Bill C-3 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act and the Canada Border Services Agency Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

This enactment amends the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act to, among other things, rename the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as the Public Complaints and Review Commission. It also amends the Canada Border Services Agency Act to, among other things, grant to that Commission powers, duties and functions in relation to the Canada Border Services Agency, including the power to conduct a review of the activities of that Agency and to investigate complaints concerning the conduct of any of that Agency’s officers or employees. It also makes consequential amendments to other Acts.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Madam Speaker, one of the concerns I have around this bill, and I am hoping we will be able to fix it at committee stage, is it explicitly says that reviews cannot be conducted if resources are not available to do so. That worries me.

Could the member let the House know what kind of resources the government is planning to commit to ensure the PCRC has the resources it needs to carry out its review function?

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member knows that the budget has not yet come out. We do not necessarily know where funding will be placed and how much money will be going into these programs. I do trust that if this is legislation we are moving forward on, there will be money available to make sure this is something that can happen.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question. How will this new type of commission deal with the increased workload?

I gather that civilians who currently file a complaint with the commission can wait months or even years before receiving a response.

Does the government have a plan to increase the commission's capacity?

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

The commission has not yet been created. We are not at that point yet, so I cannot answer my colleague's question.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Madam Speaker, I want to ask the member opposite about the costs of running programs like this. Taxpayers are often quite concerned about government-run programs like this being hugely expensive. We are already looking at $150 million for oversight groups that are already in existence.

What assurances do we have that taxpayers will get value for the massive cost of this program?

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, most Canadians, if not all, have dealt with the CBSA at some point or other when travelling. We never know what can happen, what kind of event will take place and what kinds of dealings we will have with the CBSA. Hopefully all Canadians will be able to benefit from these services and from the money being put into these services.

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak to Bill C-3.

I am in favour of a complaints and review mechanism for the Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA. This type of proposal goes to the very heart of our government's core values and objectives.

Each minister of the crown has a mandate letter that clearly states:

We have committed to an open, honest government that is accountable to Canadians, lives up to the highest ethical standards and applies the utmost care and prudence in the handling of public funds.

We want to raise the bar even further on the transparency and integrity of government.

As Prime Minister Trudeau said, if we want Canadians to trust their government—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

I would remind the hon. member that she must not use members' names in the House.

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Sherbrooke, QC]

Madam Speaker, if we want Canadians to trust their government, we need a government that trusts Canadians. I would add that this position has been repeated many times in the House, and not just when Bill C-98 was introduced.

On that note, I would also like to thank the senator who introduced Bill S-205 in 2015. That bill set out a number of the recommendations that we are proposing today.

Beyond the CBSA, our government's desire to improve the transparency and accountability of all our security agencies is clear.

For example, in 2013, a member proposed the creation of a national security committee of parliamentarians, but unfortunately the House rejected that proposal. The following year, a member introduced a bill that would have amended the National Defence Act in order to improve the transparency and accountability of the Communications Security Establishment.

Obviously, parliamentarians and Canadians want our intelligence and security agencies to be as accountable and transparent as possible. When our government took office in 2015, we knew we had to take action. During the government consultations on national security, experts and members of the public told us that we risked losing the trust of the public if our security agencies did not become more transparent and accountable.

After all, these measures create an effective and efficient government.

They help us oversee the exercise of authority and deliver results for Canadians.

The bill established the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, which is the heart of Bill C-59 and represents a historic change for Canada.

The creation of this agency resulted in an integrated and comprehensive review of all national security and intelligence activities, including broader access to information across the government.

The government also created the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, a group tasked with reviewing Canada's national security and intelligence organizations.

As members know, this committee now has extraordinary access to classified information so that it can scrutinize security and intelligence activities.

The creation of this committee filled a significant gap and allowed us achieve two objectives: guaranteeing that our security agencies are working effectively, and protecting the rights and freedoms of Canadians.

The government also adopted a national security transparency commitment across government to give Canadians better access to information. All of these measures will help build public confidence in our security agencies. The RCMP, CSIS and Correctional Service Canada are already subject to solid accountability measures.

We know that similar steps have to be taken for our border agency.

We need a transparent system to ensure that complaints regarding the conduct and quality of services of CBSA employees are handled appropriately.

This is what Bill C-3 aims to do.

This bill would build on all of the government reforms I mentioned earlier and would increase the accountability of our national security apparatus.

Canadians can rest assured that an independent review body would be handling complaints relating to the conduct of border officers.

Bill C-3 would expand and strengthen the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission, the CRCC, which is the RCMP's review agency. This commission would become the public complaints and review commission. The new commission would be responsible for handling complaints and reviews for the Canada Border Services Agency and for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Anyone interacting with CBSA employees who wishes to file a complaint about the employee's conduct or quality of services would be able to go through this enhanced commission.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission could also conduct reviews of the Canada Border Services Agency of its own initiative or at the request of the Minister of Public Safety. However, matters of national security would be addressed by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency with help from the CRCC.

Departments and agencies within Canada's public safety community are very familiar with this new transparency and accountability model. I know that they understand that their ability to respect this model has a direct impact on public trust, their credibility and their day-to-day activities.

The government knows that with the creation of the independent mechanism proposed in Bill C-3, Canadians will be much more comfortable filing a complaint. We will thereby greatly improve the accountability of our public safety apparatus' oversight mechanism.

I encourage all members of the House to join me and support Bill C-3 at second reading.

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Madam Speaker, my question pertains to the complexity, sometimes, of the environment of oversight organizations. I saw a number cited in the backgrounder on this bill. We spend about $150 million on various agencies that do oversight, which obviously is an important function.

Other members spoke earlier today about duplication. People worry that it may take a long time for them to get an answer or that they may not receive correct directions on how to find an answer or file a complaint.

I am wondering if the member could comment on that, to assure Canadians that this legislation is money well spent and that there would be an easy, directed process and a timeline for an outcome that Canadians could have confidence in when they make a submission to the oversight commission.

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Sherbrooke, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I think that the government has always sought to establish the best commission and the best organizations possible to meet the needs of all Canadians.

Bill C-3 effectively seeks to ensure that people can file complaints, feel safe and rest assured that their rights will be respected by border services officers. We hope that these questions will be answered in the next stages this bill will follow through to its adoption.

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.

My riding, Châteauguay—Lacolle, is home to an important border crossing. I am talking about the crossing in Lacolle, on Highway 15. Thousands of people, individuals and families, cross that border for tourist and business reasons. Goods are also shipped by businesses for export and import between the United States and Canada.

What changes does Bill C-3 make? We sometimes hear stories about people held up at the border or being asked questions they found inappropriate. What changes does this bill make for ordinary citizens?

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

Our government is committed to ensuring that border services earn the trust of the Canadian people, and we are working on strengthening accountability. Bill C-3 will facilitate the safe and efficient flow of people and goods. It goes even further by introducing an oversight body that will allow people to file complaints more easily. I think this will help the people in the riding.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, will this commission be empowered to deal with illegal or improper searches of the phones of Canadians, or will it be powerless to stop U.S. agents from collecting information?

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Sherbrooke, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

As for the rights granted to the commission, I cannot answer that question too specifically. One thing is certain: Our aim in introducing this bill is to strengthen Canadians' confidence and make sure they feel comfortable dealing with border service officers and filing complaints, when circumstance warrant it. I am confident that all the necessary mechanisms will be implemented so that we can address these situations.