Public Safety Committee on Sept. 27th, 2023

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Welcome to our committee, Chris.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Mr. Bittle, you have a point of order.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

This pain in my community, Mr. Chair, is real. This is being used as a partisan attack and as a filibuster to prevent us from debating legislation. This is disgusting, Mr. Chair.

You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

This is not a point of order.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Baldinelli comes with this, I believe, with true intention, but the rest of them.... It is disgusting. Shake your heads.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Bittle.

It is not a point of order, but I appreciate the sentiment. Emotions run high on this matter, as well they should.

Mr. Motz, please carry on.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Thank you very much, sir.

Rather than addressing the issue head-on, my colleague who has just spoken, when this was brought up in the House, has chosen to deflect blame, accusing those proposing solutions—

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

—and expressing concern about playing politics.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Mr. Bittle has a point of order, please.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

I have not deflected any blame, Mr. Chair.

The member is, unfortunately, misleading this committee. Again, I don't know why this is being used as a filibuster to prevent us from actually debating legislation on this.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

It's not a filibuster.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

This is not a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

It's shocking to use a serial killer in a horrific incident in St. Catharines, in Niagara, to engage in a political filibuster.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Bittle.

The member is correct that this is not a point of order, but I will make that decision. Thank you.

Carry on, Mr. Motz.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Once again, we see a pattern of division and blame-shifting, even from the deepest backbenches of the Liberal government, rather than taking responsibility and rectifying the problems that they themselves have created.

The majority Liberal government paved the way for the transfer of Mr. Bernardo by passing Bill C‑83 back in the day, which was supported only by the Liberals and disgraced Liberal Raj Grewal. This bill prioritized the “least restrictive environment” for prisoners, effectively reversing a policy established by the previous Conservative government that imposed a tougher standard on dangerous offenders. This reversal was cited by Correctional Service Canada to justify Bernardo's transfer.

Now, months after this shocking transfer, the government continues to let down the families of victims and the communities forever scarred by Bernardo's crimes. Despite our new public safety minister, we are witnessing the same kind of refusal to use legal authority to direct Correctional Service Canada to ensure that every mass murderer serves their time in a maximum-security facility.

With a level of ineffectiveness that ministers can deem appropriate, the former minister of public safety issued a directive to Correctional Service Canada. Unfortunately, he missed the point. He missed it entirely. The directive covered only the way victims are notified about transfers and their classifications, not a reversal, which is what should have been done with this transfer.

Conservatives will not stand idly by and let this injustice persist. That is why we've introduced the legislation that has been mentioned, which mandates that multiple murderers and dangerous offenders like Bernardo serve their entire sentences behind the walls of a maximum-security prison. We will bring justice and safety back to our communities.

On the issue of public safety, we have seen a government that has admitted its failure to protect Canadians from foreign interference, and we witnessed the replacement of, arguably, an unfit public safety minister with a new one, who seems to follow the orders of his predecessor. Yet, Mr. Bernardo remains in minimum security, outside of where he should be, and violent crime continues to rise in our streets.

To those Canadians who are watching today, Conservatives know that this situation is unacceptable, and we have the desire to do something about it. Victims' rights should never come second to those of dangerous and violent offenders. We must take a stand and rectify the mistakes of the Liberal government. Mr. Bernardo's transfer should never have occurred and it should not stand. He belongs in a maximum-security prison for the rest of his life.

To prevent further transfers like this and to ensure that victims' rights are upheld, Conservatives have introduced Mr. Baldinelli's private member's bill, Bill C-342. This legislation would permanently assign a maximum-security classification to multiple murderers and court-ordered dangerous offenders. It will repeal the Liberals' “least restrictive environment” standard and restore the language of “necessary restrictions” that the previous Conservative government had in place.

Mr. Chair, it's about time.

We call on the minister to issue a directive today and reverse the transfer of Mr. Bernardo. We will continue to champion the rights of victims, and a common-sense Conservative government will bring about safer streets and prioritize victims' rights by reversing this flawed legislation. We will ensure that people like Paul Bernardo remain where they belong.

My colleagues and I have a commitment to justice, public safety and the rights of victims. We will fight to ensure that our communities are safe, that justice is served and that the voices of victims and their families are heard.

If colleagues across the way are not able to ensure this, or Liberal ministers aren't able to ensure this, it will become the work of this committee to do that. It's not simply passing on a responsibility. The duty lies with us, and I ask you to consider the magnitude of our responsibility today and do what's right. Let's reverse this transfer and ensure that it never happens again.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Thank you, Mr. Motz.

I have Mr. Shipley, followed by Mr. Lloyd.

I'm wondering if there is a sense of how long this matter will take today, because if we're going to take very long, I would recommend that we excuse the witnesses, which would allow us to carry on in the fullness of this.

Mr. Shipley, go ahead.

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I'm going to start off by indicating that this is not a filibuster. This is—

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

[Inaudible—Editor]

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

I've been in meetings and heard you filibuster. I know what a filibuster is, Mr. Bittle, and this is not a filibuster. We will get around to a vote on this.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Can we speak through the chair, please?

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Is he allowed to just yell out comments?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Well, no.

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Well, there you go. I'm going to respond to them if someone—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

Even so, it doesn't make it better if we all break the rules.