Debates of June 8th, 2022

Public Safety

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share what I heard from the representative of a community that this government claims it wants to help. She says that eliminating these minimum sentences is not only a bad idea masquerading as a good one, but an idea that will further jeopardize the communities this initiative is supposed to protect. That is what we heard from Murielle Chatellier in a parliamentary committee.

On the one hand, the Prime Minister is abolishing mandatory minimum sentences with Bill C‑5; on the other, he does not mention victims of gun violence even once in Bill C‑21.

Why is the Prime Minister so intent on helping criminals rather than victims?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to provide a very personal answer to that question.

When I was a child, my mother worked as a lawyer in northern Alberta and did a lot of legal aid work. Many of her clients were indigenous people. When I was a child, I witnessed, in the courts and sometimes on reserves, how our country and our justice system treated indigenous people. We need to fix that. Our government will do it. I hope all members will help us.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to share another story from one of my constituents who is worried about the cost of living. This person will not have enough to pay his bills and put food on the table at the end of the month. He will have to make some very difficult choices. Some members of his family will probably have to go hungry so that he can afford to pay his bills. This is the experience of someone from my riding, but it is similar to stories that many of my colleagues have heard in their own ridings.

Unfortunately, yesterday, the NDP-Liberal government, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, voted against our motion, which would have implemented concrete measures.

Why are they refusing to help Canadians?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that affordability is a very important issue for Canadians. I am wondering why the Conservatives are not supporting the targeted, concrete measures that will help Canadians, such as the increase to the Canada workers benefit. This will give the most vulnerable workers an additional $2,300.

Why do they not support increasing old age security for seniors by 10%, which would provide a much-needed additional $815.

Pensions

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, seniors have been left to deal with the surging cost of living on their own. The Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed it yesterday. A total of 1.7 million seniors have seen their purchasing power slashed because the indexed increase in their old age security benefit is below the rate of inflation.

If the federal government does not fix this, it will be keeping a third of Quebec seniors from receiving $660.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister commit to paying seniors back every penny they have lost, the next time OAS is adjusted?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I have good news for the leader of the Bloc Québécois: Our government has already decided that, as of this summer, we will increase OAS by 10%.

This step, which we have already taken, will give seniors an additional $815. It is a good measure, a targeted measure that will remain in place for as long as it is needed.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister's response raises two questions.

How big is that increase in relation to current inflation, which is having a devastating impact on seniors' purchasing power? Also, we want assurances, which would certainly be a welcome change, that there will not be any discrimination based on the age of the recipients, so that people 75 to 80 do not get more than people 65 to 75. We do not want to see discrimination from a government that boasts about being against all discrimination.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues know, the most important programs for Canadians are indexed to inflation. That is very important.

As far as our seniors are concerned, we have already decided and voted in favour of the legislation to increase OAS for people 75 and older. That means 3.3 million people in Canada will be getting an extra $815.

The Economy

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, families everywhere are struggling because of the cost of living.

The Liberals' response is pathetic. They say inflation is not their fault and everything will be all right. Can the Liberals put themselves in the shoes of a family that is cutting back on groceries to make ends meet? There are things the Liberals could do right now.

Why are the Liberals not doubling the GST tax credit? Why are they not increasing the Canada child benefit by $500? Why are they doing nothing to help people get through this crisis?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I want to take this opportunity to point out that there is money that will be given out this year in a targeted way to those who need it. This year, we increased the Canada workers benefit. The people who need it most will receive an additional $2,300 this year. We will also be making a one-time $500 payment to people facing housing challenges.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are going hungry. Perhaps the Prime Minister and the finance minister have never gone hungry. Perhaps they have never had to suffer through pain after not being able to afford their medication because they had to pay the rent. Maybe they have never had to walk to work because they cannot afford the gas to get there in their own car.

Those are the realities of Canadians across the country right now, while we know that the oil and gas industry is reaping extra mega profits. Canadians need urgent help today, not months from now.

Will the government finally step up for Canadians, make sure that they get double the GST and that—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Deputy Prime Minister.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we looked ahead. Our government has already set in motion five important programs that will deliver supports starting this year to the Canadians who need it the most. With the Canada workers benefit, a family of three can get up to $2,300 more. With the 10% increase in the OAS, a senior can get $815 more. There is $500 payment to people experiencing housing affordability challenges, dental care—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Fundy Royal.

Justice

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast are worried about the rising rate of violent gun crimes in their communities. They are calling on the government for action. Instead of listening to Canadians, the Liberals are removing mandatory jail time for offences such as robbery with a firearm, extortion with a firearm and weapons trafficking, just to name a few.

Canadians do not want to see government bills that help dangerous criminals skip out on jail time. They want dangerous criminals taken off our streets. Will the Liberals reverse course on their soft-on-crime agenda?

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

Mr. Speaker, serious crime in this country will always carry with it serious consequences. The kinds of situations that we are targeting with this legislation on minimum mandatory penalties are situations where public security and public safety are not at risk. It is being done to attack the systemic overrepresentation of Black and indigenous people in the criminal justice system.

The kinds of situations that he is describing are being attacked in Bill C-21, and we are raising the maximum penalties.

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, that is incomprehensible. Canadians simply do not buy this Liberal logic. According to Liberal logic, the justice minister's bill tackles racism by decreasing jail time for gun crimes, but the public safety minister's bill tackles racism by increasing jail time for the exact same crimes.

They cannot have it both ways, so which one is it?

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

Mr. Speaker, the—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I believe members were very excited to have two people rise to speak, so we will just calm down and let one proceed.

The hon. Minister of Justice can begin from the top, please.

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this attack on minimum mandatory penalties, coming from a lawyer, is something that is hard to understand. The situations that he describes are not the situations that would be touched by minimum mandatory penalties.

Minimum mandatory penalties are being abandoned because they fail. It is a failed so-called tough-on-crime policy. The jurisdictions in the United States that inspired the Harper government to bring in these minimum mandatory penalties are abandoning minimum mandatory penalties, one by one.

Serious crime will always be punished seriously. There is no threat to—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Sturgeon River—Parkland.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, May 19, at the public safety committee, the Minister of Public Safety confirmed that he stood by his statement in Parliament on May 2 when he said, “At the recommendation of [law enforcement], we invoked the Emergencies Act”.

We now know that police did not make this recommendation and his own deputy minister said yesterday that he was misunderstood. When did it become acceptable for a minister of the House to spread misinformation?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, over the heckling of my colleagues who I know are—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!