Evidence of meeting #131 for Public Safety and National Security in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was rcmp.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
Do you know of any other jurisdictions where crime rates have gone down when gun owners are given the free authority to go ahead and shoot?
Liberal
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
I just figured that maybe these issues have been brought up through your legal case and you talked about this with your....
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
Thank you Ms. Sahota.
Mr. Barlow, you have the remaining time, which looks like about four minutes, but go with five.
October 18th, 2018 / 5:20 p.m.
Conservative
John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Sahota, we're not trying to politicize this, but crime rates in Canada dropped for 12 straight years until 2015. We held town halls across Canada and listened to thousands of residents. One of the main things they brought up is that they want to have stronger sentencing. They've heard from us that that's one of the biggest issues. However, when the Liberals are bringing forward bills like Bill C-75 that reduce the sentences for some of the most vicious and violent crimes, that is sending a very different message to Canadians, which is certainly not what we have heard. If anybody is taking the wrong direction on this, I would say that it's you and your government.
I want to give the witnesses a chance to answer. We have maybe three minutes left.
Eddie and Jessica, what are you hoping to accomplish from your appearance here today in front of the committee? What are you hoping comes from your testimony?
As an Individual
This committee is mostly made up of MPs from Ontario and Quebec and, I think, mostly urban areas, so we hope that you gain an understanding of what rural reality is actually like in our areas. It is quite different from downtown Toronto or some of the urban ridings that you represent.
We're also looking to have a review and improvement in the RCMP policies and protocols for handling situations where landowners and rural residents have to take measures to care for themselves and their properties. We want you to look at and consider who you're really protecting here. Is it the criminals who are committing these crimes, or is it the taxpaying, law-abiding, contributing citizens who founded this country?
We also feel that there is a lack of accountability in the RCMP system. We're also having problems with 911 dispatch in our area in Alberta because it is centralized. Obviously, that's a problem in other areas as well. We want to make sure that the RCMP are accountable for their actions and that they're not just throwing charges around without having done their due diligence.
Also, with regard to Bill C-75, the bill before the House about sentencing, the characteristics of an effective justice system are not just about rehabilitation, which I think is an important part of a justice system because we should be helping to rehabilitate offenders. It's also about punishing them for their offences, deterring others, which the system is not currently doing, and giving retribution to society. I think that there needs to be some review of those aspects, as well, in the criminal justice system and when you're looking at Bill C-75 because reducing sentences is not going to provide those pillars to the justice system, and it's not going to do anything to deter future crimes.
That's all that I have, but basically, we need to stop the revolving door of criminals.
Conservative
John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB
I know my other colleague mentioned that the system worked, that your charges were dropped, but it didn't work.
Obviously, from your story, this has not ended for you, has it? You did fire a warning shot with your firearm, but this hasn't ended for you, has it?
As an Individual
No, it hasn't. For the rest of my life, those charges are on my name. Anytime we decide to travel, to take our kids to Disneyland, I may not be able to go with them. I may be turned away at the border, sent back home, and they'll have to go on without me. Further, I just got my firearms licence back last week. The chief firearms officer was not listening to my calls or my lawyer's calls. I finally had to get a minister's office involved.
Conservative
As an Individual
Essentially, and I still am missing a firearm. Our local RCMP does not have it. We don't know if it's still at forensics. We have no idea where it is and who has it. I have still not received it 115 days after my charges were dropped.
Conservative
John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB
As you've gone through this process—and I want to counter some of the messages from my colleagues across the way—the onus should not have been put on you. The onus should have been put on the criminal. Absolutely you took action that you felt was appropriate, but I think the message you're trying to relay here is that you had a 12-month-old daughter asleep in the house. You were on your own. We should be doing everything we possibly can to ensure the victim's rights are at the forefront, not necessarily the criminal's.
Conservative
John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB
Is there any last message you want to convey to us before you leave?
As an Individual
I have one example that I'd like to bring forward. With regard to gates and cameras and all of that, I think this is an example you will understand. When a woman is raped, we don't say that it's her fault for dressing promiscuously; it's the rapist's fault. I feel that the same applies to rural properties and rural crime.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal John McKay
Thank you, all of you, for making the effort to appear before the committee.
Mr. and Mrs. Maurice, Ms. Bedford and Ms. Dixon, we appreciate your efforts to share your stories with us. They certainly will inform the conversation that we as committee members have.
With that, the meeting is adjourned.