House of Commons Hansard #32 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was reform.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Opposition Motion—Passage of Bill C-242 Members debate the Conservative's proposed "Jail Not Bail Act" (Bill C-242) for criminal justice reform. Conservatives argue that violent crime is up 55% due to Liberal "catch and release" policies, advocating for immediate passage to prioritize public safety. Liberals state they are developing significant bail reform for this fall, emphasizing comprehensive, constitutionally compliant changes, and addressing root causes of crime. The Bloc Québécois expresses concern for victims and supports measures to crack down on criminal organizations, but cautions against rushing the bill and infringing on fundamental rights. 53300 words, 7 hours in 2 segments: 1 2.
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the government is bringing forward comprehensive bail reform. This comprehensive bail reform is based on extensive consultations with the provinces and territories. It is based on extensive discussions with law enforcement. It is based on evidence. It is not based on cut-and-paste American bail laws. It a bail law that will work.
We are tough on crime and firm on the rights of Canadians.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, we see the Prime Minister rant and rave and point his finger at police, after they have been crying out for the government to scrap Liberal bail for years.
We have Constable Greg Pierzchala, who was killed by a man released, yet again, on bail. We have a woman killed by her husband after he was arrested and released 30 times because of Liberal laws. We have 1,600 crimes every single day in this country because of the Liberal laws.
Will the Prime Minister stop screaming, hollering and jabbing his finger, and scrap Liberal bail?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the government, which has been in place for six months and has undertaken comprehensive consultations with law enforcement and with the provinces, based on evidence, is bringing forth the toughest bail and sentencing legislation that will work, not legislation imported from the United States.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, if the government wants any proof that it has been in place for 10 years, the justice minister whom the Prime Minister named is the guy who ruined our immigration system, and then he went on to ruin our housing system.
Now, six months after the Prime Minister looked Canadians in the eye and promised to scrap Liberal bail, that bail is still in place, and every day, violent repeat offenders are released on our streets, massacring our people.
Will the Prime Minister stop making excuses? The Liberals have had 10 years; he has had six months. Canadians cannot afford to wait anymore. When will he scrap Liberal bail?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I am heartened by the knowledge that the members opposite will be supporting comprehensive bail reform when it is brought forward before the House in a few weeks. It will be bail reform that works, is tough on crime and is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the government's bail laws violate the charter rights of 1,600 people every single day. Their names are “victims”. They are the people who get hit over the head with a baseball bat, get robbed or have their children violated in what should be the safety of their own house. A three-year-old was raped by a repeat offender out on Liberal release, a constable was shot to death by someone out on Liberal release, and now a woman has been murdered by her own partner who was out on Liberal release.
How many have to die before the Prime Minister gets rid of Liberal bail?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the government is taking measures against crime. We are tightening our borders. We are reinforcing the number of RCMP officers. We are introducing in the next few weeks the most comprehensive bail reforms and toughening of sentencing laws: bail reform that will work, not bail reform that is copied from our neighbour to the south.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, Liberals already brought in bail reform. That is the bail reform that allows the same offenders to be released 150 times a year. The justice minister voted to allow repeat offenders, violent sex offenders, to do their sentences in their living rooms. That is their policy.
We have a bill before the House today that we could pass at all stages right now if the Prime Minister did not care about who got the credit.
Will the Prime Minister put aside partisanship and grandstanding and join with us to scrap Liberal bail and save the lives of Canadians, or will he just get out of the way?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms will not just get out of the way as the member opposite wishes.
What this country needs, what victims deserve and what all Canadians deserve is bail reform and sentencing laws that work. That is what the government is bringing forward.
We share the same objectives. We invite the members opposite to join us in swift passage of the government's bail reform when it is before the House.
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Speaker, a week ago, the Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement announced the end of postal services as we know them, including the end of home delivery and the closure of post offices. Not surprisingly, postal workers declared a general strike. The minister's announcement literally signals the end of their industry. Now, passports are being held at post offices, cheques are not being delivered and elections are being postponed or may not happen at all.
What did the Prime Minister think would happen?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, here is the situation. Canada Post is no longer viable. The Crown corporation is losing $10 million a day. The reforms in the Kaplan report must be implemented. The Crown corporation and the unions must reach an agreement.
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are so out of touch and so irresponsible that they did not even anticipate the crisis they themselves created. For 10 years, they did nothing to modernize Canada Post: no real consultation and no real public debate on the future of this essential service, just silence and inaction. Ten years later, the Liberals wake up, set fire to the place, paralyze the postal service and deprive the public of an essential service.
How are they going to fix this mess?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kaplan has held several consultations with workers, stakeholders, the Crown corporation and all Canadians, including Quebeckers, in order to identify and provide details on much-needed reforms for Canada Post. The union and the Crown corporation must come to an agreement, and reforms need to be implemented for all Canadians.
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Mr. Speaker, thousands of postal workers are wondering if their job is disappearing. They were not consulted. Thousands of men and women who are waiting for a cheque, a passport or another important document are wondering how they will get it back. They were not consulted. Thousands of businesses, SMEs especially, are wondering how their products will be distributed. They were not consulted either.
Does the Prime Minister realize what a mess he has made?
Mark Carney LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, Canada Post provides an essential service to Canadians and Quebeckers, but it needs to be a viable business. It is not acceptable to have a corporation that loses $10 million a day from the pockets of Canadian and Quebec taxpayers. It is unacceptable. We need to find a real long-term solution.
Arpan Khanna Conservative Oxford, ON
Mr. Speaker, Liberal bail laws have unleashed crime and chaos on our streets. The Liberals' law, Bill C-75, releases repeat violent offenders at the earliest opportunity, with the least restrictive conditions. The Prime Minister promised to repeal these dangerous Liberal bail laws. Six months in, it is the same bait and switch, and the laws remain in place. Now more than half of Canadians do not feel safe in their own homes.
The question is simple: Will the Prime Minister scrap Liberal bail or get out of the way so Conservatives can?
Ruby Sahota LiberalSecretary of State (Combatting Crime)
Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives shout empty slogans, we have done comprehensive consultations all summer so that we could get it right. The bail legislation that is going to be presented shortly in this House would bring bail reform and harsher sentences, and it would address victims of intimate partner violence. The legislation that we are bringing forward is a complete, comprehensive package, and I hope the Conservatives will be able to support it.
Arpan Khanna Conservative Oxford, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are telling Canadians to be patient, because some day they might act. They should tell that to the families of Bailey McCourt and countless others who have lost their loved ones. Under the Liberals' watch, violent crime is up, extortion is up, homicides are up and sexual assaults are up. With every single day that goes by with the Liberals delaying, 1,600 more violent crimes happen in our streets. That is one per minute. Lives are being lost. Families are being destroyed.
Again, the question is simple: Will the Liberals scrap Liberal bail and support the jail not bail act or get out of the way so that Conservatives can clean up their mess?
Ruby Sahota LiberalSecretary of State (Combatting Crime)
Mr. Speaker, community safety has been our top priority. That is why our first pieces of legislation have all addressed this area.
One of the rising types of crime in our country is cyber-attacks against our children. Sextortion is rising in this country more than almost anything else. Bill C-2 would address that issue. It would give tools to the police to be able to catch these child predators who are roaming free in our country. I hope the Conservatives will support Bill C-2.
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant South—Six Nations, ON
Mr. Speaker, Liberal laws have unleashed crime and chaos on our streets, and it is no wonder: Bill C-75 requires courts to release repeat violent offenders at the earliest opportunity with the least restrictive conditions. The results are devastating. In Markham alone, a criminal out on bail for attempted murder shot a man in a home invasion.
The Liberals promise bail reform, but it is just another bait and switch. If he is serious, will the Prime Minister scrap Liberal bail or get out of the way and let Conservatives finally do it?
Gary Anandasangaree LiberalMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, since taking office on April 28, this new government has been working on bail reform. We have been consulting with law enforcement agencies across the country. We have been speaking to mayors. We have been speaking to provincial leaders. We will continue to consult, and we will continue to bring forward the most comprehensive bail reform this country has ever seen.
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant South—Six Nations, ON
Mr. Speaker, it has been a long six months since the Prime Minister promised bail reform, and nothing has happened. Instead, the Liberals are obstructing the Conservative jail not bail act from passing, keeping soft-on-crime catch-and-release laws on the books.
Since the Liberals took office, violent crime is up 55%, sex assaults are up 76% and gun crime has soared by a staggering 130%. Enough is enough. When will the Liberals finally protect Canadians, stop Liberal bail and back the Conservative jail not bail act?
Gary Anandasangaree LiberalMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, we will be bringing forward bail reform in very short order.
Let me take this opportunity to talk about other legislation that is in the House that the party opposite could pass today. That is Bill C-2, which would give law enforcement officers additional tools to do their job more effectively in order to make sure that guns do not come through our border. That is the type of commitment that we have on this side of the House, and we invite the party opposite to support us.
Dane Lloyd Conservative Parkland, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals unleashed crime and chaos on our streets. Under Bill C-75, courts are compelled to release criminals early and under the least restrictive conditions.
A woman on house arrest for breaking into a home with a weapon went to our local beach, kidnapped a five-year-old girl and was found in a canoe holding the girl under the water. She has been charged with manslaughter. This dangerous person should never have been allowed to walk freely on our streets.
The Prime Minister promised action, and for six months he has failed. When will the Liberals scrap their criminal experiment or let the Conservatives fix it for them?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, if we wish to discuss criminal experiments, let us talk about the 10-year, tattered legacy of the Harper government that saw every single piece of its criminal and justice—