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

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, as I was just saying, going back to Bill C-3 and the oversight propositions in the bill, and back to the Yiddish proverb, “for example” is not proof that this legislation needs to be before us at this very moment. It could have been cobbled and combined with other matters that the Government of Canada considered needed to be done to the Canada Border Services Agency.

Again, we have seen a predilection of the government to institute and include all types of things in omnibus budget bills that do not belong there. I should remind the House that in the last Parliament, the Speaker decided to exclude certain portions of previous omnibus budget bills.

When I talk to my constituents, when I ask them what is critical to their day to day, what are the most important issues to them and what touches their daily life, none of them have told me it is Bill C-3. None of them have told me it is the oversight of the CBSA. It is their jobs, their livelihoods and the prosperity of Alberta families.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Speaker, my colleague ended his speech with a comment about no one in his constituency having asked about Bill C-3.

One of the problems we have with the bill is that no one in the government has asked the workers in CBSA about Bill C-3. Maybe what they should have asked is a follow-up on the employee survey, where 63%, almost two out of every three workers in CBSA, said senior management was not to be trusted. They could not bring issues of ethics or concerns forward to senior management without fear of reprisal.

We have seen the Liberal government go after any whistle-blower, whether it is the former justice minister or whether it is a lady complaining about the Prime Minister's blackface. They fired her, and threatened to send anyone similar to re-education camps.

Would my colleague care to comment on the fact that 63% of CBSA staff do not trust the government, do not trust their managers for any issue without fear of reprisal? Maybe that should be looked at before Liberals jam Bill C-3 through.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Edmonton West for bringing to the attention of the House the fact that so many rank and file members of CBSA do not feel comfortable going to their managers.

This is something I have consistently seen, going into my second Parliament. Often, departmental plans are ignored by the ministers responsible. They are an absolute wealth of information when it comes to the priorities that should be found in bills like this: technical pieces of legislation that are looking after oversight bodies.

Often, there are departmental plans where we find a failure of government administration and oversight to both provide services to Canadians and also provide a work environment for employees that is the expected standard.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Speaker, my colleague said prime minister Jason Kenney. This leadership race just keeps changing every day, and I hope the member for Calgary Shepard will consider his own future in that context after such an excellent speech in defence of things that are all so important to us.

I want to ask the member to share what he is hearing from people in Alberta. I know, for my constituents, that Teck Frontier and building pipelines are things that are top of mind. The government discussion we are seeing in the media today is talking about a rescue package. Liberals are talking about giving money to people outside of the context of being able to develop our natural resources.

What I hear from Albertans is that they do not want to become an equalization-receiving province. They want to be a building, contributing province, but the government has to get out of the way in order to allow them to develop our natural resources.

Our desire for every part of the country is that every region, every group of people within this country is able to seize the opportunities that are provided by natural resources instead of being forced into dependency on the federal government by anti-development policies. I would like to hear my colleague's comments on that.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, I will begin by saying I am officially not running for the leadership of my party. I am open to caucus chair.

I could repeat that in French if necessary, but I will not.

The member brings up the crux of the issue. When I was door knocking in the past election the most important matter for my constituents, consistently on every street, was equalization. It did not matter if they were seniors, young people, people who were employed or unemployed. They were bringing up the issue of equalization as an issue of fairness.

Alberta has not collected equalization in any way since 1965. We have been a net contributor of over $600 billion, and Albertans are tired of the situation where we are told we are not allowed to create the wealth that then is expected to be shared. We do not have a problem with sharing, but do not stand in the way of our ability to create the wealth in the first place.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, this legislation has good support on all sides of the House. Listening to my Conservative friends across the way, they seem to want to debate issues that are not necessarily relevant to the bill itself.

Would the member not agree that this something that is long overdue? We have seen a great deal of consultation that has taken place over the last number of years. We have now made it a high priority by placing it as the third bill of this House.

From the member's perspective, when would he like to see this bill sent to a standing committee where maybe we can listen to other Canadian views, particularly correctional officers and others, to provide—

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

A very quick comment from the member for Calgary Shepard.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, I would be happy to see this bill sent to committee once all members are satisfied that they have represented their constituents in the House on the matter.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am very grateful for the opportunity to participate in the second reading debate on Bill C-3.

If passed, this bill will establish the public complaints and review commission for the Canada Border Services Agency, the CBSA. This bill will give individuals a forum to express their discontent and have their complaints heard.

The new commission will be an addition to the existing Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP. The new joint commission will receive complaints from the public concerning the conduct of CBSA and RCMP employees and the services both organizations provide, with the exception of complaints relating to national security, which are reviewed by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency.

The CBSA is a key player in maintaining peace and security in Canada and has been for almost 16 years. Currently, Canadians rely on nearly 14,000 employees to provide fair, respectful service to the public. Those 14,000 employees are responsible for the longest international land border on the planet.

They work hard to protect our borders at 13 airports, 117 land border crossings, and ports and railway stations across this great country. Every day, they monitor the flow of goods and people crossing the border, and they do it professionally and courteously. Many MPs can attest to receiving outstanding services from CBSA employees during their travels abroad.

Over the course of the last fiscal year, CBSA employees interacted with 96 million travellers, inspected four million of them and processed over 21 million commercial releases and 46 million courier shipments. Their work involves seizing illegal goods, enforcing trade remedies, and intercepting and detaining people who pose a threat to public safety or are inadmissible.

In that context, the CBSA is also responsible for enforcing over 90 laws and regulations that ensure the country's and Canadians' security, and so I want to commend those employees for the professionalism and dedication with which they do their jobs every day.

However, I still believe that, when people feel as though their rights have been violated during an interaction with a government agency, they should have the opportunity to file a complaint against the agency in question. What is more, I am of the opinion that the complaint in question must be examined by an external and independent body. That is an important and fundamental guarantee that Canadians expect and are entitled to.

Bill C-3 seeks to offer Canadians that exact guarantee. The CBSA is currently the only agency under the Department of Public Safety that does not have its own independent review mechanism. Many proponents are calling for such a mechanism to be implemented. I would like to mention just a few.

The chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission said the following on the subject in 2016, and I quote:

This is why we have joined the call for independent monitoring and oversight of the Canada Border Services Agency in relation to migrants and other foreign nationals in detention.

In 2015, the hon. Senator Moore introduced Bill S-205, which proposed the creation of an inspector general to consider complaints.

Later the same year, this bill was followed by a report from the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence that reached the same conclusion. The committee later recommended that the Canadian government create an independent public complaints review body for the CBSA.

On the national security side, our government has already created the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency. That agency has the authority to review national security and intelligence-related functions across government, including the CBSA. Bill C-3 therefore provides the final missing piece. Indeed, Bill C-3 will allow for independent review of non-national security-related government activities only.

In addition, the new public complaints review commission could conduct its own investigations—

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

I have to interrupt the hon. member for Orléans and let her know that she will have four minutes after question period to finish her speech.

We will now proceed with statements by members.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-3, 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, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to resume this morning's debate. As I was saying, Bill C-3 completes the circle. It will allow for the independent review of government activities other than those affecting national security. It is therefore important to point out that the new public complaints and review commission could conduct its own investigations at its own initiative and produce an annual report on the results of its investigations. This function would be secondary to its role of reviewing public complaints. I want to say that people have been calling for these necessary measures for a long time. As mentioned earlier, I do not see how the opposition could be against this bill.

In closing, the bill fills a gap in the independent review process regarding complaints against the CBSA. It sets out independent redress for all immigrants detained by the CBSA. It grants an independent body the power to investigate the CBSA, which will improve the agency's operations. It clarifies the CBSA's response protocol for serious incidents. It enhances accountability and transparency while increasing the public's confidence in its institutions. It aligns Canada's internal mechanism with similar mechanisms in other G5 countries.

Our government is therefore invested in establishing accountable and transparent public institutions. These are important issues for business communities, tourism, the CBSA itself and all Canadians.

Bill C-3 will offer protection to the millions of people who interact with the CBSA each year. This is a comprehensive and effective bill that deals with a major current issue. I encourage all members of the House to support Bill C-3 so that it can move through all the stages of our wonderful legislative system as quickly as possible.

I thank my hon. colleagues for their attention.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. The opposition is not going to dwell on this bill because we intend to support it.

However, we have a lot of questions about the government's decision to move so fast. Why is it in such a rush to adopt this bill when there are so many other issues of greater concern to Canadians right now? I would like my colleague to explain why passing this bill is as urgent as she said it was in her speech.

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my opposition colleague for his question.

As I said in my speech, Bill C-3 is important. We have talked about this many times, but this organization is the only one that does not have an independent complaints review system. This bill will create that.

We have always said that our government wants to be more transparent and accountable. This measure will support the organization, and many committees have asked for it.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to jump on the opportunity that I was just given, since my colleague mentioned openness and transparency.

This government likes to say how transparent it is every chance it gets. I would therefore like to know why my colleague's party voted against my motion calling on the Auditor General to review the federal infrastructure plan. That is important.

It is a question of transparency and oversight. Bill C-3 aims to increase oversight of an organization. The Liberals, despite being so transparent, refused to support my motion calling on the Auditor General to take a closer look at a plan worth $186 billion. That is a lot of money.

We are a little baffled by the Liberals' doublespeak about transparency. On the one hand, they want to rush this bill through, but on the other hand, they voted against my motion.