Debates of May 23rd, 2024

Department of Justice—Main Estimates, 2024-25

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in that regard I have serious doubts about that, based on the voting pattern that I have seen thus far and the actions that I have observed thus far from the Leader of the Opposition in terms of interactions with the LGBTQ community and willingness to stand up for the rights of the LGBTQ community. I do not see that demonstrated by his actions thus far, and I think that is quite amplified by the fact that I also have not seen him criticize invocations of the notwithstanding clause that are already occurring in provinces in this country against that very same community. I will judge him by his actions, and his actions leave a lot to be desired.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition voted against funding for Holocaust education and the Holocaust Education Centre in my riding. What confidence does the Attorney General have that the Leader of the Opposition, if given the opportunity, would continue to defund Holocaust education, and what would the consequences of that be?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think that is actually appalling, given where we are with the alarming rise in anti-Semitism post October 7. We need to be doing everything we can to shore up the Jewish community and its need for safety and security at this time.

Apropos of that, I find it very troubling that the opposition articulated by the Leader of the Opposition to a bill that I am shepherding through this chamber, Bill C-63, was so vociferous that he did not even wait to read the document. He came out against it before it was even tabled. This is the very same document that groups like CIJA have gone on record about, saying that if we tackle online hatred, we will help them stop anti-Semitism online from turning into real-world consequences in the physical world.

Bill C-63 is critical for the safety of the Jewish community, as it is critical for many vulnerable groups, including Muslims and Arabs in the LGBTQ community, the Black community and the indigenous community. That is what we need to stand for as Canadians. That is what the opposition leader is standing against.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was in government, launched a snitch line and launched a full frontal attack against Muslims in this country.

What confidence should Muslim Canadians have that, if given the opportunity, the Leader of the Opposition would indeed go after Muslims and attack their rights again?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think the track record of the previous Harper government, in which the Leader of the Opposition played a part in its cabinet, is demonstrably curious with respect to that barbaric cultural practices hotline suggestion, with respect to interdictions on the citizenship ceremonies and what people could wear, and with respect to approaches towards settlement of Syrian refugees and who would be selected for settlement in Canada and who would not. The track record is not an enviable one.

On this side of the House, we stand completely opposed to such policies and have implemented policies that are vastly different. That includes challenging Islamophobia. That includes funding for the security infrastructure program to protect places of worship. That includes Bill C-63, which would tackle Islamophobia head-on and help keep all Canadians safe.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be joining the House from the unceded lands of the Tseshaht and Hupacasath people in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in Nuu-chah-nulth territory.

We continue to hear the Liberal government talk about the toxic drug crisis as a public health issue, not a criminal justice issue. Will the minister tell us if he agrees that it is a public health issue, or is it a criminal justice issue in his eyes?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the opioid crisis and the narcotic situation that British Columbia is facing, we have adopted an approach that it needs to be treated as a health issue. We have adopted policies of harm reduction since 2015 and will continue to do so.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, why is the Liberal government making it a criminal issue east of the Rockies, for the rest of the country, if that is the position of the government?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this issue has been dealt with as a health care issue since the start, and we have adopted that posture in many of our policies, including responding to the very direct ask by the B.C. government to pursue decriminalizing.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, what evidence does the minister have in terms of public safety concerns linked to simple drug possession?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, many of these questions would perhaps be better put to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions or the Minister of Health, but what I can say is that we have analyzed the evidence that we have in terms of responding to direct asks for decriminalization.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, these are justice issues and they are justice issues for every member of Parliament, so he can also answer with his position and viewpoint as a member of Parliament, not just as a cabinet minister.

How much does this government spend on policing drug offences versus investments in harm reduction and treatment and recovery?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the police of jurisdiction would be able to answer that question on how much money is being spent on policing initiatives, including police of jurisdiction in localities such as Vancouver.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, regarding the decision to allow the recent amendment of B.C.'s decriminalization pilot and the rejection of the Toronto application, despite the fact that we have seen an 11% decrease in toxic drug deaths in British Columbia since March of 2023 and we have seen a 17% rise in toxic drug deaths in Alberta and a 23% rise in Saskatchewan, what analysis was done to ensure that the right to life, liberty and security of the person for people at risk of dying was adequately considered?

Also, will the minister agree that criminal law has not ended and will not end drug possession and the use of illicit substances?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I share the member's concerns about the deaths that are occurring. We are attempting to address this from a harm reduction perspective and a focus on health outcomes as opposed to criminal justice outcomes.

However, it is critical to understand that the responses that we have made have been at the behest or request of provinces or cities of jurisdiction. Thus far, we have had two such requests, one of which we granted and which we moderated when it was also requested of us, and the second one has been rejected.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, if that is the case, why did this government overrule the expertise of a local board of health and the support of the Toronto Police Service and cite public safety concerns to reject Toronto's decriminalization application?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would indicate that some of these questions might be best put at committee of the whole to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, who will be here next Wednesday in a similar format. I would also reiterate that, under Bill C-5, changes were implemented to encourage alternative responses to simple possession.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, why then is the government resorting to failed policy, perhaps preferring political optics over saving lives?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I reject that categorization outright. We are responding in a manner that is commensurate with the requests that are being put before us.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Cowichan—Malahat—Langford asked this earlier. Twice the Liberal government has been asked, and twice it has not fully answered if and when it will meet the legal requirements to sequester the criminal records on simple possession of illicit drugs for more than 250,000 Canadians. The deadline is this November, and Canadians are rightly asking if they will be notified that their records have indeed been sequestered. These records for offences that are no longer offences in Canada under current laws impact people's ability to seek employment or housing and travel abroad to visit loved ones. These records also disproportionately impact indigenous and racialized Canadians, as well as those living in poverty.

Could the minister please inform the House how the government will meet the legal November deadline and inform impacted Canadians of how they can know that their criminal records have been sequestered?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, again, I share this member's and the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford's concerns about the disproportionate impacts of criminal policy on racialized and vulnerable communities, such as the indigenous community. As I have already indicated, the Minister of Public Safety is the lead minister in this regard. He is working on a collaborative basis and with an expeditious approach to work with his provincial and territorial partners to address the deadline. We are fully aware of the deadline, and the Minister of Public Safety is seized with the matter.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government controls who and how supervised consumption services are provided. These services remain unavailable in most locations across the country, especially in more rural and remote locations. This is despite the fact that we heard from the deputy commissioner of the RCMP and the B.C. chiefs of police, who say that we need more safe consumption sites, not fewer.

We only need to look at Lethbridge, which closed its safe consumption site and has one of the worst death rates in the country. It is triple the per capita death rate of British Columbia. Regina has a 65% higher death rate per capita than British Columbia and no safe consumption site.

When will the government get rid of the red tape and ensure that these services are available and funded nationally?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, with the utmost respect, I would just turn back the clock. When I was first elected to office, we were coming hot off the heels of a 9-0 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada against the Harper government for failing to authorize safe injection sites. That was in a case called Insite. What we did was reverse that entire pattern with a completely different philosophy and empower safe consumption sites to occur with an exemption under the Narcotics Control Act. That being said, once we have allowed them to occur, we would still need applications to come in from provinces that want the sites in their localities. Some provinces want a few. Some want none at all. That is the collaborative nature of a federation, in terms of a shared jurisdiction over health that we must work within.

I appreciate the member's concerns, but I would ask him to express them to the provincial governments of Saskatchewan and Alberta, because that is where they are most appropriately vetted.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, they are not willing to do it. This is the problem. In Lethbridge, they closed them. People are dying. In Alberta, since the UCP took power, the Conservatives in Alberta, the death rate has gone up 276% over five years, the worst increase in toxic drug deaths by far. For the vast majority of doctors in Alberta able to prescribe safer supply, they are subject to a $10,000-per-day fine if they are caught doing so. Frontline workers who supervise drug consumption and reverse overdoses without a provincial licence are subject to the same fines. These penalties are deterring life-saving health care during a worsening overdose emergency.

Does the minister believe it is appropriate for Alberta to levy a $10,000-per-day fine against people providing life-saving first aid by operating the formal overdose protection sites while this province shuts them down?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would reiterate that I share the hon. member's concerns about addressing the opioid crisis. That is why we have adopted a harm reduction approach. We do not believe in criminalizing health-related behaviour.

That being said, I do not control whether the Government of Saskatchewan or the Government of Alberta applies to Health Canada to seek an exemption under the Narcotics Control Act so they can operate a safe consumption site. That is not within my purview as Minister of Justice or within the federal government's purview.

What we can do is provide the tools to ensure that the approach is being taken, so we are having a safer supply, reducing the amount of fentanyl that is being used and saving people's lives. That is what we have tried to do since 2015 and what we will continue to try to do. Again, I would urge him to express these frustrations directly to the provincial governments with which he is concerned.