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.
Steven Bonk Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his kind words.
It was interesting. There was a bit of a paradox. Under the Harper government, crime went down by 25%. Everyone thought that we would have to build more jails to house all of the criminals, yet the amount of criminality went down. There is something to be said for deterrence and stronger measures. We have to make sure that we have the victims at the centre of our justice system, not the criminals.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Souris—Moose Mountain for his kind words. I immediately felt the weight of the world on my shoulders when he said that he was looking forward to my speech.
I am going to be very plain and blunt for a change—
Opposition Motion—Passage of Bill C-242Business of SupplyGovernment Orders
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès) Alexandra Mendes
I must interrupt. The hon. member's phone is too close to the mic.
The hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Madam Speaker, I guess I ruined my own video. We will just edit that out.
We are here today to talk about something that is near and dear to my heart in our communities. The hon. member for Winnipeg North mentioned me in his speech a little earlier. He said could not believe the member for Cariboo—Prince George used these words and exaggerated the state of the crime rate. I promise I did not exaggerate the state of what is going on with the crime rate in my riding of Cariboo—Prince George. As a matter of fact, we have had a community declare a state of emergency because of five or six prolific offenders who commit over 90% of the crime. I did say that. I also said that our communities are like war zones because of the Liberals' failed drug policies.
I ask the 12 people who are watching this debate online or through CPAC today, do our communities look the same as they did 10 years ago? They do not. We can walk just 500 yards from this building, and there are people passed out or sleeping on the streets; we do not know whether they are alive. We have become completely desensitized to the fact that we have an opioid crisis and have had tens of thousands of Canadians lose their lives since 2016. It is because of the Liberals' failed policies. It is unbelievable.
We have the Liberals from urban centres who stand up and say that Canadians have never had it so good. We have the member for Winnipeg North asking how I dare use these statistics from my community.
As a matter of fact, we had another fire in Prince George just on the weekend. I received a text message from a constituent saying that they are fed up and that if politicians are not going to do something, it is time for citizens to take the matter into their own hands.
Premiers, mayors, attorneys general and police associations from across our country are calling for bail reform, yet the Liberals on the other side stand up and say that it is just the Conservatives wanting to fundraise off this. When my colleagues stand and cite horrific events that took place because of the Liberals' failed crime policies, in which violent offenders were released only to reoffend, likely on the very same day, the Liberals say we are sensationalizing it. It is unbelievable; it really is.
I like to bring everything back to home, so I am going to talk about my riding of Cariboo—Prince George a little more. I am going to bring Mr. Hubbard's name into the House once again. Bob Hubbard, a senior in my riding, returned home last fall only to find his house being ransacked and robbed. Mr. Hubbard tried to stop the perpetrators of this crime, but they stole his car and ran him over. They dragged him down the driveway and left him for dead. Those criminals were picked up within hours, and they were released within hours. They left a man for dead, and they were released within hours.
We have had a number of fires in our town of Prince George, all done by criminals. A headline reads, “‘Under siege’: Owners of Prince George brewery lost to arson urge [government] to act on street disorder”. The perpetrator of this fire, I happen to know. I grew up with him. He is a repeat offender with a long rap sheet: 19 court appearances since 2021, and 27 criminal charges since 2006, including assaults, death threats, breach of probation and even a sexual assault. He is committing these heinous crimes in our community. He destroyed a long-standing brewery in our community, and the owners, Daryl Leiski and Cindy Zurowski, had this to say:
That one act destroyed our business, displaced 50 employees, and disrupted the lives of hundreds more – families, partners, community members, and neighbours.... We are under siege....
We built it downtown because we believed in this city....
And it was lost in a reckless, deliberate act of arson.
They continued:
Give us back our streets. Give us back our sense of safety. Without it, businesses like ours cannot survive, let alone rebuild.
The member for Winnipeg North is likely going to stand up and again, in his loud voice, complain about me reading these events into the record. He is going to say that I am sensationalizing.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Madam Speaker, he is heckling me right now, and he is laughing. He is laughing at the suffering of those in my riding. It is gross, yet he continues to do this time and time again. I can just say, shame on him.
Madam Speaker, 53,000 Canadians have lost their lives in the overdose crisis since 2016. I will mention Brianna MacDonald, a 13-year-old who, last year, lost her life in a homeless encampment. She turned 13 on July 15, my son's birthday, and she was found deceased on my daughter's birthday, August 23. I will also mention Tyler Dunlap, 17 years of age. He was in the hospital the night before, getting his stomach pumped from an overdose. His parents, like Brianna's, pleaded with the doctors and the system to get their child help, to keep him in the hospital.
I am not sensationalizing this. These are real families who have lost loved ones because of the Liberals' failed drug policies. That is shameful. It is maddening.
What about the first responders? Every day, they have to respond to another overdose and bring somebody back from death only to have that person back on the street and overdosing later the same day.
What about my brother? He has been on the street gripped in addiction forever, a criminal, an addict. He is not a toss-away, nor are any of the Canadians who are living on the streets and who are just trying to exist, trying to get their next fix.
The reality is that Bill C-75 codified the principles of release to the point where there were three grounds to deny bail. Primary grounds are ensuring that the accused appears in court. The reality is that people with extensive previous counts of failing to appear are not being detained. There are good points in Bill C-75, but time and time again we are seeing that the most violent offenders are released, only to reoffend, cause death, assault.
No one stands for the victims. The criminals have more rights than the victims. Where are the voices for the victims? That is what our Conservative team is doing today, standing up for the rights of the victims of crimes, and we will continue to do that.
Opposition Motion—Passage of Bill C-242Business of SupplyGovernment Orders
Winnipeg North Manitoba
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Madam Speaker, first of all, no one laughs at or mocks, in any way, inside this chamber, individual victims or the individuals the member mentioned.
However, I do call into question statements that this particular member has made. For example, when he says our communities are like war zones, I believe most Canadians would disagree. That is extreme. When we have the MP for Oxford saying, “We are now living in a war zone in Canada”, I disagree. The member himself said a community had “a state of emergency [declared] because of five or six prolific offenders”. I would challenge the member on that particular issue.
I believe the Conservatives ratchet up this issue to justify a motivation that puts their party ahead of Canadians. When are they going to start putting Canadians and Canadian interests ahead of their own political interests?
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Madam Speaker, as a matter of fact, when the town of Williams Lake, the mayor and council, wanted to declare a state of emergency it was actually over one prolific offender. When four to five or five to six prolific offenders are in jail, the crime rate goes down. When they are out of jail, the crime rate goes up. That is the reality.
The member does not want to believe it. He does not want to agree to it. That is his job, to be a good soldier, a lap dog, to just stand there and say all the talking points of the government. I say shame on him. He has made a good career of it, but shame on him. I quoted the owners of CrossRoads Brewing, who said they were under siege. Those were not my words but those of my constituents. If he does not believe it, he can be woefully blind and go merrily along his way, but it is just wrong. That is ignorance.
Alexis Deschênes Bloc Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC
Madam Speaker, the issues raised by my colleague and the proposal his party is putting forward today touch on fundamental rights enshrined in the charter: the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by an impartial court, and the right to liberty. In this context, since we are dealing with fundamental guarantees that define our rule of law, it is important to remember that, even if we seek to crack down on crime, we do not want to become a police state where people are imprisoned without sufficient evidence.
Why is my colleague so eager to fast-track this bill?
Opposition Motion—Passage of Bill C-242Business of SupplyGovernment Orders
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Madam Speaker, total violent crime in our country is up 54% to 55%. Homicides are up 30%. Sexual assaults are up 75% to 76%. Total firearms crime is up 130%. Extortion overall for our country is up 330%. In my home province of British Columbia, it is up 481%. Overdose in my province is the leading cause of death for youth and young adults aged 10 to 18. That is under the Liberal government. That is its record. That is its legacy. It is disgusting.
Ellis Ross Conservative Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Madam Speaker, I have been listening to this debate for the last few days now. I hear the other side of the House talk about this when Conservatives talk about the rapes of children and toddlers, the murders and assaults, and women not wanting to walk the streets at night, including members of the Liberal government. The response is always the same. They say we are always sensationalizing or dramatizing the incidents. I guarantee members that if the parents of that toddler came in right now, they would not think of it as sensationalism; they are left with trauma.
When did all of this start? I was an MLA for seven years and we were complaining about it back in the B.C. legislature.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Madam Speaker, I have a tremendous amount of respect for my hon. colleague.
I will finish the way I started, with a simple question: Do our communities and our country look the same as it did in 2015 when the government took power? The answer is no.
Blake Richards Conservative Airdrie—Cochrane, AB
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to wrap up the debate today, and I think what I would like to do with the little time I have is point out that there have been a number of examples given today of victims of crime in this country, and to say that I really hope that members of the Liberal government were listening to all those examples, because the lives of the people in them, whether they were people who were murdered, children who were sexually assaulted or people whose homes had been invaded, will be changed forever. In some cases, people have lost family members. That has all happened because of the bail policy of the Liberal government.
What we are talking about is scrapping the Liberal bail policy and putting in place jail not bail, for people who commit crimes over and over again in our communities, make our communities unsafe for people and create more victims. The reality is that, at the end of the day, what we are talking about is keeping people safe from crime and making sure that there are no more victims. I cannot imagine how anyone could possibly have sat here today, listened to the debate and heard all the examples that were given of people who have lost their life, of children who have been sexually assaulted, and of home invasions.
All these things happened because of the Liberals' policy of allowing bail for serious criminals over and over again. The crime stats have been cited many times today. When we look behind those stats, it is people who have been victimized, and they have been victimized by the same offenders who continue to reoffend over and over again, only because of the policies of the government that allow them back out on the street with what is called a revolving door justice system.
There is not even much justice in the system at all, and that is shameful. It is something the government could do something about today. It could support us on this particular piece of legislation that we are talking about, but—
Opposition Motion—Passage of Bill C-242Business of SupplyGovernment Orders
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès) Alexandra Mendes
It being 6:15, it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the business of supply.
The question is on the motion.
If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Madam Speaker, we seek a recorded division for the motion.
Opposition Motion—Passage of Bill C-242Business of SupplyGovernment Orders
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès) Alexandra Mendes
Pursuant to Standing Order 45, the division stands deferred until Monday, October 6, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.
Message from the SenateGovernment Orders
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès) Alexandra Mendes
I have the honour to inform the House that a message has been received from the Senate informing this House that the Senate has passed the following bill, to which the concurrence of the House is desired: Bill S-228, an act to amend the Criminal Code (sterilization procedures).
I also have the honour to inform the House that a message has been received from the Senate informing the House that the Senate has passed the following bill to which the concurrence of the House is desired: Bill S-1001, an act to authorize Gore Mutual Insurance Company to apply to be continued as a body corporate under the laws of the Province of Quebec.
The bill is deemed to have been read the first time and ordered for a second reading at the next sitting of the House.
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Madam Speaker, I suspect if you were to canvass the House you would find unanimous consent to call it 6:30 p.m. so we could get on to the late show.
Message from the SenateGovernment Orders
A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Madam Speaker, welcome to Adjournment Proceedings, where I will be taking up a question I asked on June 4 of this year. As members will recall, Parliament had only recently resumed. I had intended to ask a different question, but someone had called my office and caught my wonderful chief of staff on the phone. As the caller was explaining that she was living with disabilities and could not figure out how she was going to feed her children, she started to cry on the phone.
When the minister responded to me, she made the assumption that this was a constituent of mine, but I do not know where Tina lives. She called our office and changed my question that day because I just had to know.
We had been working so hard in this place and in the previous Parliament. My friend, the former member for Kitchener Centre, Mike Morrice, had worked incredibly hard with other advocates for people with disabilities from all sides of the House. We worked to try to get a commitment and the legislation through to ensure that we would have a Canada disability benefit. We knew that it was about to start being mailed out at that point, in July.
There was sadness at the tragedy of it all because we had been promised by ministers in the previous government that when we got the bill through it would lift Canadians with disabilities up out of poverty. However, hearing Tina, living with disabilities, crying on the phone because she could not figure out how to feed her children, I knew that the cheques that were going to start going out in the month of July would max out at $200 a month. That was not going to lift people up out of poverty.
Therefore, my question that day was this: Now that the Prime Minister was raising the urgency of having nation-building projects, could the government, please, not make lifting all Canadians with disabilities out of poverty a nation-building project?
The answer I received was not from a minister responsible for disabilities, and the minister who responded, actually the Minister of Jobs, misnamed the program that I was talking about. It is the Canada disability benefit, not credit. However, the response was not adequate. That is why we sometimes send in slips and say we would like to discuss this in the Adjournment Proceedings. Yes, as the minister said, it is important to work with provinces and territories to ensure that money will not be clawed back, but there needs to be much more done by the federal government.
For example, we need to increase the benefit amount. That is pretty basic. We need to broaden eligibility so people can automatically get their Canada disability benefit if they are already receiving other disability-related benefits. It should be individual income, not household income, that determines when the Canada disability benefit is sent. It is not the income of the people they live with; it is for them. We need to raise the income threshold and the working income exemption. We need to do these things to ensure that the Canada disability benefit lifts people with disabilities out of poverty. We should make sure there are no clawbacks and no reductions.
I am still proud of the work that we did, and I want to again mention Mike Morrice. More than half of the amendments accepted to the bill were his amendments, including the one to ensure that this benefit be indexed to inflation. However, if they index $200 to inflation, they are not going very far.
I will wrap up here and hope for a better answer tonight and a real sign of commitment.
Wade Grant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Madam Speaker, I thank my friend opposite for her advocacy for Canadians with disabilities. I am sure we all share her concern. Every barrier, be it physical or attitudinal, is a barrier to the well-being of persons with disabilities, especially to their mental and financial well-being. Allow me to bring colleagues up to date.
The application portal for the Canada disability benefit opened on June 20, and payments were distributed in July. Low-income persons who were eligible for the disability tax credit, between the ages of 18 and 64, could apply either online, by phone or in person at a Service Canada office.
This new monthly benefit provides a maximum of $2,400 in financial support per year, per person, and is expected to improve the financial security of more than 450,000 working-age Canadians with disabilities in 2025-26. To date, over 186,000 people are already receiving the benefit.
People who have filed their 2024 tax return and who are potentially eligible for the benefit received an official letter from the Government of Canada inviting them to apply. The government has also funded community-based navigator services across the country to help individuals who need assistance applying for the Canada disability benefit, the DTC and other provincial and territorial benefits.
The federal government has engaged extensively with provinces and territories, and called on them to exempt CDB payments from counting as income in relation to their income support programs. It continues to engage with provinces and territories with a view to maximizing the benefits of the CDB to eligible persons with disabilities.
Budget 2024 committed $6.1 billion over six years and $1.4 billion ongoing for the Canada disability benefit. I should remind the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands that, in the spirit of “nothing without us”, the Government of Canada developed the benefit in consultation with more than 8,000 Canadians, including persons with disabilities, disability stakeholders, indigenous governments and organizations, and provincial and territorial governments.
This benefit will make a difference because we know that persons with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty than their working-age peers without disabilities. This is due to economical and social exclusion, barriers to employment and other factors. Disability is expensive. People who live with a disability or support someone who has a disability know this all too well. Disability should not equal poverty, and that is why we have created the Canada disability benefit.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Madam Speaker, I am desperately trying to find out what happened to the position of minister for disabilities. It was Carla Qualtrough, who no longer serves in this place. She was, herself, a woman with disabilities and quite inspiring. It was then Kamal Khera, who did not win her seat in Brampton.
Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment explain how he is here tonight to defend the government's position on people with disabilities?
We know, those of us who served in the last Parliament, how we worked together to get the Canada disability benefit legislation passed. We know the cheques started going out in July. My point is those cheques are utterly inadequate to meet the needs of Canadians with disabilities.
Wade Grant Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Madam Speaker, I want to start by commending the member opposite for the compassion she has for all constituents. I have seen it first-hand, being across the Salish Sea from her for many years, and I thank her for the question.
Persons with disabilities have the right to be fully included in their communities. They have the same right as all Canadians, the right to live a decent life. It is why we spent more than three years, with the help of the disability community, bringing the Canada disability benefit to fruition.
We are also working with provinces and territories to make sure that money Canadians receive from the Canada disability benefit will not be clawed back through other benefits they receive. Our goal is that people's financial security improves because of this benefit.
Financial support is being delivered to working-age, low-income persons with disabilities, and by investing in persons with disabilities, the government is working to make Canada a financially strong, inclusive and viable country.