults are up 76%; and homicides are up 29%. These are stats, and sometimes numbers do not really deal with the real story behind those numbers.

I am going to start with some communities in my riding, and I will start with my birthplace, Dawson Creek. Recently, The Fifth Estate did a story about my birthplace, where I was born and lived until the age of five. My mom homesteaded in Dawson Creek. They were in Dawson Creek for a long time. The headline from CBC reads, “Behind the fear: The unsolved killings in Dawson Creek, B.C.” Anybody who thinks of the name Dawson Creek thinks of a very peaceful town, a farmer town, and I would like to think it still is.

This quote is from the story:

Just how “crazy” can be found in the data. The town’s homicide rate is 14 times the national average, according to Statistics Canada. Overdoses in town increased five-fold from 2016 until 2023.

In this environment, safety in town appears elusive for criminals and regular townsfolk alike. Residents complain criminals are arrested, but rarely spend much time in jail. People vanish without a trace. The lives of addicts crumble, with some becoming armed agents of a desperate chaos. No one seems able to stop any of it.

The Liberals formed government in 2016, and this is what we have after 10 years of Liberal rule.

I will go to the next community we will talk about today, which is Fort Nelson. Fort Nelson is about four hours north of my hometown of Fort St. John. I spoke with a frustrated local police officer just last year. He said that 15 people are responsible for 90% of the calls, and that really speaks to the recidivism of criminals who are being brought in and released without being incarcerated.

This is an article titled “Fort Nelson ‘tow truck war’ continues with another arson investigation”, from September 29. It states:

According to police, several vehicles were engulfed in flames when the fire department arrived at the scene.

They said On-It Towing has been the victim of many suspicious fires in the past 16 months, adding evidence at the scene points to each fire being intentionally started.

In case members did not know, Ben Wall is the owner of that particular towing company. I actually did a video with him this summer highlighting his plight because police officers basically know who it is, but they cannot keep the ones who are doing it behind bars.

I texted him this morning to ask about the total damage caused by these repeat criminals. Ben said, this morning, “I don't have an accurate calculation, but it's somewhere between $1.5 million and $2 million; 10 separate arsons and two vandalisms where equipment or property was damaged. Amazingly, no real theft that we are aware of in all of this. That dollar value would be based on insurance payouts. We have lost somewhere between $200,000 and $400,000 in procurement costs.” That is the disparity between what the insurance is paying him and what the value of the piece of equipment is. He also referred to new equipment, set-up costs, lost revenue, administrative costs and so on. Members should listen to this last line, which is very important: “nothing to say of how life-destroying this has been.”

I know that Mr. Wall has felt threatened, and his family has felt threatened in that community. Seemingly, criminals are getting away with what they are doing, with no end in sight.

This is from Fort St. John, my hometown, where I live today. This is an article from March 19, titled “Wanted man with long criminal history arrested by Fort St. John RCMP”. It states:

Despite being charged over 20 times in the past for breaching his release conditions, a judge once again let Calliou out on bail. Calliou was bound by a court-imposed curfew condition requiring him to reside in Prince George. A warrant was then issued for his arrest after police said...Calliou was known to be breaching the condition and was believed to be in the Peace Region.

It is another really sad example of recidivism in my riding alone.

I will finish with these two stories. I do not have an article to quote, but I heard it from the person directly. Cori Ramsay was recently in Ottawa, just two weeks ago, and she is a Prince George city councillor. She said she was on a ride-along with the local RCMP, and they watched somebody trying to break into the local Value Village. The person was arrested and brought to jail. That person was released within one and a half hours, and on the same ride-along that very night, within four hours, the police had rearrested the person for another crime. It is bad enough for Canadians to hear the statistics, but they are hearing it from real-life stories. That is one story of thousands in our communities that are just being allowed to happen because of such bills as Bill C-75 and the Liberal government's poor past policies.

I have another story from Prince George. The firefighters were just here in Ottawa, as members know. The Prince George firefighters have told me many stories of some of the challenges of downtown Prince George. I asked them, “How much time is actually spent fighting fires?” They said, “Well, 90% of our time is spent dealing with overdoses and fires started by those same people addicted to drugs.” Again, this is because of Liberal soft-on-crime policies and safe supply. Those are the real effects that these policies are having in our communities, and they have built up over 10 years. Now the Liberals are pretending, “Hey, folks, we are new”, even though they are not, and we know they are not.

As I started off with when I first began to speak, I ask Canadians if they are confident that these same Liberals who broke our justice system are actually going to fix our justice system. We have just laid out the case that they are not.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon South, SK]

Mr. Speaker, no, of course we are not confident. I mean, over the last 10 years, this has been a disaster. The Liberals have finally woken up and realized that Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 were a joke. We on this side of the House have been talking about it for years.

We need tougher action on bail and release. We need to get criminals behind bars. In downtown Calgary, 75 people were charged for most of the assaults and what is going on in the city. A small number of people in Calgary are causing the biggest headache for the police service in that city.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon South, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is ironic that the member is from the city of Victoria, as there have been many encampments and lots of crime over the last number of years in Victoria. As we have noticed, many people from Saskatchewan are not travelling to the United States of America these days, for one reason or another. We would like to be hosted in B.C., but the crime in his city of Victoria is as bad as anywhere else in the country.

We are saying what the public wants to see right now, and we have been talking about this for three or four years. The Liberals have had 10 years to fix this, and now they are coming in with a band-aid approach to Bill C-75.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon South, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have been looking forward to this debate all day on Bill C-14, an act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the National Defence Act.

For the last 10 years in this country, crime has been going one way, and that is straight up. In fact, even in my home province of Saskatchewan and my city of Saskatoon, in the last decade under the Liberals, there have been pathetic soft-on-crime policies, and serious crime has gone up everywhere.

I just looked at the Saskatoon Police Service website, and the crime stats are amazing. I am going to share some of them with members here today.

If we compare today's crime stats to those of 10 years ago, assaults in my city are up 35%, kidnapping and hostage-taking are up 33%, sexual violations are up a massive 66%, and stalking and break and enters with firearms are both up 300%. That is over the last 10 years.

My riding has the highest concentration of seniors in this country. In reading these numbers, I was reminded of an incident that took place in my riding of Saskatoon South this summer. I have to share it with everyone.

A 75-year-old senior woman was taking her dog for a walk, as she normally does every day in the morning. They were walking by one of the beautiful community gardens we have in the riding, and as she was walking by, she noticed someone in the garden moving around from plot to plot. The senior then asked this lady if she actually had a plot in this garden and what she was doing. She said that if the person did not have a plot, she should leave, as some had spent hours with their garden.

That was all it took for this 27-year-old to attack the 75-year-old senior walking her dog. The victim was grabbed by the hair, thrown to the ground and then attacked, believe it or not, with a gardening tool. We are grateful that this did not end as badly as it could have, but the victim lost a chunk of hair. There were no broken bones, but just think of the trauma this 75-year-old had while walking her dog and then getting into an incident with a 27-year-old.

The attacker was apprehended thanks to the Saskatoon city police a short time after. The police found her hiding in a nearby bush and took her into custody. Guess what. She was charged with aggravated assault, assaulting a peace officer, breach of undertaking and breach of probation. Police say the woman punched a female special constable in the face while she was being booked into custody. No one is surprised that she was wanted elsewhere in the province. She ended up in Saskatoon South, and because of this gardening incident, she was finally caught.

After hearing about this attack, I sent a sympathy card to this senior, and after receiving it, she showed up at my constituency office. She laid out the whole story in front of us about what happened that day: leaving her place with her dog, going through this community garden and finding this 27-year-old rummaging row by row. Then, of course, she talked about the crime that is happening in our city. Crime is, in fact, out of control after a decade of Liberal soft-on-crime policies.

These are real stories. A 75-year-old woman, who normally feels safe in my city and my constituency, was attacked for no reason whatsoever. I will give a few more examples, if I can.

Earlier this month, there was a big drug bust in my riding; it was in Stonebridge. According to the Saskatoon Police Service, on November 6, police seized over $22,000 in cash, 750 grams of fentanyl, over half a kilogram of meth, 362 grams of cocaine, multiple mobile phones and assorted paraphernalia consistent with the illegal drug industry.

During the election, I specifically remember door knocking on that block. It is unnerving to think that I most likely knocked on that door in Stonebridge, completely unaware of what was happening on the other side. I wonder how many of us in the House have been in similar circumstances in their communities, when there have been incidents reported and later convictions. Members may have kind of wondered and said, “Oh yeah, I did door knock that area.”

I wish I could tell members that was an isolated incident in my city, but the truth is I cannot. Just last year, police concluded a nine-month investigation that saw the arrests of five high-level drug dealers, three of whom were operating in my riding. The total amount of everything seized was as follows: 4.2 kilograms of cocaine, almost three kilograms of meth, $16,000 in cash, a nine-millimetre carbine rifle, a prohibited handgun, ammunition, cell phones, various other equipment, and multiple vehicles.

In May, police arrested two men in Saskatoon for more drug trafficking. They conducted search warrants in a few locations in and around the city. They again seized a number of drugs, drug paraphernalia and over $400,000 in cash.

During the summer, my colleague, the member for Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, and I met with the Saskatoon chief of police, Cam McBride. In fact, we met for over an hour. We discussed how soft-on-crime bail laws have allowed our cities to be taken over by violent repeat offenders. It was a fascinating conversation in my office.

During this meeting, Cam McBride, the city police chief, said that officers who are on the streets arrest the same people so often that the officers know them by name, saying they catch them on Monday, they are released, back on the street, and then they catch them again on Tuesday night. This is a result of disastrous catch-and-release policies and lax liberal laws, such as Bill C-5 and Bill C-75.

Earlier this year, I sent out a questionnaire to constituents asking what their views are on crime in our city. Overwhelmingly, the response was that the justice system needs to change in this country. The Liberals need to scrap their useless justice policies and adopt Conservative policies that actually are tough on crime.

I have gone to many ride-alongs in my city with paramedics and police. The first thing I noticed is that they know people by name. Repeat offenders are picked up early in the day and, unfortunately, released in the afternoon or night.

Last week in our city, the city police held a news conference to talk about a couple of issues. There are two hurdles that need to be navigated in my city for a full complement of officers to be realized: number one is recruitment and number two is the backlog. The provincial government is trying to help out. It has offered $8 million to pay for dozens of officers, but the public will unfortunately not see the impact any time soon.

The city police in my city have asked for an increase of $158 million in the city budget. That will be debated next week in Saskatoon. Every community is under pressure for new hires. It is a growing challenge, with fewer people today interested in a career of policing. That is disappointing.

I look at the RCMP in our province. We have had some major incidents, unfortunately, in our province over the last number of years. Hundreds more RCMP, if not thousands, are needed in our municipalities and cities to have the full complement of RCMP officers, which the government has promised. We are well short of that. In Saskatchewan right now, where we have the home of the RCMP Depot Division in Regina, we are short more than 100 RCMP officers in our communities.

I just wanted to say, in wrapping up, that this is an important bill. We know that there are lots of shortfalls. We look forward to further debate on Bill C-14.

[Kelly DeRidder, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, nine years of the Liberal government has turned Canada into a country where mothers kiss their children goodbye in the morning and pray they come home at night. Last month, Savannah Kulla, a 29-year-old mother of four, was shot dead in broad daylight in a Brampton strip mall. Her killer was a man who had already been charged with firearms offences and intimate partner violence, a man the Liberal justice system let walk free on bail.

This summer, Bailey McCourt stood in a courtroom and begged a judge to keep her violent ex-husband behind bars. He had already choked her unconscious. The judge released him anyway on $500 bail. Hours later, James Plover hunted her down and murdered her. Bailey's last words to the court had been that he would kill her. The Liberal system said that it would take a chance.

These were two women, and there were two killers who never should have been on our streets. That is the human cost of Liberal catch-and-release.

Since 2015, violent crime is up 55%, gun crime is up 130%, extortion is up 330%, sexual assault is up 76% and homicide is up 29%. This is not random; it is the direct, predictable and preventable result of the Liberals' Bill C-75 and Bill C-5. Bill C-75 codified the toxic principle of restraint, a directive that forces police and judges to release accused persons at the earliest possible moment and under the least onerous conditions, no matter how dangerous they are. Bill C-5 gutted mandatory minimums and handed out house arrest for serious sexual assault, robbery, firearms trafficking and kidnapping.

For four long years, Conservatives have stood in the House and demanded one thing: jail not bail, repealing the principle of restraint and restoring mandatory minimums and presumed detention for repeat violent offenders. All the while, the members opposite blocked us, voted against us and mocked us.

Now, after heartbreaking murders, with families having paid the ultimate price, the Liberals finally copy us with Bill C-14 and call it sweeping reform. This is surgical PR, a patchwork of press releases and photo ops that nibble at the edges while the revolving door keeps spinning.

Let us be crystal clear about what Bill C-14 would not do. It would not repeal the principle of restraint. It keeps the very words that created catch-and-release; it merely adds a redundant sentence saying that restraint would not require release. That sentence is already in the Criminal Code twice, in sections 498 and 501. The bill is not reform but press release footnotes. It would expand reverse onus for some offences: violent car theft, home invasion, choking assaults and extortion. That is good, but reverse onus would still be just a procedural speed bump. The accused could still talk their way out.

What Canadians need is a brick wall. They need presumptive detention for every serious violent offence and every repeat offender.

The bill would add aggravating factors and a few consecutive sentences, but only in narrow combinations. Break and enter would count only if it is paired with gang-related auto theft, and only on the sentence offence. Extortion would run consecutive to arson only from the exact same event. Meanwhile, mass murderers like Alexandre Bissonnette would still get to stack parole eligibility because the government will not touch the Supreme Court's rulings.

The bill would ban house arrest for major sexual assault under two years. That sounds tough, until we remember that the Liberals were the ones who made house arrest possible, in Bill C-5. They fixed one hole that they punched in the boat, while robbery, firearms trafficking, kidnapping and chronic violent offenders would still get to serve their time in their living room.

The bill would do nothing to restore the mandatory minimums the Liberals repealed. Sentencing would remain a judicial lottery: uneven, uncertain and unsafe. It would add no new judges, no new courtrooms and no funding to clear the backlogs.

We see 50% of charges in the Waterloo region dropped because the system is clogged. Waterloo Regional Police told us personally that one in five people on Liberal release orders is caught breaching conditions. More than half of those breachers are repeat violent offenders caught multiple times on the same toothless conditions, and because of the Liberal backlog, half of the charges those officers lay never see a courtroom. In one in five breaches, half the charges are dropped. This is not justice. This is a subscription service for crime.

Just last month in Richmond Hill, a 53-year-old predator allegedly groomed a child online, arranged a meeting at Lake Wilcox and sexually assaulted them. Bill C-14 would do nothing for that child. There would be no reverse onus, and house arrest would still be on the table if the sentence is under two years. That is playing Russian roulette with our children's lives.

Bill C-14 is a half measure dressed up as a victory. Canadians deserve the full Conservative plan, the real jail not bail plan we have been fighting for since day one.

Here is what real reform looks like. We should repeal the Liberal principle of restraint and replace it with a public safety clause. Public and community safety should be the governing principle in every bail decision. We should presume detention, not just reverse the onus, for every major violent offence, such as the use of firearms, sexual assault, kidnapping, human trafficking, home invasion, robbery, extortion with a firearm and arson, and for every repeat violent offender. We should restore mandatory minimums for those exact crimes, the ones the Liberals repealed with Bill C-5. We should end house arrest for robbery, firearms offences, trafficking and chronic violent offenders, with no more living room sentences. We should mandate judges to consider the full criminal record, every conviction, every breach and every outstanding charge, and lower the risk threshold from “substantial likelihood” to “reasonably foreseeable”. We should bar anyone with an indictable conviction from acting as a surety, with no more criminals vouching for criminals, and require non-residents to surrender their passports. We should also fund courts, hire judges and clear backlogs so officers' work is not wasted and victims see justice.

This is what police chiefs from coast to coast are begging for. This is what victims' families are pleading for. This is what Savannah Kulla and Bailey McCourt deserved but never got.

We will move amendments to make Bill C-14 live up to its promises. We will fight to turn Liberal redundancy into Conservative reality. However, if the government refuses, if it clings to its failed ideology, then Bill C-14 will fail the only test that matters: keeping Canadians safe tonight, tomorrow night and every night after.

Canadians have had enough of Liberal clarifications and half measures. They want Conservative convictions. It is past time to jail, not give bail, and keep our streets safe.

[Fraser Tolmie, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise on behalf of the people of Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan. I rise today to speak to Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing reform act. I want to acknowledge the good work being done by the local Moose Jaw Police Service. Moose Jaw saw its crime severity index drop nearly 12% in 2024. Crimes against property are down 23%, and our clearance rates are up significantly. This shows what effective policing can achieve.

However, when I look beyond my hometown to the broader riding of Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, the picture changes dramatically. The Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction has seen violent crime increase 45% over the past decade. How long has the Liberal government been in power? Coincidence or not, it is a decade. In 2024 alone, there were nearly 22,000 victims of violent crime, 6,700 more than 10 years ago. We had 41 homicides, the highest on record in the RCMP jurisdiction. This contrast tells us something critical: Local solutions matter, but municipal police cannot overcome failed federal policies or the Liberal soft-on-crime bail laws, which are forcing Canadians to defend themselves and live in fear.

The Liberal government has finally admitted what Conservatives have been trying to say for years: Its criminal justice reforms have failed. In the Liberals' own press release for Bill C-14, they acknowledged a 41% rise in the violent crime severity index since 2014. Saskatchewan RCMP reports that violent crime is up 45% in 10 years; homicides were up 46% in 2024, the highest on record; firearms offences are up 271%, the highest rate in Canada; assaults on police officers are up 87%; half of all violent crime is attributed to intimate partner and family violence; and 336 prolific offenders were arrested by specialized teams in 2024 alone.

I served with the Royal Canadian Air Force. I studied war studies at King's College at the University of London in the U.K. I understand threat assessment, and I can tell members without hesitation that the Liberal government's bail policies represent a clear and present danger to Canadian communities. In 2019, the Liberals passed Bill C-75, which imposed the so-called principle of restraint, requiring judges to release offenders at the earliest reasonable opportunity. Was that at the beginning of the sentencing, or at the end? I am not sure, but under the least onerous conditions, it has caused problems.

Then, in 2022, the Liberals doubled down with Bill C-5, eliminating mandatory jail times for serious gun crimes, including robbery with a firearm, extortion with a firearm and weapons trafficking. The result is a catch-and-release system in which repeat violent offenders walk free within hours, if not minutes.

As someone who served as the mayor of Moose Jaw, I can say that municipal leaders cannot police their way out of a crisis created by federal legislation. These are not just statistics; these are real people. Bailey McCourt in Kelowna was murdered, allegedly 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 at a Brampton strip mall. Her killer had just been released on bail.

In Saskatchewan, where half of violent crimes involve intimate partner or family violence, women and children are living in terror because the current government prioritizes criminals over victims. Saskatchewan RCMP officers are exhausted. They arrested 336 prolific offenders in 2024, but how many walked free within hours because of the Liberals' bail laws? How many are back on the streets right now, reoffending?

In rural Saskatchewan, when a home invasion happens on a farm 30 kilometres from the nearest town, families are on their own and response times are measured in hours, not in minutes. When someone breaks into their grain bin, steals their equipment and threatens their family, they need to know that the person will not be released to do it again.

Saskatchewan farmers and ranchers deserve better. Women fleeing violent partners deserve better. Police officers deserve better. They all deserve a government that puts public safety first.

The Liberals are finally accepting reality by copying our four-year campaign to scrap Liberal bail law, but they failed to take responsibility for their own failures. Bill C-14 is a clear vindication of Conservative criticisms. The government has admitted that its policies failed. However, after finally getting through, or partially getting through, to the government, we must ensure that Bill C-14 would actually scrap Liberal bail by being as strong as possible.

Where Bill C-14 falls dangerously short is that the principle of restraint would remain intact. The government claims it is clarifying it. It has added language saying, “does not require” release, but the principle itself would still exist. It would still direct least onerous conditions and still create a culture of release.

Second, reverse onus is not detention. Bill C-14 would expand reverse onus, meaning that the accused must prove why they should be released, but this is just a procedural burden shift; it is not a presumption of detention. Dangerous offenders could still talk their way out.

Third, no mandatory minimum would be restored. Bill C-5 eliminated mandatory jail time for serious gun crimes. Bill C-14 would do nothing to restore them. Sentencing would remain highly discretionary. Judges could still give house arrest for robbery or for trafficking offences.

Fourth, the proposed bill is advisory, not mandatory. Too much of Bill C-14 would be guidance, not requirement. It would direct courts and encourage consideration but would not mandate action. In Saskatchewan, where there has been a 271% increase in firearms offences. We need mandatory protection, not suggestion.

Canadians deserve better. They deserve the full Conservative plan embodied in Bill C-242, the jail not bail act. Bill C-242 does not just clarify; it would eliminate the principle of restraint entirely and replace it with a public safety primacy clause. Public and community safety, not the earliest opportunity for release nor the least onerous conditions, would become the governing principle in bail decisions. It would be public safety, period.

Bill C-242 would create a major offences category to trigger a detention-first posture, not just reverse onus, for firearms offences, sexual offences, kidnapping and human trafficking, home invasion, robbery and extortion with a firearm, arson and violent assault. If someone is charged with a major offence and has been convicted of one in the last 10 years, bail would be barred. This is the 10-year look-back rule, a real consequence for repeat offenders.

Bill C-14 would encourage consideration. Bill C-242 would mandate it. Judges would need to consider prior convictions and breaches, outstanding charges, the number and gravity of offences, and patterns of offending while on release.

Saskatchewan RCMP did not arrest 336 prolific offenders just to have judges ignore their records. New violent charges while on bail would mean automatic detention; it would not be discretionary.

All major law enforcement organizations in Canada, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Toronto Police Association, the Canadian Police Association, the National Police Federation and the Ontario Provincial Police Association, as well as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and all provincial governments, whether Conservative, NDP or Liberal, support this, as do 79% of Canadians, who say that getting bail is too easy.

In rural Saskatchewan we understand that when someone makes a mess, they clean it up completely and do not just tidy around the edges. Bill C-242 would clean up the mess. Bill C-14 would tidy around the edges.