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.

The House resumed from February 4 consideration of the motion 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.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support Bill S-233, which is a bill that should not be controversial. It should not be controversial to say that people who care for us deserve to be protected. It should not be controversial to say that a nurse should not be punched, bitten, spat on, sexually assaulted or threatened while doing their job. It should not be controversial to say that when someone assaults a health care worker or a first responder on duty, the justice system should treat that assault seriously.

However, we have reached that point in Canada when health care workers are being told, directly or indirectly, that violence is just part of the job. That is wrong. Violence is not part of the job description of a nurse, a personal support worker, a paramedic or any first responder who runs toward danger while everyone else is running away from it.

The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions surveyed thousands of nurses across the country, and six in 10 reported that they had experienced job-related violence or abuse in just the previous year. Of the nurses who experienced violence or abuse, 82% reported verbal abuse. Nearly half reported physical violence, and almost one in five reported sexual abuse. These are not just statistics. These are mental and physical burdens that follow health care workers home at the end of their shift. They change how people work and how they feel. For far too many frontline workers, they change whether they stay in the profession at all.

In my home province of Manitoba, there were 812 workers' compensation claims accepted in 2024 for nurses who were victims of assault and violent acts. In 2015, that number was 298. That is an increase of nearly 200%.

At Winnipeg's Grace Hospital, after health care workers were threatened and assaulted, the president of the Manitoba Nurses Union said staff felt like it was “business as usual, carry on.” There should be nothing usual about health care workers being assaulted. It is not acceptable for health care workers to report an assault and be left with the feeling that the system expects them to take it and keep on going. Why do we tolerate it in health care?

The cost of tolerating these assaults is not limited to an individual. It creates a ripple effect throughout our entire health care system. The results of allowing the system to tolerate these assaults show up when nurses stop picking up overtime shifts or when workers leave unsafe units. It also discourages future generations from entering the health care profession altogether.

Canada is already experiencing a shortage of health care workers. We are facing closed emergency rooms, cancelled surgeries, delayed home care, overcrowded hospitals and families waiting months to get care, so when violence drives even one more health care worker out of the profession, it becomes a patient care issue too. It means longer wait times and more pressure on the workers who remain in an already burdened system.

A country that cannot protect its health care workers will not be able to protect the future viability of its health care system. That is why Bill S-233 matters. It would amend the Criminal Code so that when a court is sentencing someone for certain assault offences, the court must consider it an aggravating circumstance if the victim is a person providing health care services, including personal care services, or a first responder engaged in the performance of their duty. In other words, if someone attacks a nurse while they are caring for a patient, there are more consequences. If someone threatens a paramedic while they are trying to save their life, there are more consequences. If someone assaults a personal support worker while they are caring for someone vulnerable, there are more consequences. That is basic justice.

An assault on a health care worker or a first responder is not just an assault on one person. It is an attack on the people our communities depend on in moments of crisis. This bill is about telling every health care worker and first responder in this country that Parliament understands the seriousness of what they face.

This bill does not solve every safety problem in health care. Provinces and employers still have responsibilities and work to do, but the federal government has a responsibility for the Criminal Code, and that is why this bill makes a difference. Bill S-233 would ensure that if someone assaults the people who are providing care, they will face consequences.

The most frustrating part of this debate is that Parliament has already had a chance to act. In the last Parliament, my Conservative colleague from Cariboo—Prince George introduced an identical bill in Bill C-321. That bill was supported unanimously in both the House and the Senate. It was studied and agreed to, and it was ready to become law. The only reason it is in not law today is that Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament and the current Prime Minister called an early election.

Let me remind Parliament and our Liberal colleagues across the way of where we are today. The bill has already been debated and studied, and it has received unanimous support. The workers affected by violence do not need another awareness week, a photo op or more talking points from the Liberal government. They need Parliament to pass this bill.

I will be honest. I am quite frustrated to hear other politicians speak about how good and important this legislation is, because in December, the Conservatives gave this House a chance to do the right thing. I might ask the Liberals to listen to this a little more closely. We called on Parliament to fast-track Bill S-233 so that it could become law last Christmas. My Conservative colleague from Cariboo—Prince George, who introduced the original bill, stood with me and called on Parliament to pass Bill S-233 at all stages with unanimous consent. We were joined in that call by the Canadian Nurses Association and representatives from Canada's paramedic community. In other words, the people who actually represent the workers being assaulted on the job were asking Parliament to act. What happened when the Conservatives moved the unanimous consent motion to fast-track the legislation? The Liberal Party said no. What a missed opportunity.

Less than a year ago, the Ontario Nurses’ Association held a vigil at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto to honour those impacted by violence and to demand safer workplaces. Let us think about that. Health care professionals are holding vigils and gathering in public squares to mourn and demand that politicians act because violence has become so common. That alone should motivate this House to pass Bill S-233 without delay.

I believe society reveals its values through what it is willing to protect. If we say we value health care, then we must value the people who deliver it. If we say we respect first responders, then our laws must reflect that respect. If we say nurses are the backbone of the health care system, then we cannot leave them to face violence as part of the job.

For years, frontline workers have been praised in speeches and press conferences, but words are not consequences for an assault or a threat. These workers are not asking Parliament for more applause. They are asking us to act. Workers are tired of being resilient in the face of violence that should have been prevented and punished. They are tired of politicians calling them essential while treating their safety as optional. There is nothing compassionate about tolerating violence against health care workers and there is nothing responsible about allowing the justice system to send the message that these assaults are just part of the job description.

The Conservatives believe in consequences and protecting the people who protect us, whether they be nurses, paramedics, personal support workers or every first responder serving our communities. We believe that if someone attacks them, the law should reflect the seriousness of that offence. That is what Bill S-233 would do.

To the health care workers and first responders listening today, I want to say we see what they are facing, we hear what they are telling us and we are not going to pretend that violence is normal. They should not have to choose between caring for Canadians and protecting themselves.

Health care workers have cared for us, and now it is time for us in Parliament to show that we are willing to protect them. Let us pass Bill S-233, let us take action to address violence against health care workers and let us do it without any more delay.

[Danielle Martin, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity 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. This bill would add an aggravating factor in the Criminal Code that applies to specific assault and assault-related offences when they are committed against first responders or persons who provide health care services.

At the outset, as others have, I would like to thank my colleague in the Senate for bringing this bill forward, as well as the hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George, who introduced, as we have heard, a previous version of this legislation. Their work has provided all of us the opportunity to reflect on an important and, indeed, critical issue that affects people across this country.

Every Canadian relies on the simple but essential promise that in a moment of crisis, help will come. When someone calls 911 in the face of a life-threatening emergency, they do so with the expectation that a first responder will arrive, whether that first responder be a firefighter, a paramedic or the Coast Guard. When a person or a loved one is seriously ill or injured, they rely on the presence of a health care professional who will provide care often, as we know, under the most difficult of circumstances.

In Canada, first responders are there for us on our worst days. They run toward danger when others are told to stay back and provide care in uncertain and chaotic environments, and they do so not for recognition, but out of a deep commitment to serving their communities. For that, they deserve not only our gratitude, but our protection.

I am very supportive of the objective of this bill, which is, broadly, to better protect first responders and health care workers. At the same time, we should also consider how Bill S-233 would interact with existing Criminal Code provisions, as well as additional proposed measures currently before Parliament.

Members may recall that the concerns about violence against health care workers, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, led to the enactment of, among other measures, an aggravating factor at sentencing that applies when a person is being sentenced for an offence committed against a person who is providing health services in the performance of their duties. Aggravating factors serve an important role in the criminal sentencing process. When they are present and proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the offence may be found to be more serious or the offender's responsibility may be heightened. As a result, they can result in longer sentences. Bill S-233 seeks to add a new statutory aggravating factor to the Criminal Code to ensure that when an assault is committed against first responders and health care workers, it is explicitly recognized.

I would note that this proposal is very similar to the aggravating factor that already exists in the Criminal Code, but it differs in two key respects.

First, the bill would ensure that first responders who are not responding to a medical emergency are protected. As it currently stands, the existing aggravating factor applies broadly to people providing health services, which can include first responders if they are providing medical services. A first responder in a non-medical emergency may not fall within the scope of the current provision. For example, a firefighter who is responding to a fire but not providing medical services would not fall within the scope of the current aggravating factor.

Second, the proposed approach in Bill S-233 would apply only to assault and some other assault-related offences, such as uttering threats, whereas the current aggravating factor, in contrast, applies to all offences in the Criminal Code. This is where the government's bill, Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing reform act, is stepping in. Bill C-14 proposes to expand the existing aggravating factor for offences against people providing health services to individuals or providing services as first responders. Importantly, as my colleague from Winnipeg South Centre noted in an earlier debate, it would take a broader approach than Bill S-233. Rather than applying only to certain assault-related offences, it would apply to all Criminal Code offences committed against first responders and health care workers.

While the legal framework is important, I would like to turn to why this issue requires our attention. In this, I think we are all aligned in the House. We have heard directly from those on the front lines about the challenges they face. As the Minister of Justice has said, good ideas stem from conversations with Canadians about their lived realities in the positions we are aiming to protect. Those conversations paint a troubling picture.

As my colleague from Winnipeg South Centre noted previously, the International Association of Fire Fighters, representing more than 350,000 firefighters and emergency medical workers across Canada and the United States, has called for stronger protections against threats and violence. Its data shows that violence is not an isolated occurrence but a reality that many first responders face with alarming frequency. Surveys have found that a significant proportion of firefighters have experienced violence while responding to emergencies, including both structure fires and medical calls.

This problem is not limited to one profession, nor is it confined to one region. My colleague from Winnipeg South Centre also spoke about the unacceptable rates of violence faced by paramedics in Ottawa and in Peel Region. Just this month, I saw a news article about an individual who was charged for threatening to shoot paramedics responding to a call in Windsor. These experiences, in addition to the other challenging aspects of the work that first responders do, undoubtedly take a serious toll on them with respect to their physical and mental health, and on their communities.

As one more of far too many examples of this, CBC News reported that between 2019 and 2025, more than 1,100 “Edmonton firefighters, paramedics and Edmonton Police Service...members have had to step away from [their work] due to psychological injuries”. These are deeply concerning realities. I would add that it goes without saying that in emergency situations, where seconds can mean the difference between life and death, any interference with the people providing assistance can have devastating consequences.

No one who sets out to save lives should have to fear for their own. No one who begins a shift as a first responder or a health care worker should have to wonder whether they themselves will be the victim of a crime before the day is done. Our justice system must send a clear and unequivocal message that this violence will not be tolerated.

We have a responsibility, as legislators, to respond. Bill S-233 represents an important contribution to that effort. Bill C-14 would offer a broader approach that may address some of the same concerns with respect to offences against first responders in a more comprehensive way. It will be for the House and committee to carefully study these proposals and determine the best path forward.

I believe that the committee's work would be invaluable. It would allow us to hear from experts, stakeholders and the people on the front lines and examine how these measures would operate in practice and how they could best achieve the objective we all share. I look forward to the study of the bill in committee, and I am hopeful that, working together, we can move forward measures that would better protect first responders and health care workers across Canada.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill S-233, an act to amend the Criminal Code with regard to assault against persons who provide health services and first responders. As everyone knows, this is not the first time we are debating this bill in the House. Today we are discussing Bill S-233, but this bill was introduced in the last Parliament by my colleague, who I wish to acknowledge. This bill, which came back through the Senate, was not voted on during the last Parliament, but it received unanimous support from all parties in the House.

I will read the summary of the bill: “This enactment amends the Criminal Code to require a court to consider the fact that the victim of an assault is a person who provides health services or a first responder to be an aggravating circumstance for the purposes of sentencing.” As I was saying, the bill we are considering today is the same as Bill C-321, which was introduced during the 44th Parliament.

As I mentioned earlier, the Bloc Québécois is in favour of this bill, which follows up on a recommendation set out in the Standing Committee on Health's June 2019 report on violence facing health care workers in Canada. It was nearly seven years ago today that the report was tabled. Needless to say, there was an election in 2019 and the government was unable to respond. Here we are again in the House almost 10 years later. We are talking about a committee, a study and a bill. We are here to provide a satisfactory response to this 2019 committee recommendation, which was naturally supported in Quebec and across Canada by a number of organizations, in particular, the Canadian Nurses Association.

That being said, here we are talking about this bill again today. I will be quick, because I have already said that we obviously agree that assault against first responders and health care workers should be an aggravating circumstance for the purposes of sentencing. Ultimately, I would like to the government to go even further with this. Members rightly pointed out that these workers experience all sorts of violence. We are talking about assault here, but they also have to deal with things like psychological and sexual harassment. That has been well documented. First responders experience more violence than other categories of workers, and that is even more true for women. They are the ones who are most affected.

Under the Criminal Code, assault, assault with a weapon, aggravated assault or bodily harm against a public transit operator are all considered aggravating factors, so we agree that these same aggravating factors should be applied for the purpose of sentencing when the victim is a health care worker or first responder. I was saying that I think the government should go even further, because these workers already have some level of protection under the Criminal Code. Such acts are prohibited, but that does not solve everything.

I heard my colleague from the government say earlier that we, as legislators, are responsible, and that we have a responsibility to take action. For several years now, the Bloc Québécois has been calling on the government to increase health transfers. Indeed, we are talking about sentencing here. There is a punitive aspect, but there is also the whole issue of prevention. We are talking about sexual harassment, psychological harassment and assault, but the fact remains that the health care sector is one of the sectors under the greatest pressure due to a lack of resources.

The Canadian Nurses Association, which I mentioned earlier, supports the bill. Here is what the association stated in its brief:

The work environment is also known to contribute to workplace violence. Examples of organizational factors that contribute to the problem include excessive workloads, inadequate staffing, excessive use of of overtime (mandatory and/or voluntary), lack of managerial support when reporting instances of workplace violence, and lack of perceived consequences when committing violent acts.

We think that the best way for the federal government to improve working conditions for nurses, health care workers and first responders is to increase health transfers. Instead of a paltry 22% transfer that falls far short of the health care system's needs, we want to see 35% transfers made to Quebec and the provinces to fill the gaps caused by the federal government and its refusal to see the direct, harmful and sometimes tragic consequences of denying the health care system proper and adequate funding.

I would add to that the whole issue of mental health. When we talk about prevention, naturally we want to protect our workers so that they can properly carry out their duties and avoid violent situations. However, we are not investing enough in the whole issue of mental health either. That is also part and parcel of health transfers, but I am addressing it more specifically because witnesses from various organizations commented that instances of violence have increased most noticeably since the pandemic precisely because of insufficient health funding, especially mental health funding, which is why we are again facing situations that could have been avoided.

I would perhaps add a third point, in addition to the issue of funding and the fact that we absolutely agree with Bill S-233, one that has come up several times and not just in relation to this bill. I find it unfortunate that the House is unable to pass bills like my colleague's within one parliamentary session. That means that we end up with several bills coming back from the Senate in the next Parliament. Obviously, we can continue to debate these bills, but that slows down the passage of bills and the introduction of new private members' bills. Introducing private members' bills is also part of our job and some members do not get the chance to do so because the House has a hard time getting things done in this regard. I know that we are talking about something else here and that this would require reform, but the fact remains that we keep debating the same bills over and over.

I am sure that my colleague's bill will be passed. The House agrees on that. We will send the bill to committee and I hope that no election will be called this time because then we will have to once again start studying this bill from scratch, even though we already agreed on it. Bringing bills back from the Senate is a relatively new practice, but it has an impact here. I hope that the House will also be able to find a way to resolve this situation, because then we would not be here discussing this same bill. It would have already been passed and we would already be taking care of first responders and health care workers.

I have said it before and I will say it again: The Bloc Québécois supports this bill. I would like to close by acknowledging all the health care workers and all the first responders in Quebec and, of course, in my riding of Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, which is facing significant challenges as a region that is considered rural. I am sure my colleague realizes that there are hundreds and hundreds of kilometres in my region without a network. Sometimes these workers have to respond to emergencies on the water or in the forest, in situations that are already difficult. Working in health care is more than just a job for these folks. It is truly a calling.

That is why I am thinking of the workers in my region. I would like to commend them, and I especially want to commend my mother, who was a nurse for nearly 40 years. I have heard many horror stories—wonderful stories too, but some horror stories—and I hope this bill will help address some of these situations, because we want workers who are happy in their jobs and therefore able to work for everyone's benefit.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie South—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the words of the great Yogi Berra, “It's like déjà vu all over again.” Here we are again, debating a bill that was first introduced by my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George on March 9, 2023.

This is a problem that has been escalating across the country: violence against emergency health care workers, first responders and others. I personally want to thank Senator Housakos and Senator Yussuff for bringing this bill back, because it is an important piece of legislation, one that this Parliament could have approved years ago, if not for delays with respect to prorogation and such. I often get asked, as a former firefighter, what is the one thing I find frustrating about being an MP and a parliamentarian. My answer is, how long it takes for things to happen and how long it takes for decisions to be made.

I can think back to my career and to others I worked with. What if we responded to a house fire, and we sat outside that house fire and said, “You know what? I think we're going to come back next week, after we have a few meetings on how to deal with this situation”? We identify the problems, we mitigate them, we solve them, and then we move on to what will inevitably be the next problem. That is how things work in real life, but around this place, everything gets delayed and obstructed. This is an important piece of legislation, as I said earlier, to protect the health and safety of health care workers and first responders.

One only has to look at the headlines, and I did look at some of them. There are thousands of headlines across this country about assaults that are taking place on health care workers and frontline first responders. On Sunday, May 3, a headline read, “Man, 59, charged after multiple health-care workers sexually assaulted, threatened at Grace Hospital”. Another states, “Charges pending after health-care worker assaulted at Edmonton hospital: 2 patients involved in alleged attack on Christmas Day”.

Another headline states, “In a rare move, two Manitoba hospitals declared unsafe for nurses: Staff describe being punched, kicked, and sexually assaulted. The union is discouraging members from the facilities.” The union is discouraging them and asking them to stay away from their workplace because of the assaults that are going on. Other headlines read, “Teen charged during hospital visit after nurses and police officers allegedly assaulted: The 17-year-old had been brought to the St. Thomas hospital for treatment”, and “Stabbing of health care worker outside [Vancouver General Hospital] the latest in long list of attacks”.

An article entitled “Firefighters say they face increasing rates of violence while on duty” stated the following:

In a survey of over 117 fire departments in Canada, 40 per cent of firefighters have experienced an assault within the last five years, says Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Kelly also...believes incidents of violence are under-reported.

“We had a Toronto firefighter bitten by a patient,” Kelly said in an interview last month. “In Winnipeg, we’ve seen a severe rise; we’ve had 58 reported incidents in Winnipeg this year alone.”

I would suggest that Winnipeg is the epicentre of this violence. “Violence against Winnipeg firefighters escalates” is another headline, as is “3 assaults against first responders in 1 week 'unacceptable,' paramedic chief says”. One story reports, “A Kamloops, B.C., paramedic was assaulted while refuelling her ambulance at a gas station on Sunday evening.” Another headline says, “Brampton man charged after female paramedics sexually assaulted in Peel Region”.

Even CUPE, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, came out and talked about the increasing assaults that are happening on its members. There is a deeply troubling pattern that is underlying many of these incidents: repeat violent offenders cycling endlessly through the justice system.

On September 29, 2024, a Barrie police officer was stabbed while on duty by a violent repeat offender who was on probation at the time of the attack. Over the previous two years, that individual had reportedly been arrested and released 17 times and had more than 100 interactions with Barrie police. Still, despite all those warning signs, an officer was stabbed.

Canadians are increasingly asking themselves very reasonable questions: How many chances does the system have to give someone before innocent people, including first responders, pay the price? How many warning signs must exist before meaningful consequences follow?

It is not the politicians or the bureaucrats who are facing this danger. It is the police officers who answer the calls. It is the paramedics who enter chaotic scenes. It is the nurses working overnight shifts in emergency departments. It is the firefighters responding to dangerous and unpredictable emergencies. They are the ones placed directly in harm's way when the system fails to deal with violent offenders. After 10 years of failed Liberal bail reform, the least the government can do is stand behind the first responders and health care professionals who keep our communities safe despite the cards they have been dealt by it.

Why does Bill S-233 matter? It recognizes a simple and profoundly important principle, that an assault against a first responder or health care professional is not just an assault against an individual but an assault against the people of our communities who rely on them in moments of crisis. These are the people who run toward danger when everyone else is running away. These are the people who arrive at the worst moments in a person's life, such as accidents, overdoses, domestic violence incidents, mental health crises, fires and medical emergencies, in an attempt to restore safety and hope. For that service, they deserve more than just our simple gratitude. They deserve the protection of the law and the clear support of this Parliament.

Bill S-233 sends a message that Canada will not normalize violence against those who dedicate their lives to protecting others. It says clearly and firmly that violence is not part of the job description. The truth is that repeated exposure to violence changes people. It wears them down emotionally. It creates anxiety. It creates fear. It contributes to burnout, trauma and psychological injury. Ultimately, it drives people out of the professions our country desperately needs them in. Across Canada, we are already facing a shortage of nurses, paramedics, firefighters and police officers. We cannot afford to create working conditions where the people we rely on the most feel abandoned, unsupported and unsafe.

Bill S-233 matters because laws do more than punish conduct after the fact. They also reflect the values of our nation. This legislation says clearly that Canada values and respects those who protect, rescue, heal and care for others. It says that when a person assaults a first responder or health care worker, the justice system must recognize the heightened seriousness of that offence. Most importantly, it says to every frontline worker in this country that Parliament sees what they are enduring, recognizes the sacrifices they make and will not accept violence against them as simply part of the job.

I started off by saying that this is like déjà vu all over again. On March 9, 2023, the member for Cariboo—Prince George put this bill on the table, but because of prorogation it fell off. We are back at it again because of a Senate bill. I appreciate Senators Yussuff and Housakos for bringing this back.

This is a cascading problem happening right across the country. We need to send a message to not just our frontline health care workers but our first responders that Parliament has their backs. This would also act as a deterrent to those who normalize violence against our first responders. I want to thank the member for Cariboo—Prince George for his continued advocacy to ensure the safety of our health care workers and frontline officers.

This is an important piece of legislation. Today, we must make sure we pass it so that our frontline health care workers, paramedics, firefighters and police officers can continue to do their jobs in safety across communities in this country. We must stand with them.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to speak on this bill that my colleague brought to the House a while ago. My colleague from Cariboo—Prince George has been stalwart in support of first responders in the Prince George community in northeastern B.C.

I know the member meets with firefighters from Prince George, as I do. We hear their stories, the first-hand accounts of firefighters who signed up to fight fires but are now dealing with overdoses. That is the vast majority of what they are doing. Sadly, some of the stuff that comes along with that response to the drug side of our community is violence against them. It is really sad. It is a shame that these people who sign up to protect us and keep us safe are having to deal with violence.

Maybe I will start off by saying that most Canadians expect this House to protect our first responders. For me, there are really a couple of aspects to this that I think about. It is one thing for our first responders to be assaulted while they are trying to help us. First of all, they sign up for their entire lives. They put years into university and all that training basically to serve their fellow men by providing health care. My daughter wants to be a doctor. She is studying to do that as we speak. My to-be daughter-in-law, my son's fiancée, is studying to be a nurse in the Philippines as we speak. I know this comes out of a servant heart. They really want to help their fellow Canadians, their fellow persons. The sad part is that when they do that, when they get into serving and taking care of us, that is when violence is committed against them.

The expectation of most Canadians, as I was saying before, is that it is one thing for them to be assaulted, but it is another thing for us to not do anything about it. We are in opposition, and the government is across the way. Canadians are looking at us and saying the Liberal government, the former prime minister Justin Trudeau and the current Prime Minister, are responsible for protecting these first responders. They had the opportunity in the last Parliament to do it, and for some reason, they sort of shoved it to the corner of the desk.

I saw my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George working tirelessly, putting hours and hours into this, and our first responders sitting in the gallery waiting for this to be passed, all to just be ignored. Again, what Canadians are expecting of us, and what first responders are watching for, is what they have been asking for, what this member has been working on. They have been coming to him and saying they need help, that they need help to really deal with the gap in legislation where this violence is being allowed to continue.

What is worse is that these people have sacrificed everything to serve us, and the government is looking the other way. That is just not cool on our watch.

I am just going to read the preamble to the bill. People hear about different bills, and they hear the titles. This is what the preamble to Bill S-233 says:

Whereas there are an increasing number of incidents involving violence against persons who provide health services and first responders; Whereas assaults on persons who provide health services and first responders have both a physical and a psychological impact; And whereas persons who provide health services and first responders, who care for and protect others, deserve to feel protected and valued by the justice system;

I think the most important line in the whole bill is that last line. They deserve to feel protected and valued by the justice system. That tells me that right now it is maybe a question sometimes. They are being assaulted. They are doing their duty as a doctor, nurse, ambulance worker, police officer or firefighter, and they are being assaulted in different ways. It is mentioned in the preamble too. It is not just the physical aspect of it but the psychological aspect of that kind of assault too. Again, when that assault goes on unabated, they probably start to question whether or not they are valued by this government.

Again, I applaud my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George for doing this.

As the member of Parliament for Tumbler Ridge, I cannot say enough about the first responders and the police officers who responded. Many of the stories of how they really stepped up and helped have not even come out yet. There is the police officer who was first on scene who lifted an injured girl off the floor and brought her to the hospital to give her care. She is alive today because that first responder acted.

The story is known by most people in Tumbler Ridge, but Maya is alive today because a first responder listened to a bit of advice from her classmate Addison, who I chatted with just last week. There was, of course, all the tragedy that had happened in the school. The police came, and Addison pointed out that Maya's finger had moved. He said, “Her finger just moved.” Part of the reason Maya is still alive today is that the police officer responded, picked her up and took her to be cared for.

To me, that is an amazing story, but it is a first responder's story. Here was somebody who had just signed up to be an RCMP officer in a very beautiful town, the normally peaceful town of Tumbler Ridge, and in the moment that we needed him, he stepped up. Maya is alive today because of it.

I will expand on that story a bit. Many people have been watching Maya's story, how she keeps improving, on social media. She has a long way to go, but I will take the time today to send our appreciation to the nurses and doctors in British Columbia who have taken Maya under their wing and are providing her with first world service. It is just incredible.

Maya is still in B.C. There have been a lot of stories saying that she was going to go elsewhere, but she is in British Columbia now. She is still recovering, more on the long-term side. I cannot say enough about the immediate service that she got from the police officers and from the nurses and doctors, both in Tumbler Ridge and then at BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver.

It goes without saying that these services are here. Sometimes, that is what it is, is it not? We just expect the services to be there, and we do not always appreciate the men and women who work in those services enough. This bill is meant to recognize that service. It would be a good shot in the arm to say to responders that, even though someone may not be assaulted physically or psychologically, we would recognize what they do for us in our communities. Maybe it would be the morale boost they need. Members can imagine the issues we are seeing with some first responders. Even going back to Tumbler Ridge, the long-term effects of responding to that kind of a tragedy are profound.

I have another story. Even a person involved in the funeral aspects is dealing with the trauma of the situations. I remember talking to Kaylee, one of the morticians up there. I said, “Well, I guess you are used to this.” She said, “Nobody is used to this.” It is just a tough situation all along, even for the folks who deal with this on a regular basis.

I wanted to have the chance to speak today, first of all, to support my colleague and what he is trying to do. I also want to say to our men and women, whether they are a firefighter, those who work in an ambulance every day, a doctor, a nurse or an RCMP officer, and I am sure I am forgetting somebody, that whoever they are, we appreciate them and we care about them. That is what Bill S-233 is about. It is to make them feel protected and valued by the justice system, just like we do on this side of the House. My hope is that the government will decide to proceed and that we will get this bill passed as soon as we can.

I thank all those who listened today and, again, I give special appreciation to my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George. It is a great bill.

[Grant Jackson, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand today to put a few words on the record about Bill S-233. I know, although I am a new member, that it has been here before in different formats. I am very glad to see that it is back on the floor of the House of Commons again for debate. Of course, it is unfortunate that it did not pass previously and has not been in effect, but at least it has made its way back here now so we can try to get it through one last time to ensure protections are in place for our health care officials.

I want to thank my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George. I know that this has been a passion project of his for a long time, something he has been championing across the country. It is a big issue. I hear about it all the time, unfortunately, from health care professionals, whether they are paramedics, firefighters responding to 911 calls or health care professionals in our emergency rooms, which are becoming a cross between a traditional emergency room, a detox centre and all kinds of different mental health crisis facilities. Our health care professionals are struggling under the weight of the addiction and mental health crisis going on in this country right now. Unfortunately, many of the individuals coming in are repeat violent offenders who need help, but we have to ensure that protections are in place for our health care workers.

I hear too often from young nurses and young health care professionals from many different professions that they were assaulted, attacked in some way, shape or form. They can be coming to work, leaving work, in the emergency room or responding to a call on the street. Individuals get bitten or stabbed with dirty needles. There are all kinds of other physical or violent assaults.

This is just simply and completely unacceptable for anyone in the health care profession, whether they are new to the job or have been doing it for 30 years. It is totally unacceptable to Canadians that these people, who are on our front lines, stepping up to protect Canadians and do what they can to save our lives when we get into accidents or have other types of health care issues, are being assaulted in their places of work. We all expect a safe workplace, and our health care professionals should too. Just because their workplace happens to sometimes be on the streets of our communities, that does not mean that they should be any less safe when they step up for Canadians.

In Manitoba, and in my constituency of Brandon—Souris, the Brandon firefighter and paramedic service does excellent work, as does the health care staff at the Brandon Regional Health Centre and the many rural hospitals that I represent across the Brandon—Souris constituency. These folks are nervous. They come to my office and say that they have seen the same person come in over and over again. Every time, there is a violent incident, and there are no repercussions for that person. They say there is nothing that they can do to prevent this from happening. They are obligated to provide health care to that individual and everybody else who is in the waiting room, and they are not safe when that individual is around. That is a major problem.

This bill would go a long way toward ensuring specifically that violence against a health care professional in their place of work is considered an aggravating factor in sentencing. There has to be some repercussions for these folks. We know that they are often experiencing some type of breakdown, whether it is an addiction crisis or a mental health crisis of their own, and we have services available for that. The provinces are obligated to make services available in our health care system to get those people the care they need to bring them back to a healthy lifestyle. There is nothing in the bill that tries to diminish that in any way, but for repeat offenders who are committing violence against our health care professionals, there must be consequences for those actions.

Perhaps, if it is dealt with through the court system as an aggravating factor, these folks who are experiencing and perpetrating this violence would get connected with the services they need to navigate their way back to a healthier life.

I know the Liberals know all about this, because the Health Sciences Centre is Manitoba's hospital. It is located in Winnipeg. It has some of the worst cases of violence against health care professionals in the country.

There are a series of Liberal MPs who represent Winnipeg. They need to step up for the health care professionals who work at this facility, as well as those at the Grace and St. Boniface emergency rooms. This is not just for the people in my riding, but for the people in Winnipeg and all of us from rural Manitoba who end up, in large part, having to go to Winnipeg's major hospitals for specialty surgical services and other things. We need to make sure that the health care professionals there are safe.

There are a number of workers who have been attacked, not just in the emergency rooms or in hospital rooms, but also in the parkades where they park their car. This is tragic. It is a horrific incidence.

I am really hopeful that the Liberals will step up, pass the bill, send it to committee, move it through the system and get it passed so that the member for Cariboo—Prince George and all of the advocates who have been asking for this, as well as health care professionals, get the support they need.

Let us get the bill passed. Let us make health care professionals safer in Brandon—Souris, in Manitoba and in Canada.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

The hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George has the floor for his right of reply.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to first thank our colleagues from all sides who spoke to Bill S-233.

I specifically want to thank two members. I thank the member for Barrie South—Innisfil for his service. What many people may not know is that he served as a firefighter for, I believe, 22 years. He served our communities. He knows first-hand the challenges firefighters face.

I also want to thank our colleague for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Mr. Speaker, perhaps I should wait until government members can settle down and listen.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

I would ask members to keep the side conversations to a minimum.

The hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George .

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

Mr. Speaker, it is indicative of what we faced with this bill, which is the disrespect for the hundreds of thousands of first responders, nurses and health care workers—

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I have been listening intently throughout the debate on this, and I do not think the member is doing a service to health care workers by implying—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

That is not a point of order.

The hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George.

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

Mr. Speaker, I started off by saying I wanted to thank our colleagues who have all spoken on the bill, specifically the member for Barrie South—Innisfil, for his service, and the member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies. Through a tremendously hard time in our nation, his leadership on the ground within his community of Tumbler Ridge has been really remarkable. He has been there for the families. He has been there for the community. He has been there for the nation. I thank him.

Why are we here? Why are we here if we cannot stand up for those who actually stand up for us and fight for us? We are here for the 500,000 nurses in our country, the 40,000 paramedics, the 100,000 firefighters, the 25,000 correctional officers and the hundreds of thousands of first responders who put on their uniforms every day, not knowing what they are going to endure in their service to our country, to members' families or to mine. They are all asking for one thing, to pass Bill S-233, to put protections in place so that they know that if they face violence when they respond to an incident, we have their backs.

For 10 years, the IAFF has been asking for this. It has been their number one lobby ask. For seven years, we have been fighting to get a piece of legislation through.

I am embarrassed that we are here at this point. We had a bill that passed unanimously in the House and that passed in the other House but, because of the dissolution of Parliament, it did not become law. I want to thank Senator Housakos and Senator Yussuff. Senators from both sides came together last fall, saw the importance of the bill and passed it on all sides in the Senate.

I want to thank my friend Paul Hills, from the Saskatoon Paramedics Association and the IAFF, who has tirelessly worked to get a piece of legislation through, a piece of legislation that would protect his colleagues in the hospitals and on the front lines as first responders. They face unbelievable acts of violence.

The bill has already been studied twice. It is born of the 2019 HESA report, entitled “Violence Facing Health Care Workers in Canada”. It was studied in the last Parliament at both levels, the Senate and the House. Amendments were made that are reflected in the bill that we have today, Bill S-233.

It is so frustrating for me that we are here at this point. Last fall, the gallery was full of firefighters and health care workers. We thought that we had support from the House to pass this. Before I stood to ask for it, I was told it was not going to happen. I literally stood in front of the House leader, who is in the House right now and I begged and said that I do not care who asks. It could be from their side, our side or anybody's side. I do not care who asks for unanimous consent. All I care about is that the bill passes and that we can tell the firefighters, the first responders and the nurses that we have their backs. That is what we owe to the hundreds of thousands of first responders.

I will just end with this. I carry a coin with me. It says that heroes are human, service before self and to never give up. I firmly believe and hope that when this comes to a vote in two days, all members will support the bill.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

The question is on the motion.

If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

The hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to stand and ask for a UC, but I would request a recorded division.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

Pursuant to Standing Order 93, the division stands deferred until Wednesday, May 27, 2026, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

The House resumed from May 25 consideration of the motion 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.

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading of Bill S-233 under Private Members' Business.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it you will find consent to apply the results from the last vote to this vote, with Liberal members voting yes.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives agree to apply the vote, and we are enthusiastically supporting the bill.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, New Democrats also agree to apply the vote, and we enthusiastically support the bill.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Greens agree to apply the vote, thank the good lord, and vote yes.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #127

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

(Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

I wish to inform the House that because of the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 16 minutes.