Mr. Speaker, Canadians are worried about crime in their communities, and let me be clear at the outset: The concerns are valid. When Canadians see stories of violent incidents in their neighbourhoods and when they hear about repeat offenders cycling in and out of the system, it shakes their confidence. It makes families wonder whether their kids are safe walking home from school, whether seniors are safe going to the grocery store and whether their communities are as secure as they once were.
We must never brush these concerns aside or suggest to Canadians that it is all in their heads or that they should not be concerned. The truth is that violent crime is a problem. Recidivism is a problem. Canadians expect us, as legislators, to seriously and urgently respond to this problem with solutions, not slogans.
The motion before us today tries to frame the issue in very simple terms. It says crime is up 55%, repeat offenders are on the streets and the solution is to pass one bill, Bill C-242, the so-called jail not bail act. While it may be politically convenient for the Conservatives to package such a complex issue into a single slogan, Canadians know that public safety is much more complicated than that.
I would like to remind the House of what has already been accomplished. In 2023, under a Liberal government, Parliament passed significant bail reforms. These reforms specifically targeted violent repeat offenders, including those charged with serious offences involving firearms. We heard the concerns of provincial and territorial premiers and police associations, and we took action.
These reforms tightened the rules to make it more difficult for individuals charged with serious violent crimes to get bail. This was not just a slogan; it was action.
I am standing here to suggest that the work is not finished; it is far from it. In fact during the most recent election, Canadians gave the new Liberal government a fresh mandate to go further. Our platform was clear. We committed to strengthening bail again where it is failing, we committed to ensuring that prosecutors and judges have the resources they need, and we committed to making new investments in victim services and community safety programs. That is the plan Canadians voted for. That is the plan we are implementing in the current session of Parliament.
The Conservatives would like Canadians to believe that bail is the entire story, but public safety is not just about what happens at a bail hearing. Public safety is about prevention, prosecution and protection, and our government is acting on all these fronts.
Let me take a moment to talk about prosecution. One of the real challenges we face is that Crown prosecutors in courts are overburdened. Cases take too long, and dangerous offenders sometimes slip through the cracks, not because of soft laws but because of an under-resourced system. That is why our platform committed to increasing resources for Crown attorneys so they can prepare cases more effectively, so they can oppose bail where necessary and so they can ensure that trials move forward without unnecessary delay.
That is also why we are expanding resources for judges. Judges need the ability to impose strict release conditions when they believe someone poses a risk to public safety. They need the time and the capacity to make those decisions thoughtfully, and we are giving them those tools.
Let us now turn to prevention. If we want to permanently reduce crime, we cannot focus solely on punishment; we also have to focus on prevention. Our platform was clear on this. We are committed to expanding programs to help youth build better lives and steer them away from gangs and crime.
We are committed to strengthening mental health and addiction services because we know that untreated mental health and untreated addictions cause many people to reoffend. We are committed to the building safer communities fund and to indigenous justice initiatives because we know that reconciliation and equity promote safety.
The motion before us ignores prevention completely. It ignores prosecution completely. It says the solution is one bill and longer sitting hours, but Canadians know that one bill would not make their neighbourhoods safer overnight. They know it takes a comprehensive plan, one that is done hand in hand with the people at the front line of implementing the laws we vote on in here.
Conservatives call it “catch and release”. We call it listening to Canadians and delivering real solutions, not slogans. Let me be clear: The government agrees that repeat violent offenders must be dealt with firmly. We agree that Canadians deserve to feel safe in their communities, and we are acting on that commitment. In fact, legislation to strengthen bail further will be coming forward in the current session. We have been very clear that this is the responsible path forward, and we have committed to protecting Canadians.
However, we will not reduce the issue to a bumper sticker. We will not pretend that public safety can be restored by slogans, because Canadians have heard slogans before, and they voted to not be governed by slogans. They heard them during the decade the Conservatives were in power. The Conservatives had 10 years to act. They had 10 years in which they could have strengthened bail, resourced prosecutors and invested in prevention. They did not; they failed. Now suddenly, Conservatives have discovered slogans about jail, not bail, but Canadians are not looking for slogans. They are looking for solutions.
Let me remind the House what those solutions look like under a Liberal government. They look like targeted bail reform, which was passed in 2023, with more reforms coming in the current session. They look like investment in prosecutors and judges so the justice system works the way it should. They look like prevention programs for youth, addiction treatment programs and mental health supports that reduce crime before it happens. They look like stronger victim services, because safety also means standing with the people who have already been harmed. That is the Liberal plan. It is what we campaigned on, it is what Canadians voted and it is what we are delivering.
The motion before us today is not a genuine plan for public safety; it is a political tactic, a mere slogan. It is an attempt to persuade Canadians that all of the problems would solved, if only this bill were to pass.
Canadians know better than that. They know that public safety is a complex issue that requires a comprehensive approach. They know that only the Liberal government will implement a comprehensive approach like this.
We must recognize the Canadians' concerns and accept the reality that crime is a problem. However, we must not give in to the politics of fear or political slogans. We have to do the heavy lifting involved in building a fair, firm and effective justice system, something that our government is committed to achieving. We intend to act on that commitment in the current session, which is why I cannot support this motion.