Evidence of meeting #39 for Public Safety and National Security in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was data.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Thank you.
I will say that I am a firm believer that Canadians should have material from the Government of Canada that is in the official language of their usage.
I'm not familiar with this particular issue. Again, I will be more than glad to look into it unless Ms. Giles is able to comment.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jean-Yves Duclos
Unfortunately, there won't be enough time.
Mr. Au, you have the floor for five minutes.
Conservative
Chak Au Conservative Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC
Minister, I have some questions for you. They are simple questions, and I hope that I can get simple answers.
As my first question, do you realize that shoplifting has become a national crisis?
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Certainly when we talk about a national crisis, Mr Au, we have to be careful with the context, so—
Conservative
Chak Au Conservative Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC
Okay. As my second question, do you know the annual losses caused by shoplifting in the country?
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
I believe it's $6 billion a year, if I'm not mistaken.
Conservative
Chak Au Conservative Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC
The answer is $9.2 billion.
As question number three, do you know how much losses from shoplifting have increased from 2019 to 2025?
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
No, I'm not familiar with that increase.
Conservative
Chak Au Conservative Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC
They have doubled, from $5 billion to $9.2 billion.
Do you know how much an average grocery store has to spend on preventive measures and security each year?
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Au, I will say that as a government, we are ensuring that the laws are in place to ensure that those—
Conservative
Chak Au Conservative Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC
The answer is $5,000. On average, a grocery store has to spend $5,000 for preventive and security measures.
Do you know the percentage increase in violence in reported shoplifting cases?
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Au, what I will say is that I'm not an expert on shoplifting, but on general issues around public safety, I can speak to what we as a government have been doing to address the issues of public concern.
The concerns that you express are legitimate, and I will say that over the last year we have taken a number of very important steps—
Conservative
Chak Au Conservative Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC
I can give the answer. The increase is 76%.
Do you know the percentage of retailers who feel unsafe in their workplace?
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Again, I don't think this is helpful—
Conservative
Chak Au Conservative Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC
The answer is 47%. I will tell you why this is helpful at the end.
Do you know that shoplifting is often related to drug use?
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
I'm sorry. I didn't understand your....
Conservative
Chak Au Conservative Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC
Do you know that shoplifting is often related to drug use?
Liberal
Conservative
Chak Au Conservative Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC
Okay, that's great.
Do you know that the same offenders are repeatedly arrested and released on the same day?
Liberal
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON
Again, Mr Au, if you want to speak broadly on public safety, I'm more than glad to give you some commentary as to the steps the government has been taking.
What is not helpful, frankly.... It is like 20 questions to test my knowledge—
Liberal
Amandeep Sodhi Liberal Brampton Centre, ON
Mr. Chair, I have a point of order.
With all due respect to my colleague, our minister is here today to answer questions. I don't think it's fair to talk over each other. It's also not healthy for the interpreters doing the interpretation.