The parliamentary secretary knows there is broad latitude in the consideration of legislation, and I know the member will bring his comments back to the legislation at hand.
I will call on the hon. member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge to resume.
Lisa Hepfner Liberal
Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)
Second reading (House), as of Oct. 23, 2025
Subscribe to a feed (what's a feed?) of speeches and votes in the House related to Bill C-223.
This is from the published bill.
This enactment amends the Divorce Act to, among other things,
(a) require legal advisers who undertake to act on a spouse’s behalf in a divorce proceeding to assess the risk of family violence and, if there is a risk, to take steps to implement an appropriate plan;
(b) provide the means by which a court may more accurately assess the impact of coercive control on a parent-child relationship so as to ensure that children are protected from domestic violence after a separation or divorce;
(c) allow a court, if certain conditions are met, to obtain information or evidence directly from a child in writing or by means of an interview with the child for the purpose of determining the child’s views and preferences; and
(d) address certain myths or stereotypes regarding family violence by providing that courts, in determining its impact, are not to make certain inferences, including that violence no longer occurs once spouses have separated or a divorce proceeding has commenced.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-223s:
This is a computer-generated summary of the speeches below. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Bill C-223 aims to amend the Divorce Act by prioritizing children's voices and safety in divorce proceedings, addressing parental alienation allegations and domestic violence.
Liberal
Conservative
Bloc
Keeping Children Safe ActPrivate Members' Business
The Assistant Deputy Speaker John Nater
The parliamentary secretary knows there is broad latitude in the consideration of legislation, and I know the member will bring his comments back to the legislation at hand.
I will call on the hon. member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge to resume.
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am speaking to Bill C-223, which is on criminal justice, but I think we need to talk about what is happening on our streets. That is important. I expect there will be more points of order. Why? It is because this is very uncomfortable. It is not a personal thing. I know different members over there, and I have respect for them as individuals, but I am talking about policies. I am talking about the direction the Liberal government has brought our nation in, and it is not good.
When I was going door to door talking to thousands of people, I asked how crime has been over the past 10 years and where things were at. Nobody said it has gotten better. It has gotten worse, and Liberal policy is making it worse.
I want to declare, unequivocally, my respect and admiration for our police forces. In my constituency, in Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and Mission, it is the RCMP. They work hard and do the very best they can to protect our communities under the legal framework they have. All Canadians owe them a debt of gratitude.
In stark contrast to the Liberal record, the Conservative Party puts forward concrete and practical solutions that reflect the real needs of Canadians. We recently brought forward the jail, not bail legislation the Liberals voted against, even though police forces across the nation supported it. Last year, I brought forward Bill C-411, the anti-arson act, which would have brought in strong consequences for torching our forests and would have brought in mandatory minimums for those burning down places of worship. It seems like it is a free-for-all now to burn down churches or other places of worship under the Liberals. When I asked an OPQ, the government released that there were over 400 instances where places of worship experienced arson attacks. Deaths have occurred because of this.
The Liberals do a lot of talking about criminal justice, but things have only gotten worse, and they are only going to get worse the way they are going.
This week, on Monday, the Conservative member for Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola introduced Bill C-255. This legislation represents a meaningful step toward protecting victims of intimate partner violence. It is practical and its solutions will make changes, but the Liberal government, with its habitual obstruction, has stalled and blocked common-sense reforms like the jail, not bail initiative, showing that it prefers photo-ops and hollow promises to real changes.
Canadians deserve more than symbolic gestures; they deserve a government that will fight aggressively for their interests by securing jobs in the auto sector, in forestry or anywhere else. They deserve a government that will make our communities safe again, not one that allows repeat violent offenders to walk free because of political ideology. The Conservatives will fight for a Canada where families can afford to live with hope and dignity, where they can feel safe in their communities and where they can put their trust in their government to be on their side, not working against them.