Debates of Oct. 20th, 2022

Justice

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member for being reappointed to his role as critic.

Unfortunately, I disagree with him on his view of Bill C-5. Bill C-5 is about serious crimes getting serious consequences and getting the attention and resources they deserve. We are doing that by taking the focus off of instances where incarceration is not the solution, hence the focus on removing a certain number of mandatory minimum penalties. Serious situations, where public safety is at issue, will still get serious consequences.

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, these serious consequences would be to serve house arrest while playing video games for discharging a firearm illegally. That is not a serious consequence.

The Minister of Justice has permitted a catch-and-release justice system. Businesses are closing down, and people in my riding of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo are afraid to walk downtown in certain pockets, even in the daytime. We even had a McDonald's close down due to street crime.

Bail has become the norm for repeat violent offenders. Will the government shut this revolving door?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question and congratulate him on his recent appointment as the second critic on this file.

Public safety is our priority, and serious crimes will always carry with them serious consequences. Former supreme court justice Michael Moldaver, whom nobody in the House could accuse of being soft on crime, has said precisely that we need to dedicate more of our judicial and penal resources towards combatting serious offences and treating those offences seriously, and conversely, taking away some of the resources for crimes that should not be punished by incarceration.

Public safety is our number one priority.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the owner of a Winnipeg convenience store is in the hospital with a serious brain injury after he was attacked by thieves. Manitobans have become quite accustomed to seeing the daily headlines of assault, murder, arson, stabbing, stealing, and break and enters.

The perpetrators of these crimes are usually the same people. It is a revolving door, and the bad guys are getting away with it over and over again. This is the Canada we have after seven years of Liberal government. What is it going to take for these Liberals to finally get serious and start protecting Canadian families from violent offenders?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we have been serious about protecting Canadians since we got elected. Our number one priority is to keep Canadians safe, and that is why we have introduced common sense firearms legislation, such Bill C-71 and Bill C-21, which is at committee right now. These would keep Canadians safe. These measures are supported by Canadians, and we hope that the hon. members across the way will support us in this legislation.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals well know that gun violence is the result of criminals and gangs who smuggle guns across the American border. It is not the result of licenced, trained and vetted-by-police Canadian firearm owners. At the same time, these Liberals are letting violent offenders off the hook. This year, a woman in Winnipeg was robbed at gunpoint while holding her infant child and had her car stolen.

The Liberal Bill C-5 would remove mandatory prison time for robbery with a firearm. Therefore, this violent offender would serve house arrest because he terrorized this woman. That is the world these Liberals have created for Canadians. It is reckless, and it will continue to fail to keep Canadians safe. Does the minister not agree?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, public safety is our top priority. The kind of circumstance the hon. member has just described is not the kind of circumstance that would carry with it a minimum mandatory penalty. It would go to the other end of the sentencing spectrum precisely because public safety was at risk and the act itself was serious.

What we are doing, and what experts such as the former supreme court justice Michael Moldaver are suggesting, is that we concentrate our limited judicial resources on precisely those kinds of situations by freeing up resources from situations where public safety is not at risk.

Climate Change

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what is not compatible with fighting climate change? The energy policy that the Deputy Prime Minister recently announced in Washington. She announced that Canada will fast-track oil and gas development to sell as much as possible to Europe.

The government has even said that it could not care less about spending political capital. It clearly could not care less about public opinion, because what matters is selling gas to Europe.

Could anything be less compatible with fighting climate change than producing more oil and gas to make money?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, our government is determined to tackle the global energy security crisis and climate change. That is why we are investing in good projects across the country. These projects will have to comply with our climate and environmental ambitions and respect the rights of first nations.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it tells us a lot when the Minister of Natural Resources answers a question about climate change.

What makes it even worse is that when the Liberals tell Washington that they want to sell more oil and gas, they are worried about their political capital. The Deputy Prime Minister said that we have to be prepared to spend some domestic political capital to sell fossil fuel in Europe.

Instead of worrying about the impact of their decision on global warming, they are worrying about their political capital. In the midst of a climate crisis, should the Liberals be worried about political capital or about climate change when they talk about selling more oil and more gas?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, in the 1970s, people thought that fighting climate change was the environment minister's responsibility. For our government, it is the responsibility of all ministers and all members on this side of the House.

Everyone must fight climate change, whether it is the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Transport, the Department of Justice or the Department of the Environment. That is exactly what we are doing, and that is why in Canada we now have twice as much investment in renewable energy and clean technology as we do in fossil fuels.

The more we move forward, the more investment there will be in the renewable energy sector and the less there will be in the fossil fuel sector.

Public Services and Procurement

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, news broke this afternoon that one of the companies the government says it gave $1.2 million to for its ArriveCAN boondoggle says that it did not get a dime. Where is the $1.2 million? Who got rich?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, throughout the pandemic, keeping Canadians safe has always been our top priority. That is why we used the ArriveCAN app. CBSA is aware of concerns surrounding contracts and it is looking into the matter further.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, CBSA is concerned and Canadians are concerned because the Prime Minister's scandal-plagued record speaks for itself. This app, when it started out, was supposed to cost $80,000 and the expenses ballooned to more than $54 million. It wrongly quarantined and forced into house arrest 10,000 Canadians.

It is a boondoggle. It is a failed app. The government lost $1.2 million. Who got rich?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I wish the party opposite would go back in time to when it was calling on us to close borders. We brought in the ArriveCAN app to keep Canadians safe, and it worked. It is no longer mandatory. As I said—

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I am just going to interrupt for a moment. I am having a hard time hearing the parliamentary secretary and I am sure the hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes would like to hear what she has to say. I am going to ask everyone to take it down a notch and maybe take a deep breath.

We will listen to the parliamentary secretary, from the top, please.

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

Mr. Speaker—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Mr. Speaker, it is starting again across the way. I guess they do not want to remember what it was like a year or two ago when Canadians were living with COVID and the Conservatives were calling on us to close the border and stop letting people come in.

We brought in the ArriveCAN app to keep Canadians safe, and it worked. As I said previously, CBSA is aware of issues with the contract and it is looking into it.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' continued use of the ArriveCAN app destroyed any chance of recovery this summer for our Canadian tourism sector. Canadians are struggling and deserve so much better, so they can be excused for being upset when the government committed $54 million to the disastrous ArriveCAN app.

Canadians simply want to know two things: Who got rich at their expense and when will we scrap this app?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the ArriveCAN app is no longer mandatory. Perhaps the hon. member has not been watching the news to know that. However, I want to assure Canadians that it is still available for those who wish to use it.

We brought in the ArriveCAN app, along with many other measures during the pandemic, because we were always putting Canadians' health and safety as our number one priority.

Foreign Affairs

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Haiti has asked for international assistance to combat the current crisis. Since then, politicians and the corrupt financial elite have only ramped up their scheming, and gangs continue to terrorize the people of Haiti.

Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell us how Canada intends to respond to this plea for help?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his important question and his support for the people of Haiti.

Like many Canadians, I am very concerned about what is happening in Haiti right now. Solutions need to be found by and for Haitians. The Prime Minister and I are working with our counterparts on the issue. That is also why we recently sent safety equipment to the Haitian national police.

We are also prepared to impose sanctions against those who are financing the gangs and feeding the unrest. Our message is clear. We will always stand with the people of Haiti.

[Member spoke in Creole]

Public Services and Procurement

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we heard some responses from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, but we did not get an answer.

This is very clear. The Liberals said the app was going to cost $80,000, and then they said they gave this company $1.2 million out of a total $54 million in this boondoggle. The company they say they gave $1.2 million to said they were not given a dime.

We asked who got rich and the Liberals do not know the answer. Here is a new question for them: Who is lying?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I hope the hon. member is not accusing me of lying in this House.