Bill S-233

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (assault against persons who provide health services and first responders)

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to require a court toconsider the fact that the victim of an assault is a person whoprovides health services or a first responder to be anaggravating circumstance for the purposes of sentencing.

Criminal Code

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

moved that Bill S-233, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (assault against persons who provide health services and first responders), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Madam Speaker, before we get going, my granddaughter is at home watching as we speak. If you will indulge me, I would love to say hello to my granddaughter, Ren, and to tell her that I love her and will see her soon. I know she is watching. At five years old, she is already watching CPAC.

I stand before my colleagues frustrated. I am frustrated that we are here, once again, talking about an issue that is non-partisan.

I rise today to speak on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of brave men and women who protect and serve our communities each and every day. They run into burning buildings. They run towards gunfire. They heal our broken bones. They hold our hands as we take our final breath. They are our silent sentinels: nurses, health care workers, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs and correctional officers.

These are the Canadians who hold our country together. When we dial 911, they pick up. They respond with no questions asked, yet for at least the decade that I have been here on the Hill, they have been asking for a single thing. It is that we protect them, just as they protect us. They put their safety, their comfort and their lives on the line each and every day when they go to work, and they do so knowing and expecting that they are going to face rising incidents of violence, assault and harassment. That is not part of their job description, and it is unacceptable. Nowhere in their job description does it say that they should sign on to a life of violence, abuse and harassment.

If colleagues can sense the frustration and the emotion in my voice, it is because I have sat with nurses. I have sat with paramedics who have had their lives threatened. I have sat with the families of first responders who have been killed on the job. All they are asking for is a simple thing, that we stand with them.

If some of this speech sounds familiar, it is because we have all been here before. My bill, Bill C-321, passed at all stages in the last Parliament. We studied it again because Bill C-321 was born out of a study from the first session of the 42nd Parliament, “Violence Facing Health Care Workers in Canada”. All parliamentarians came together to say, with recommendations, that this bill, which was Bill C-321 in the previous Parliament and is now Bill S-233, should be passed, that we should be doing something and standing up for those who stand for us.

I get frustrated. The message I got, which originally asked me to please refer to this document and put forth a piece of legislation, hangs heavy on my shoulders. It was a message from a paramedic who had responded to a call at a residence. The family of the victim proceeded to throw the paramedic down a set of stairs, break her ankles and beat her to the point where she gave up. If that sounds shocking to members, it is but one of, if not hundreds, thousands of messages and stories that I have heard over the last five years of pushing for this bill.

We have nurses who are running a campaign called “Code Black and Blue”. The nurses launched a campaign against violence in the workplace. That was last fall. The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions said that it cannot stand for this any longer. During its lobby days over the last decade, the International Association of Fire Fighters' number one ask was to do something against the rising acts of violence against them. Last Parliament, this bill passed at all stages, but what happened? Parliament was prorogued, so it fell off the Order Paper. This could be law today.

When passed, Bill S-233, or Bill C-321, would act as a strong deterrent, a powerful deterrent, to those who would seek to commit violence against our frontline heroes. It would signal to first responders and health care workers that their Parliament values them, that we as leaders in our country value them, that we are looking out for them and that the justice system will protect them.

Now, as it stands, a high percentage of those incidents go unreported because they know that they will not be followed through on. What would Bill S-233 do? It would amend the Criminal Code concerning assaults against persons who provide health services and first responders. It would amend the Criminal Code to make an offence against a health care professional or a first responder an aggravating factor upon sentencing.

There is always a time for partisanship in the House, but over my tenure, I have proven, I think, that when it comes to mental health, when it comes to standing up for those who stand up for us and who protect us, I will work collegially across party lines to get something done. I did that with Bill C-321. The NDP brought forth amendments. The Bloc brought forth amendments, and so did the Liberals. We agreed to them. That is why Bill C-321 passed.

When we got back after the last election, Senator Housakos in the other House and his Liberal colleagues, Liberal senators or the independent senators, the former prime minister Justin Trudeau-appointed senators, got together and out of the ashes, they rose and supported Bill S-233 because they knew how important it was that we as a House send this message, that we as a House stand with those who put their lives on the line every day.

I had hope, when it passed unanimously last fall, that we would be able to do something swiftly here in the House. I had hope because I believed in all of us, in the power of the 343 members of Parliament who were here. I believed the Liberals when they said that they wanted to work together to get things done for Canadians. However, every step of the way for the last three or four months, I have been disappointed. As a matter of fact, I have had somebody on the other side in leadership tell me that they guess we are just going to have to wait.

My friend, Paul Hills, a paramedic from Saskatoon, dedicated the last decade to trying to get something like this bill passed. I cannot tell members how heartbroken and disappointed he was when he worked across party lines to try to get something done, and then was told it was not going to get done.

We could have passed Bill S-233 in the waning days just before Christmas break, and it would be law today. The nurses, firefighters and paramedics, those who put their uniforms on every day in protection of all of us, would have that protection and would know that we stand with them, but no. Once again, partisan politics takes place. I have begged and I have pleaded. If any members in the House have watched question period before, I am almost down on both knees talking with the government House leader, pleading with him over this.

I understand that there is precedence and so on, but the bill has been agreed upon and has been studied. We are going on six years. Ten years it has been asked for.

When we talk about violence against our first responders and health care professionals, we are talking about real people in real communities: our families, my family. My youngest daughter is a psychiatric nurse. I get choked up talking about it because of the stories I hear.

There is no protection. They go to work every day simply trying to help others, yet they are increasingly being met with fists, knives, threats and abuse in return. Last fall a nurse in British Columbia was punched and kicked, knocked unconscious, simply trying to take somebody's blood pressure. In Ontario a nurse was attacked with a knife and a machete.

Across Canada the incidents of violence against frontline workers have surged. Nurses report being punched, kicked, spat on and threatened. Paramedics are assaulted while they are trying to save lives. Firefighters are attacked at emergency scenes. Correctional officers face daily threats, and institutions are already stretched beyond capacity. I do not even want to get into the nightmare they work in, because it is staggering. I would never want to do that. I think I can handle myself, but I would never want to work in that situation.

In many hospitals across the country, nurses will tell us that violence is now considered part of the job. That is shameful. Imagine if we had to deal with that each and every day. Would we come to work if we knew we were going to get punched, spat on or kicked, or have our life threatened? In emergency departments, staff are trained not only in trauma care but also in how to de-escalate physical threats. Paramedics now routinely wait for police backup before responding to calls that once would have been considered routine.

Firefighters cannot not respond to dangerous situations. Regardless of what is presented before them, they have to respond, yet there is nothing backing them up, nothing that is protecting them in the eyes of the law if they are beat up, kicked, punched and so on. They are told very often that it is part of the job and to just move on. This is not normal, and it should not be accepted as normal, yet there are games that are going on in the House.

I think if I can leave the House with any request for members, it is to please work with their party, with their side. I do not care if it has my name on it. I do not care if it has a Conservative name on it. I really do not. My request is for us to stand together and pass the bill.

No Canadian should go to work wondering whether they will come home safe at the end of their shift. No nurse should have to fear being attacked while caring for a patient. No paramedics should be assaulted while providing life-saving treatment. No firefighters should be threatened while responding to an emergency. No correctional officers should be injured simply for doing their job, yet that is exactly what is happening each and every day.

This is why Bill S-233 is so important and matters. The legislation, if passed, would send a clear and unambiguous message that when someone assaults a person who is providing health care or emergency services, that offence will be treated with the seriousness it deserves.

With the last bit of time I have left with the bill, I will remind the House why we are here: our nurses, our paramedics, our firefighters, our first responders. They lay it on the line every day for us. They get up every morning knowing they are going to experience life-changing events, but no one is there to stand up for them.

I urge all members to please take it upon themselves to get Bill S-233 passed at all stages. We can work together on this. Lives depend on it.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Secretary of State (Combatting Crime)]

Madam Speaker, we have always supported the member's cause when it comes to the bill. It is noble what the member is proposing. However, in 2021 the Liberal government, in Bill C-3, passed aggravating factors when it comes to health care workers. Therefore, when an offence is committed against someone because they are providing health services, including personal care services, that is already seen in our Criminal Code as an aggravating factor.

I, too, met with nurses on the Hill yesterday, and the violence against health care workers does continue. It is very concerning. It is something I would like to solve, but I think there is a missing piece of the puzzle, because the crime exists in the code, but police are not charging. They think it is a waste of court time. They do not think it is going to lead anywhere. I would say that there is a provincial element and responsibility in the administration of justice, as well as a policing law enforcement responsibility to enforce the law and lay charges, and a responsibility for the courts not to dismiss these cases.

I am wondering if the member would agree that, in order to really and truly protect our health care workers, we have to all work together at the federal and provincial levels to make sure, even after the passage of the bill, that it would actually get applied, because what we are seeing now is that it absolutely is not.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, as a matter of fact, we worked with the ministers of public safety and justice at that time on Bill C-3. In their own words, they said that Bill C-321 was complementary to Bill C-3, because Bill C-3 did not go far enough. The two bills, between them, covered exactly what we needed to do.

It is not a single line; it is a stand-alone paragraph when it comes to assaults. Bill C-3 did not go far enough, but Bill C-321 took it to the next level, which is why we took amendments from the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc to get Bill C-321 passed. At that time, the minister of justice and the minister of public safety and security were in support of Bill C-321.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette—Manawan, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I would also like to thank him for sponsoring this bill. As we know, people who work in health services and as first responders do essential work. As we see in the media, they are increasingly facing acts of violence. I have a lot of family members who are paramedics, and they have talked to me about this. My friend Louis-Olivier Roussin, the operations manager at Ambulance St-Gabriel, came to the Hill a few months ago to raise awareness about this issue. It is therefore important to get this bill passed.

Why is it so urgent to get it passed? I know my colleague touched on this in his speech. I would like him to expand on why he thinks it is important to pass it now, without delay.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, why do we need to do this? It is because each and every day, nurses, doctors, paramedics and firefighters put their uniform on and go to work, but trust me when I say that there will be lives lost. Somebody will lose their life; it could be a nurse, or it could be a paramedic in the back of an ambulance. The challenge we have right now is that there is not enough meat in the Criminal Code to ensure that the attacker gets charged at the highest level and that the full weight of the law is behind the victims.

Bill S-233 targets a specific part of the Criminal Code that deals with assaults. It does not talk about 25 duties and functions; it is specific to health care workers and first responders over the course of doing their job. It is about an aggravating circumstance for assault against persons who provide health services and against first responders.

The bill needs to be passed now. Every day we delay is another life of a paramedic, a first responder or a nurse in jeopardy. We need to put teeth behind the Criminal Code and be able to stand with them.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, just to pick up on the last point the member put on the record, in terms of a delay, I remember, back in December and November, literally pleading with the Conservative Party to allow the passage of Bill C-14. Bill C-14 goes even further—

[An hon. member]

It does not.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, it does. It goes further than Bill S-233. I suggest to members that, collectively, the House would have helped all Canadians, because it was part of the bail reform legislation. All of Canada could have benefited by the passage of that legislation. I do not know how many times I stood in my place and challenged the Conservatives to allow that legislation to pass. For weeks and weeks in advance, I challenged the Conservatives. I said we could give a gift to Canadians by having the bill pass before the end of the year.

As for the issue the member raises, I take it very seriously. During the years I was an MLA, I was the health care critic and the justice critic. I understand the pressures that are put on paramedics and on our law enforcement officers. I can say that every member of the Liberal caucus appreciates and understands the need for legislation that will add that additional protection. Every Liberal member of the House does.

I would like to believe that all members of Parliament would be sympathetic to it. That is why we incorporated it into Bill C-14. To understand why Bill C-14 did not pass, the Conservative caucus needs to look in the mirror and take responsibility for that. That is the truth. We all know that.

The crime package that the Prime Minister and this cabinet and government brought forward to the House of Commons incorporates everything from protecting health care workers and first responders, in a very real way, to issues such as serious bail reform and reinstating minimum sentences, reinstating literally a dozen or more, not to mention dealing with issues such as fentanyl.

[An hon. member]

That is unbelievable.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, the member is right. There is so much there that is of substance. The reason it did not go through is that the leader of the Conservative Party's political agenda is more Conservative-based. I respect that the member stands and says we should not make this political.

I am frustrated. I am frustrated as a member of Parliament because I saw the opportunities. Much like, as he said, he pleaded, I pleaded with the Conservative Party to get the legislation passed on behalf of the government. I stood here and said we would sit until midnight for the last two weeks of the session to deal with substantial legislation, including Bill C-14, which would have delivered for our first responders. The Conservative Party refused to sit until midnight. Conservatives complained about not being able to debate legislation, but when they were provided the opportunity, they did not allow the debate. They should not try to convey that the government does not understand the issue. We understand the issue, and that is why we are so passionate about seeing the legislation get advanced.

If we look at the first responders and the responsibilities they have and the abuse they have taken, it gives the justification. That is the reason the current Prime Minister made it a priority issue and incorporated it into Bill C-14. In the city of Winnipeg, it has gotten to the degree that the nurses union actually greylists health care facilities, giving a warning—

[An. hon member]

In your riding.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, no, it is not in my riding. It is just south of my riding. It is greylisting hospital facilities because they are not safe. What that does is amplify what the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime mentioned in her question.

This is not just Ottawa passing laws. This is something for which the provinces need to step up, as well as municipalities, which are responsible for law enforcement. When we talk about the desire to protect first responders, it is important that all the stakeholders appreciate and understand that it is different levels of government coming to the table.

I like to believe that Ottawa is doing that, and tonight we are seeing both the official opposition and the government, in a very passionate way, expressing why we support our first responders. I am encouraged to see that sort of support coming from the official opposition.

We are not too late. This is second reading of this particular private member's bill, but there is an opportunity for us to have legislation that would take care of this issue before the end of February. I argued two or three months ago that it could have been done at the end of December. There is no reason we could not do it before the end of this month. All we need is co-operation from the Conservative Party to stop the filibuster on Bill C-14.

When we talk about Bill C-14, law enforcement officers, every provincial and territorial government, political parties in all areas, although I am not too sure about the Greens, but the major political parties are all behind Bill C-14. I do not know where the opposition to it is coming from, outside of the official opposition here on the floor of the House. That is why we hear the frustration from the government House leader or other members when they talk about how there is substantial legislation before us, and it continues to be filibustered.

The member spoke eloquently, passionately and emotionally about first responders, calling on the government to take some action. I would hope that we would see that same passion in the Conservative caucus when they talk about the government agenda dealing with some of the crime legislation. In particular, I mean Bill C-14, but there is also the other crime legislation, such as Bill C-2; Bill C-9, the hate legislation; Bill C-14; and Bill C-16, which we recently debated. I suggest it would make us world-class in how it would recognize femicide by boosting it to first degree. It would reinstate many mandatory minimums. Whether it is what we are talking about tonight, bail reform or what Bill C-16 would do, these are ideas that Canadians as a whole support. Canadians in Conservative ridings support these initiatives.

As such, my appeal to members opposite is to recognize what the introducer of this particular bill has talked about, but to also do a comparison between Bill S-233 and Bill C-14. We would find that Bill C-14 would even go further than Bill S-233 in dealing with and supporting first responders. That is not to mention many other aspects of the criminal code, like that bail reform.

We do have an opportunity, a very real and tangible opportunity, but we need to see more co-operation and less filibustering.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise to speak to Bill S-233. However, before I begin my speech, I want to draw attention to this tartan I am wearing, which is is certified and registered in Scotland. It was made by two weavers in my riding who are members of the Guilde des Tisserands du Suroît. They wove this tartan and gifted it to me in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the City of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. When I received it, I promised them that I would honour their work of art by sharing it with all my colleagues in the House of Commons, as I am doing now. I would like to thank Johanne and Pierrette, who are truly incredible weavers. I am so proud, I must say, to show off this tartan to everyone here in the House.

I understand that we are debating a bill that we have already debated in the House, but it had a different number at the time. That bill that made it through all the legislative stages, but unfortunately died on the Order Paper because of prorogation. We already know that the bill enjoyed broad consensus in the House and in the Senate.

It is a shame, because I was listening to the speech by the member for Winnipeg North and I got the impression that Bill S-233 was being used as a bargaining chip to punish the Conservatives for not co-operating on other bills. I find that completely unfair, because it is a privilege to be randomly selected to introduce a private member's bill. I find it deeply unfair for it to be treated this way.

The Bloc Québécois agreed to fast-track Bill S-233 so that it could be passed quickly. It is unfortunate that the Liberals did not give their support to allow the bill to be passed quickly.

It all started with recommendation 3 of a report from the Standing Committee on Health. It stated that the Criminal Code should be amended to require a court to consider as an aggravating factor for sentencing purposes the fact that the victim is a health care professional. This is a small amendment to the Criminal Code, but it is highly important considering who it is meant for.

Right now, a number of sections guide judges in terms of aggravating factors. I am referring here to assault, assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm, aggravated assault and causing bodily harm. However, there is no specific offence that states that an attack on a health care professional or a first responder constitutes an aggravating factor for the purposes of sentencing. That is what the bill does. It is a matter of clarifying this issue.

I heard the member for Winnipeg North say that this is not just a federal matter, that first responders and health care professionals are experiencing violence, and that there is also shared jurisdiction between the provinces and the federal government. I would say to him that the federal government does indeed have the means to give more to the provinces in its health transfers so that the health care sector has the tools to deal with this surge in violence and assaults on health care workers and first responders.

I often say this, but I am a social worker and manager at the Montérégie‑Ouest integrated health and social services centre. I can say that I have seen very serious situations. I will describe some of these situations because I think it is important to understand how important this bill is, as well as how important it is to prevent violence against health care professionals and first responders.

There are things that I never saw in my practice until very recently. I was re-elected six years ago. Before that, I was a manager. I managed seniors' residences. Seniors are staying in residences longer now, and they often struggle with dementia, and the fact is that dementia, especially frontal lobe dementia, often leads to aggressive and violent behaviour directed at health care workers.

I had to deal with situations where a Garda company security guard had to be hired to protect health care workers from being attacked or assaulted by residents. These incidents were not necessarily premeditated, but a consequence illness.

When it gets to the point where taxpayer dollars need to be spent on hiring guards to protect staff members from being hit, kicked, bitten, pushed or injured, a lot of tax dollars get spent on staff security. I think that managers sometimes agonize over the need to do more with less and sometimes feel compelled to cut back on these guards' hours, for example, just to balance their budget.

The member for Winnipeg North said that the provinces need to take responsibility. I cannot help but respond to that by saying that the primary responsibility lies with those who have too much money and who spend it in areas that fall under Quebec's jurisdiction, those who do not do what it takes to give the provinces the means to also look after their health care professionals and first responders.

Like the member for Cariboo—Prince George, I have witnessed all sorts of situations. Police officers and firefighters are now often accompanied by social workers who can help calm down angry individuals or individuals with mental health issues who are in crisis and behaving very violently toward the first responder. Practices are changing and health care professionals are being hired to support first responders, but that costs money.

Of course, the bill does add the aggravating factor, and we agree with that, but we must not forget the main point. We also need to support health care professionals upstream and support first responders when they intervene on the ground. However, there are only so many ways to do that. This can be done by adding specialized crisis intervention personnel trained to deal with someone who is displaying completely disordered behaviour, for example. It could be someone who is intoxicated and wants to attack an ambulance attendant, firefighter or even a police officer, for example, who arrives at a scene where they must intervene.

There is a reason why, in Montreal, for example, police officers are often accompanied by a social worker or specialized educator when they respond to situations involving domestic violence, disordered behaviour or mental health issues, in order to help defuse the crisis. It is precisely to avoid aggression and injury to first responders.

It absolutely boggles my mind that facts like those are not enough to convince the government to provide Quebec and the provinces with better service delivery support. As we know, health and social services consume a large portion of the budgets of Quebec and the provinces. This stubborn refusal to increase the health transfer is causing considerable harm to health care professionals and first responders, not to mention the people who require the services and assistance of skilled professionals.

In closing, I want to thank the member for Cariboo—Prince George for his determination, and I encourage him to pursue his discussions with the government in order to convince the Liberals to reverse their decision and allow a shorter legislative process for passing Bill S-233.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Madam Speaker, it is always a privilege to stand and speak in the House on behalf of my constituents.

I want to start off by thanking the member for Cariboo—Prince George for his efforts in trying to get this bill at least back to where it was in the previous Parliament, as Bill C-321. We want to recognize the good work that he has done so far, and also that it was unanimously approved by all parties at that time.

What is disappointing to me is that it was very clear from the comments made by the member for Winnipeg North that the Liberals are using this piece of legislation as a weapon to get what they want passed as their legislation. It is very unfortunate that it has become partisan like that.

A serious country protects those who serve it. The rule of law must be clear and fair, especially when violence is directed at people who show up every day to keep Canadians safe, healthy and alive. Nurses, paramedics and first responders do not choose their moments of risk; they accept them as part of their responsibility to the public. When the law fails to clearly recognize that reality, it sends the wrong message to offenders, victims and the professionals who hold our essential services together.

Bill S-233 reflects a Conservative commitment to restoring common sense, accountability and respect for those who stand on the front lines in our communities. It is deliberately narrow: It deals only with assault offences that already exist in the Criminal Code, applies only at the sentencing stage after a person has been found guilty, and applies only to clearly defined victims: people providing health services, including personal care workers and first responders doing their jobs.

Bill S-233 directly continues the work of Bill C-321 from the previous Parliament, as I mentioned before. It is back before us because of the prorogation of Parliament, not because Parliament rejected it. That matters, because this bill passed the House of Commons unanimously.

The problem that this bill addresses exists across the country and looks the same everywhere. Violence against health care workers and first responders is not limited to one province, one riding or one hospital. Nurses and paramedics report high levels of assaults in emergency rooms, long-term care facilities, community clinics and pre-hospital settings. These are not rare events; they are predictable, recurring parts of frontline work.

What is the cause of the crisis faced by our frontline workers? It is a direct result of over a decade of Liberal policies that have weakened bail, normalized repeat violent offending and flooded communities with hard drugs. Liberal catch-and-release bail policies, particularly under Bill C-75, have returned repeat violent offenders to the streets under the least onerous conditions, often within hours or days. These are frequently the same individuals whom police officers, paramedics and emergency room staff encounter again and again, not as one-time offenders but as chronic sources of violence and instability.

Through decriminalization experiments and taxpayer-funded hard drug distribution, the Liberal government has enabled an environment in which first responders are routinely dispatched into volatile, unpredictable and violent situations that are driven by severe addiction. First responders now carry naloxone as a daily operational necessity and administer it repeatedly to revive individuals overdosing from fentanyl, often in the same locations and involving the same people.

Across Canada, nearly 50,000 people have died from opiate overdoses since 2016, and there has been a 200% increase in yearly deaths. In British Columbia alone, 1,700 people died from toxic drugs in the first nine months of 2024. Police have reported that roughly half of all hydromorphone seizures were diverted from so-called safe supply programs.

This is the environment to which nurses, paramedics and police officers are sent. They are required by duty to enter spaces shaped by failed Liberal policies, weakened bail, normalized repeat offending and a drug epidemic that has made frontline service more dangerous than at any point in our recent memory. Bill S-233 responds to this reality by ensuring that the law properly recognizes the heightened risk and vulnerability faced by those who must confront the consequences of these decisions on the ground.

Assaults against health care workers and first responders while they are doing their jobs are especially serious, because they occur at the very moment that help is being delivered. When a nurse approaches a patient, or when a paramedic answers a call, they are there to help, not to fight or defend themselves. People who serve in these roles are the ones who run toward danger while others are running away.

In my early twenties, I served as a volunteer first responder, as a driver and an attendant for an ambulance, providing patient care on the way to the hospital with training and exposure to emergency and hospital settings. That experience made it clear to me how vulnerable first responders are on duty. In an ambulance or at an emergency scene, first responders cannot control the environment or walk away when violence erupts. They stay because that is what the job requires.

What has changed since that time is the level of danger. Liberal bail and drug policies have made frontline work far more volatile. Repeat violent offenders, drug-induced psychosis and fentanyl-driven crime are now routine encounters. Bill S-233 recognizes that change and would ensure that the law reflects the situation today.

We see that same reality in health care settings. Recently in Winnipeg, at the St. Boniface Hospital, a nurse was assaulted in a hospital parkade. She was not in a remote location. She was not acting recklessly. She was at her place of work in the course of her employment. The response from nurses' representatives was not surprise but frustration. They said violence and abuse have become commonplace in hospitals and that workers are being pushed out of workplaces that cannot guarantee basic public safety. That is exactly what this bill would address at sentencing. When someone assaults a person who is required by duty to stay in a dangerous situation, the law should recognize their increased vulnerability and the wider harm that follows from it.

The harm also does not end with the individual victim. Violence in hospitals, ambulances and emergency scenes disrupts critical services from frontline workers. That is why this bill is about protecting essential public functions. Health care is not a private transaction. It is a public good that every community relies on.

Emergency services face the same pressure. First responders who expect violence operate under constant personal risk. If they become overcautious, they are even further at risk. Response times may be slower. In emergencies, those delays can have serious consequences. As a result, the standards of patient care plummet and Canadians are left waiting for the help they need. Over time, this does more harm than good. People begin to question whether those who serve the public are able to provide them with the help they need.

Support for Bill S-233 comes from the people who know the problem best. Nurses' organizations have publicly backed this bill because it reflects what their members deal with every day on the job. Paramedic leaders have said the same. Paramedics often work alone or in small teams in unpredictable and uncontrolled situations under intense time pressure. They are unsafely exposed, and they know it.

The people doing the work have identified a real failure in how violence against them is treated and deterred. Most importantly, this bill is not about being tougher for the sake of it. It is about role-based vulnerability. Health care workers and first responders face danger because of a service they provide. In a crisis, they cannot walk away. Their job requires them to stay, even when the situation turns violent.

Bill S-233 would fully protect individualized sentencing. Every case is still judged on its own facts and merits. Judges continue to look at the details of the offence and the offender. Mitigating and aggregating factors are still weighed together. Proportionality remains the standard, and judicial discretion is not weakened.

Across professions, frontline workers agree on one thing: Violence has become normalized, and the legal response has fallen behind. Bill S-233 would respond to that reality carefully and responsibly. At this point, there is no uncertainty left. Parliament has already studied this bill. Parliament has already agreed to it. The only question that remains is whether we are prepared to finish that work. Every delay sends a signal not just to offenders but to the nurses, paramedics, firefighters and first responders who show up every day and are told, in practice, that their safety can wait. That is not a neutral choice. It is a decision, and it has consequences.

Passing Bill S-233 now is how Parliament would affirm that violence against those who serve the public, who serve us, would be treated with the seriousness that it deserves. It is how we restore clarity, consistency and confidence in the law for our frontline workers.

[Ben Carr, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to rise today to speak to Bill S-233, an act to amend the Criminal Code with respect to assault against persons who provide health services and first responders. At its core, Bill S-233 seeks to strengthen protections for the people who serve our communities every day, by requiring sentencing courts to treat as an aggravating factor in five assault-related offences against health care workers and first responders the fact that those offences are committed in the course of their duties.

I want to begin by thanking my colleague in the other place for bringing the bill forward, as well as the member for Cariboo—Prince George, who previously introduced a similar measure in the last Parliament. Their work has helped to ensure that this important issue remains squarely before us in the House of Commons. These initiatives give us an opportunity to speak about an issue that affects all Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

We are all impacted, because every day, Canadians depend at some point in our lives on the ability to call for help in an emergency situation and know that somebody will respond. Whether it is a firefighter, a paramedic, a police officer or a health care professional, these individuals are there for us in moments of crisis, vulnerability and fear. That is why the sponsor of the bill referred to health care workers and first responders as everyday heroes. I agree wholeheartedly. They show up, often at great personal risk, so the rest of us can be safe.

While speaking about the bill, I am thinking about a number of people in my hometown of Winnipeg. That includes the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service chief, Christian Schmidt, as well as the Winnipeg Police Service chief, Gene Bowers, and members of their teams. I am very proud to say that on my beer league hockey team, The Mermen, with whom I have played for many years, there are two individuals to whom I want to give a shout-out here in the House of Commons today: a firefighter, Brad Russell; and a police officer, Jay Murray, who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe in the city of Winnipeg.

I also think of my mother, who is a health care professional, a family doctor for many years who switched over the course of the past decade to helping people fighting addiction and mental health challenges. In the course of that line of work, things can be very challenging, and health care professionals also need protection that legislation of this kind can offer.

I want to emphasize that this issue should not and does not fall along partisan lines. The Minister of Justice made this clear during question period last fall when he stated his willingness to work across party lines to advance measures that protect first responders as quickly as possible. I believe that sentiment is widely shared in the House. Ultimately, the question before us is not whether we should act but how best to do so.

As members know, Bill S-233 proposes to address the issue by creating a new aggravating factor that would apply where the victim of certain assault-related offences against a health care worker or a first responder is engaged in the performance of their duties. The offences captured include uttering threats, assault, assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, and unlawfully causing bodily harm.

At the same time, it is important to situate Bill S-233 within the broader legislative context currently before Parliament.

The government has introduced Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing reform act, which as of today is before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Bill C-14 also addresses violence against health care workers and first responders, but it does so through a broader and more comprehensive approach, in my view. Specifically, Bill C-14 would expand an existing aggravating factor in the Criminal Code, one that currently applies to offences committed against health care workers and personal care workers, to explicitly include first responders.

Importantly, this aggravating factor would apply to all Criminal Code offences, not only to a defined subset of assault-related offences. This distinction matters. Under Bill C-14, courts would be required to consider the aggravating factor of not only assaults but also of other serious forms of criminal conduct directed at frontline workers, including intimidation, criminal harassment or other offences that may arise in the course of their duties.

In other words, while Bill S-233 focuses on specific assault-based offences, Bill C-14 would ensure that protection would not depend on the technical classification of the offence but rather on the reality that a frontline worker was targeted while serving the public. Both bills share the same objective, which is to denounce violence against health care workers and first responders, and to ensure that sentencing reflects the seriousness of that conduct. The difference lies in scope and coherence.

I will leave to the committee a more detailed examination of the legal interaction between these two bills, including questions of overlap and statutory interpretation. However, I believe it is fair to say that Bill C-14 provides a clearer and more unified framework by embedding this protection within the general sentencing regime of the Criminal Code. Beyond the legislative mechanics, we must not lose sight of why this issue demands our attention, and I think the hon. colleagues who have spoken before me today have done a very good and sincere job of laying that out.

Following the introduction of Bill C-14, the Minister of Justice noted, “Good ideas don’t come from closed door meetings—they come from conversations with people on the ground.” That rings especially true here. Health care workers and first responders have been telling us consistently and urgently that violence has become an increasingly common part of their working reality. This is something I hear in Winnipeg, reflected back to me in conversations I have with stakeholders on an ongoing basis.

In November, here, the International Association of Fire Fighters held its Canadian legislative conference. Representing more than 350,000 firefighters and emergency medical workers across Canada and the United States, the IAFF has repeatedly called for stronger protections against threats and violence. According to a survey of its affiliates, 13% reported incidents of violence during responses to structure fires, and 40% reported violence during medical calls over a five-year period. These are deeply troubling figures.

Firefighters are not alone. In Ontario's Peel Region, data showed that paramedics reported an incident of violence every 18 hours, a physical assault every 36 hours and physical harm every nine days over a one-year period. Here in Ottawa, a survey of paramedics revealed that every respondent has experienced violence on the job. More than one-third face violence or threats monthly, and for more than one-fifth it is weekly. These are not isolated or regional anomalies; they reflect a national problem that deserves a national response.

How can we reasonably expect that these professionals will deliver urgent and often life-saving care if they must constantly fear for their own safety? The answer, of course, is that we cannot. Our justice system must send a clear and unequivocal message: Violence against those who respond to emergencies will not be tolerated. When seconds can mean the difference between life and death, our society cannot accept that those who rush toward danger are themselves targeted by criminal behaviour.

Denunciation matters, consistency matters, and clarity in the law matters. This is why I believe the work of the committee will be essential. It will allow parliamentarians to hear directly from frontline workers, legal experts and stakeholders, and to ensure that Parliament adopts the most effective tools available to address this problem.

In closing, I support the objective of better protecting health care workers and first responders. At the same time, I believe that Bill C-14 offers a broader and more comprehensive approach, one that ensures consistent protection across all Criminal Code offences and clearer guidance for our courts. Taken together, these efforts demonstrate Parliament's shared commitment to protecting those who serve our communities and to ensuring that our criminal justice system responds firmly, fairly and coherently when they are harmed. I look forward to the committee's study of this bill and to continuing this important work on behalf of the everyday heroes who protect us.

I am just thinking about a conversation I had, again with Winnipeg's fire and paramedic chief, a few months ago. They showed me a video of the training exercises Winnipeg police officers, paramedics and firefighters will go through for dealing with someone who is undergoing a meth psychosis. This is unfortunately a very common occurrence in our streets these days. One of the things we are seeing is that it takes a significant number of first responders, upwards of 12, 13 or 14, in order to deal just with one individual. While undergoing this psychosis, these individuals are unfortunately very dangerous and unpredictable, and they can even take on forms of superhuman strength whereby they are able to pose a much greater risk and threat to those who are trying to assist them. The essence of this legislation is critical, and I look forward to a continued debate and the ultimate passage, I hope, of Bill C-14.