Public Safety Committee on Nov. 25th, 2020

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

It's a very important question you raise. Supply interdiction of these illicit drugs is an important part of the work of our law enforcement agencies. We work internationally on the transnational trafficking of these drugs, but we've also been working, just as importantly, in communities on restoring the harm reduction pillar of our national drug strategy. We've been investing in a number of initiatives taking place in communities to deal with the health aspects and the tragedy of those deaths. I think that work requires balance.

The national drug strategy has a number of important measures. It begins with effective supply interdiction measures. We've been investing in those things. It also requires demand reduction, harm reduction and rehabilitative treatment services. We are trying to ensure we provide a wide and comprehensive response to this opioid crisis.

I don't disagree with you. Supply interdiction is an important element, but it's not the only element. I think in years past—I was actually involved in these investigations for many years myself—a great deal of emphasis is always put on law enforcement, but we have to look at the medical consequences, treatment and support for people who have addictions to help keep them alive.

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Sadly, it seems to be getting worse over the last number of years, despite the efforts.

I want to turn to another issue that is important to all Canadians, particularly in my home province of British Columbia. That is money laundering.

Minister, money had been promised as recently as 18 months ago for more funding to fight money laundering in British Columbia, but sadly that just has not happened. What do you intend is going to happen? Are enough resources being allocated to fighting that significant problem?

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Again, Minister—

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

That's a great question. This is a very important question, and I need an opportunity to answer it.

Over the last two years, we have invested $300 million in the RCMP, FINTRAC and the CRA. We've also announced the establishment of the Public Safety action, coordination and enforcement team at the CBSA centre of expertise.

As well, we've made amendments to the Criminal Code, and this month—this is very important—the RCMP was further approved for $98 million towards the creation of the new integrated money-laundering investigative teams to replace the integrated proceeds of crime teams that the previous Conservative government eliminated in 2013. This is going to add additional officers in Alberta, Ontario, B.C. and Quebec to do the important work of dealing with organized crime money- laundering activities in this country.

Mr. Chair, this is an issue that we take very seriously, and we've come through with those investments we promised.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Mr. Van Popta, I think you should send Minister Blair a thank you note for that time extension.

With that, we have Madam Damoff for five minutes, please.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Minister, the Canadian gun lobby recently did a cartoon of me and Minister Freeland, making fun of the fact that I've highlighted that women are killed or threatened by partners with firearms. As you know, the vast majority—I believe it's over 70%—of gun deaths in Canada are actually by suicide. In Ontario, there was just recently a report on the number of suicide deaths by firearm. They were largely of white males in rural Canada.

Recently I did a Facebook Live with Dr. Alan Drummond, whom I know you know. He's the former president of the emergency physicians here in Canada. One of the things that he has highlighted and that you've committed to, Minister, is red flag laws.

Dr. Drummond highlighted that as a physician he has a duty to report things like infectious diseases and individuals who are unsafe to drive and that it only makes sense for physicians to report people who may be at a risk to themselves or to others. I'm just wondering, Minister, if you are planning on bringing in legislation that will deal with red flag laws.

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Thank you very much, Ms. Damoff.

First of all, if I may, let me acknowledge that I think some of the comments made by people who work for the gun industry and the gun lobby have been reprehensible, misogynous and I think deeply offensive to the vast majority of Canadians. I wish some of the leaders of our other political parties would find the courage to denounce those activities, but allow me the opportunity to denounce them.

With respect to red flag laws, yes, Pam, we are working very hard to introduce legislation as quickly as possible that will introduce red flag laws. Red flag laws can have a very significant impact in three very important areas. The first is to deal with domestic and intimate partner violence. As you've said, the overwhelming majority of victims in domestic and intimate partner violence are women—eight out of 10—and when a firearm is present, that dangerous situation can become deadly. We want to empower women and those who support women in these dangerous circumstances to remove the danger of a firearm being present in those homes.

We also recognize and are strongly influenced and advised by Dr. Drummond and the medical community's work that 75% of all homicide deaths in this country are in fact self-inflicted. The gun lobby never wants to talk about that, but it's a reality in Canada today, so we are going to empower physicians, family and concerned citizens to be able to take action to remove firearms from those dangerous situations.

Finally, when people are online and they're spouting hate and advocating violence against women, religious minorities, ethnic minorities or any vulnerable population in this country, we have hate crime laws. They can be, in my experience, very challenging to enforce, but we need to have the tools to disarm those individuals before they can go out and engage in crimes of mass violence that have created so much tragedy in this country.

Yes, it's a priority for our government. We'll be bringing forward effective red flag legislation to ensure that Canadians have the tools they need to keep themselves safe.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Thank you, Minister, and thank you for your comments as well.

My colleague Mr. Harris brought up the recent report that came out on sexual harassment in the RCMP. I have to say that the only other report I read that was similar to that was on the Edmonton maximum security institution. They described the culture as being like the 1950s movie The Blob: It didn't matter how good the people were; they were consumed by this toxic culture.

Minister—and I have a similar question for Commissioner Lucki—will we be able to have an independent external review of the RCMP? This has been going on for 30 years.

I'm going to run out of time. I'm going to end my intro here. I'll give you time to respond quickly, Minister, but I'd like to get a response, perhaps from Commissioner Lucki first and then from you.

[Commr Brenda Lucki]

I had a bit of a microphone problem. I wonder whether you could just repeat the last part of your question.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

It's about committing to an independent external review of the RCMP. It has been been 30 years without being able to find a solution to this.

[Commr Brenda Lucki]

Regarding these unspeakable acts, I read that report and I've read it again. That's exactly the reason I applied for the job, that's why I was selected for the job and that's why I'm so committed to making that change in the RCMP.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Commissioner, with all respect, the report has said the change can't come from an internal review.

[Commr Brenda Lucki]

In my case, I'm not speaking about an internal review. I'm speaking about actions internally to change the culture, to change the governance, to change the stewardship and to change how we deal with these things internally. We're introducing an internal and independent centre for harassment resolution, which has a big prevention part to it. It's the first of its kind.

We're looking at something independent, so that people feel trust that they can come forward. In the time I've been in the chair, we've achieved gender parity on the senior executive. When I used to come into Ottawa and see the table, it was all white males. When I'm looking at the table now, it's 50% female across Canada. Out of the 15 RCMP commanding officers, almost 50% are female. You would never see that. These are actual visual changes.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Unfortunately, we're going to have to leave that extremely important question there. Ms. Damoff is in the next round of questions, so maybe you'll want to come back to that.

With that, we're going into the third round of questions.

Mr. Kurek, you lead off. You have five minutes, please.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Minister, it's good to have you here at the committee.

With regard to RCMP funding, recently in my riding there have been brazen criminal acts not seen in many decades: a bank robbery in a community of 250, police impersonators pulling over people and robbing them and more crimes than I can outline here today. Rural crime continues to grow, and too often people in rural areas are being left to fend for themselves.

We know the RCMP has large areas to cover, especially in rural and remote areas, and there are consistent staffing challenges. Your government's response to M-167 in the last Parliament was embarrassing, and Canadians in rural and remote areas deserve to know when the issues of rural crime will be taken seriously.

Can you respond to that?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Let me assure you that crime that occurs anywhere in this country is taken very seriously, and I would invite the commissioner of the RCMP to speak to how the RCMP, in the jurisdictions where they are the police of jurisdiction, respond.

[Commr Brenda Lucki]

Thank you, Minister.

We have rural crime programs in each and every one of our provinces. Our big successes recently have come through our crime reduction enforcement support teams that we've set up in many of the provinces in western Canada. These crime reduction enforcement teams are dedicated to rural crime. They blitz areas where rural crime is occurring. They do warrant roundups and all kinds of activities to target the prolific offenders who are committing the crimes in those areas.

We look at that part of the population, the smaller part of the population committing the most crimes. What we are doing with those teams is intelligence-led and evidence-led, and they target those areas in order to reduce those crimes. They've had great success.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Thank you very much.

Minister, I appreciate the work that is being done by RCMP officers on the ground each and every day, but it is unfortunate that.... Again, I mentioned M-167 and an incredibly disappointing response from the government on rural crime. This is truly a failure of the Liberal government.

[Commr Brenda Lucki]

Did you mean M-157?

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

I'm sorry. I meant M-157.

You've said your department is primarily focused on COVID, yet we've learned in the last number of weeks that five million people have entered this country with an exemption, and we know that a number of those people who have entered Canada have done so by specific ministerial exemptions. However, it's unclear what conditions are placed on these individuals and whether they undergo any tests.

Therefore, what conditions have you approved for those persons who are able to enter the country without quarantine; and are those conditions universal with your other colleagues who are authorized by the order in council to grant those exemptions?

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

You have about a minute and a half.

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Thank you very much for the important question.

Let me speak about two instances for which I issued national interest exemptions.

One was in the aftermath of a tragic death of an armed forces member—

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

With respect, Minister—

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Sorry, Minister—

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

I—