Debates of Oct. 21st, 2025

Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act

[Parm Bains, Liberal, Richmond East—Steveston, BC]

Mr. Speaker, fentanyl, precursors and issues related to crime and strengthening our borders have had an impact on our communities. Over time, these issues change and evolve, and we need to evolve and bring in new measures. That is what we are doing at this point.

If we look at strengthening the borders by adding police and CBSA officers, with the new search warrant measures and all the resources and tools they would be given, everything from going after ghost guns, which we announced earlier to new offences, such as in Bill C-70 with respect to transnational threats, that is a holistic approach. There is a whole level of different measures we have put forward to combat the ever-evolving challenges that this country is facing.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if we are going to talk about this piece of legislation, we should put a couple of things into context.

The first thing I would put into context is that this is another bill the Liberals are trying to bring forward to allegedly do something to deal with the massive surge in crime that has gone on in Canada over the last 10 years. It is a remarkable turnaround. I still recall when former minister of justice Arif Virani sat in this chamber. He would get up in question period and say we were trying to scare Canadians and were engaging in typical Conservative fear on the issue of crime when we raised the staggering increase in crime and violent crime. That was his answer. Now it seems like the Liberals have had their reckoning and realized that over the last 10 years, due to their policies, we have had a massive surge in crime.

If members do not want to take my word for it, I have a few statistics that I would like to go through so that Canadians can understand just how bad crime has gotten. in this country under the Liberal government. Total violent crime is up 49.84%. Let us round that up to 50%. There has been a 50% increase in violent crime after a decade of the Liberals running the country. Homicide is up 28%. Gang-related homicide is up 78%. Sexual assault is up 74%. Extortion is up 357%. Let that sink in for a moment. A decade ago, we had a certain amount of extortion and it is now up 357%. We know the terrible things that happen when people are trafficking in persons. That is up 83%. All of this has happened over the last decade with the Liberals running the country.

They introduced a massive omnibus bill, Bill C-2. To get to Bill C-12, we have to talk a little about Bill C-2. I am old enough to remember when the Liberals used to say it was a terrible thing to introduce omnibus pieces of legislation, and they would never do such things, but here we are. Bill C-2 was going to amend 15 statutes and had 120 pages of technical statutory changes. As Conservatives, we said, “That is a no go.” In fact, it is due to Conservative pressure, because of a number of things that were included in Bill C-2, that we ended up here with Bill C-12, which actually has some things that we think might do some good. I know it is a strange thing to say, but as they often say, a broken clock is right twice a day, so they may have gotten a couple of things right in Bill C-12.

To go back to Bill C-2, I really want to talk about some very deeply troubling things that were included in that piece of legislation. It shows the mindset of the Liberals, who have turned around on some of these issues.

One of these is how Canada Post would be able to search mail. In and of itself, it is problematic, but the statutory change the Liberals were trying to bring in said this could happen with reasonable suspicion. Bill C-2 reads, “reasonable grounds to suspect”. That is the lowest threshold in law that could be used to do this. Normally, to be able to search something, we need the much higher standard of “reasonable grounds to believe”. The Liberals were putting in the very lowest standard possible of reasonable suspicion.

Because this was about the corporation, it would mean that any employee of the corporation who had a reasonable suspicion could be opening mail. It is a particularly troubling standard that they were trying to put into the bill. It has been through hard work from the Conservatives, who said “absolutely not”, that those parts of the legislation remain in Bill C-2 and are not included in Bill C-12.

It is also very interesting to note what is not included in any of these pieces of legislation which is trying to deal with the issue of crime that the Liberals are belatedly waking up to. For example, there is nothing in Bill C-12 that would deal with the issues of fentanyl trafficking and sentencing for fentanyl traffickers. Something like that could have been incorporated into it to crack down on fentanyl trafficking. We believe it needs to be done, but it is not in there.

The Liberals also did not take the time to eliminate, for example, house arrest for drive-by shootings, which is still okay. They put together a massive omnibus piece of legislation, in part to deal with crime, but they left things like that out of it. It is available, so somebody engaging in a drive-by shooting is eligible for house arrest.

If we go back to the statistics I talked about, gang-related homicide is up 78%. Generally speaking, the kinds of people who are engaging in drive-by shootings are people in gangs trying to cause homicides. The Liberals had so much opportunity to do better, and they failed on that.

Another thing they failed to do is make it crystal clear that so-called safe consumption sites should not be allowed anywhere near schools. We know the effects of these safe consumption sites. They become a blight in a neighbourhood, and having them near schools and children is not the kind of thing we want. Again, this was a simple place for the Liberals to have made that change, and they chose not to.

Let us quickly switch and talk a bit about some of the changes to immigration. I was around when Stephen Harper was prime minister and changes were made to the asylum system, and we brought asylum claims down to about 10,000. It sounds like a lot, but it is 10,000. If we look at where things are now, again, after a decade of these Liberals and their absolute and utter mismanagement of the immigration system, asylum claims are now at a whopping 296,000. Think about that. A decade ago, they were at 10,000, and now they are at 296,000. I think the estimate to process these 296,000 cases in the backlog is 25 years. Let that sink in. That is the backlog on asylum claims that has been created by the Liberals' absolute mismanagement of the immigration system.

What we are now hearing from some experts is that the proposed changes would not fix the broken system. This problem would be transferred to the courts, because they have decided they cannot fix it. The fix is not to figure out a way to quickly process the backlog, because we know so many of these claims are bogus asylum claims. In fact, one of the things we did under Prime Minister Harper was try to eliminate bogus asylum claims from certain countries by imposing visa requirements. One of the first things the Liberals did was eliminate those visa requirements. Surprise, surprise, we are up to 296,000.

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member is laughing. The member who spends all day, every day doing nothing but talk about how great he thinks the government is doing is now laughing as I talk about the seriousness of a 296,000-person backlog. The system is absolutely broken after 10 years of the Liberals' management of the system.

There may be some things in this legislation that we could support. We have to send it to committee. I want to commend all of my colleagues for their hard work in getting this bill broken up into parts so that some of the things we know we cannot support are going to be in one particular piece of legislation, and some of the things we think we might be able to support with a bit of study are going to be in this particular piece of legislation.

I look forward to this particular piece of legislation being studied at committee.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C‑12 addresses some long-standing requests from law enforcement for the necessary resources to crack down on auto theft, drug trafficking and transnational organized crime.

Does my colleague recognize the importance of taking action to keep Canadians safe? If so, will he commit to working with us to quickly pass Bill C‑12?

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think most police organizations also want mandatory minimum sentences for trafficking in fentanyl. They also want to get rid of house arrest for drive-by shootings. I would encourage the member to talk to his caucus and see if they want to work on some of those things.

If he was listening, I said quite clearly that we would love to see this bill studied at committee. We think there might be some things in here that are worth supporting, but, of course, we need to study them at committee.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the residents of Rimouski—La Matapédia, whom I proudly represent. I would also like to acknowledge the residents of La Mitis, Les Basques and Neigette.

The government seems to be recycling announcements all the time, not just some of the time. Last week, it recycled a major press conference where it announced that it would secure our borders. This is the same promise that the government and the Prime Minister himself made back in April. The government talked about hiring 1,000 new CBSA officers. It promised to hire 1,000 new RCMP officers.

During this time, how many officers did the government actually hire? The answer is zero. The government repeated the same announcement twice.

Does my colleague think that the government needs to make the same announcement three times before finally taking action?

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I share the member's outrage for the recycling of announcements. The government has gotten very good at trying to trick Canadians into saying it has created new programs and new things, but it is, in fact, just recycling the same old things over and again.

The Liberals never answer a question directly in the House of Commons. The member asked a Liberal member how many police officers had been hired since April. The Liberal member rambled on about the importance of this and recycled the hiring announcement. It is the same thing that happened yesterday when I asked the government members if they had a jobs guarantee in the $15-billion contract they signed with Stellantis. Members should have seen them trying to tap dance on the head of a pin to avoid answering the question. They say they are going to fight hard, do this or that and stand up for Canada. The answer is they could not answer the question, which is also the answer here. They have not hired anyone, and God knows if they will.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member to give us his thoughts on the Liberal government pretending to get tough on fentanyl traffickers, yet there are no mandatory minimums in this bill. Can the member speak to that?

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is something we have been fighting about with the government for almost a decade, ever since it made terrible decisions on bail. It has continually done things to make it much easier for criminals to be out in our communities, wreaking the havoc they wreak.

The government always says it is going to come up with some kind of solution or it has a new piece of legislation. The former justice minister, Arif Virani, introduced a piece of legislation on bail reform, saying it was going to solve the problem. Of course, we know it did not. Violent offenders are out on the streets again within hours, if not days, of committing violent offences.

Yes, the Liberals could absolutely do something about fentanyl trafficking. Namely, they could crack down on the traffickers so that they stay in jail and cannot victimize Canadians.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, bail reform legislation is on its way, and I look forward to the Conservatives' response to it.

The question I have for the member is about asylum seekers. Back when Jason Kenney was the minister of immigration, the number was 60,000 and it was reduced to 10,000. They recognized the need for change and brought in legislation.

There have been demands for changes to this and we are bringing in changes. Does the member support them?

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know. We are going to have to look at that. Ultimately, we want to hear from the experts on whether or not it would make a difference.

My quick review of it is, as I said in my speech, that we would not deal with all of these bogus asylum claimants through the process, but try to transfer them to the judicial system. Again, that will be far more complicated and it would not solve the problem.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, during the last election campaign, Canadians across the country asked us to take concrete measures to build a safer Canada. They elected a new Liberal government with the clear and legitimate expectation that we would reform our bail system, improve public safety and make sure that our communities are safe.

We also made a commitment to secure our borders and preserve the integrity of our immigration system. That is exactly what Bill C-12 is all about. The bill makes crucial amendments to give law enforcement and border officers the tools and resources they need to disrupt the activities of increasingly sophisticated criminal groups, including those that traffic fentanyl and firearms, and to protect our communities.

The bill is built around two fundamental pillars: securing our borders and fighting transnational organized crime, including fentanyl and illicit financing.

The security of our border is a priority for our government. This issue is especially important for me as the member for Madawaska—Restigouche, a riding with five border crossings.

Before I go any further, I want to point out that Canada's borders are already strong and secure and that CBSA personnel are doing an amazing job. I want to commend them for their ongoing commitment to protecting our borders. Over the last few months, I have had the opportunity to meet many of these border officers during various activities in my riding and to discuss their important work with them.

Bill C‑12 will make our borders even stronger. The bill amends the Customs Act to strengthen the CBSA's powers. The CBSA will now be able to better monitor points of entry and exit and to require owners and operators to provide the necessary facilities to facilitate inspections. Border officers will also have access to places under the control of carriers and warehouse operators to examine goods destined for export, so they will be able to intercept stolen or illicit goods leaving the country. This will make it possible to intercept more drugs, guns and stolen vehicles before they leave Canada.

The bill also modernizes the Oceans Act to expand the Canadian Coast Guard's mandate, allowing it to conduct security patrols and to share essential intelligence. This will strengthen maritime surveillance, which is critical to our national security.

The RCMP's capacities will also be strengthened, particularly for sharing information on registered sex offenders with domestic and international partners. Such information sharing is fundamental to protecting communities all across Canada.

At the same time, Bill C‑12 proposes rules aimed at safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system. It includes measures to better manage asylum claims and introduces inadmissibility grounds that will help prevent abuse while upholding fundamental humanitarian principles in Canada.

It is also important to understand that this bill complements our other measures to strengthen our borders, including Canada's border plan, which comes with $1.3 billion in funding, the largest investment in border security in Canadian history.

When we talk about strengthening our country's security, it is not just talk. We are taking concrete action. In fact, the Prime Minister recently announced new measures that will appear in the upcoming budget. We are going to hire 1,000 new CBSA officers. These new officers will help crack down on the movement of stolen goods and drugs, enforce import measures and investigate unfair trade practices.

We are also going to increase the CBSA's recruit stipend for the first time since 2005, raising it from $125 to $525 per week, to help attract and retain the next generation of highly trained border officers.

We are also going to amend the Public Service Superannuation Act to ensure that officers and other frontline first responders receive benefits that reflect the weight of their responsibilities.

This is terrific news, not only for my riding, which contains several border crossings, but for our country as a whole.

I would now like to turn to the second pillar of Bill C‑12, namely combatting transnational organized crime and fentanyl. Now more than ever, the threat posed by transnational organized crime is a reality we must face. We understand that a strong Canada requires strong crime fighting measures.

The opioid crisis is wreaking havoc across the country. Thousands of lives are being lost every year. Not a day goes by without hearing heartbreaking stories of lives cut short. We cannot remain indifferent in the face of such a crisis, and we must take action.

Bill C‑12 introduces a temporary accelerated scheduling pathway that will allow the Minister of Health to quickly control the precursor chemicals used to manufacture illicit drugs. This measure will enable law enforcement agencies and the CBSA to act swiftly to prevent these substances from being imported and used illegally, while ensuring rigorous oversight of their legitimate use.

The bill also strengthens the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing through tougher penalties and improved supervisory collaboration between the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada and the Financial Institutions Supervisory Committee. This enhanced collaboration is essential to detecting and stopping illicit financial transactions that fuel crime and terrorism.

Bill C‑12 is part of a series of bold and decisive public safety measures that our new government has been taking since the beginning of our mandate. We know that safe, resilient communities are the backbone of a strong Canada. They attract people, families, businesses and investment and enable greater certainty and prosperity.

Just last week, our government announced new measures that will protect Canadians and keep our communities safe. We will strengthen Canada's Criminal Code to keep violent and repeat offenders out of our communities, including those accused of serious crimes such as violent auto theft, breaking and entering, human trafficking, violent assault and sexual assault.

We will also introduce consecutive sentencing to ensure that multiple crimes mean more time behind bars, impose harsher penalties for organized retail theft and restrict conditional sentences for a number of sexual offences. These are changes the public wants to see. We are also planning to hire an additional 1,000 RCMP personnel.

In the 2025 budget that will be tabled in the House on November 4, we will be announcing a $1.8‑billion investment over four years to increase federal policing capacity across Canada to combat crime, including online fraud, money laundering, online child sexual exploitation, and organized criminal networks that threaten Canada's economic and national security. This funding will also go toward raising the RCMP cadet recruitment allowance to $1,000 per week and dedicating 150 new RCMP personnel to tackle financial crimes, targeting money laundering networks, organized crime, online fraud and the recovery of illicit assets.

Yesterday, the Minister of Finance and National Revenue also announced that we are going to introduce the very first national anti-fraud strategy and a new anti-fraud agency. These concrete measures will help protect Canadians, especially seniors and vulnerable persons.

Our actions show that we are very serious about the mandate given to us by Canadians to make our communities safer and our borders more secure. That is why we are taking a holistic approach, as I just mentioned. Through historic investments, bold action and tough legislation, such as Bill C‑12, Canada's new government is working to protect our way of life. We are fighting crime, building safer communities and ensuring that Canadians have the security that they deserve.

Bill C‑12 is the result of careful consideration, is backed by a massive investment and is designed to protect Canadians while respecting fundamental rights. Securing our borders and keeping Canadians safe means ensuring that the government and law enforcement have the tools they need to do their jobs. We have a collective responsibility to work toward a safer and stronger Canada. Bill C‑12 is a decisive step in that direction, and we are confident that it will meet Canadians' expectations.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech. He said that the borders are strong and secure. One does not introduce a bill to strengthen borders that are already strong and secure. What my colleague is saying is illogical.

I would like to share with him some findings from independent observers. The Office of the Auditor General has pointed out that delays, a shortage of officers and a lack of performance evaluations at the Canada Border Services Agency are undermining the effectiveness of border controls. Meanwhile, the Customs and Immigration Union notes that Canada has never had so little capacity to control its borders.

I do not know what my colleague is basing his claim on, when he says that our borders are strong and secure, because others are clearly saying something completely different. In addition, the Customs and Immigration Union is calling for between 2,000 and 3,000 new officers to be hired. The government has announced the hiring of 1,000 officers, but it did not specify when that would happen. The government also said that there have already been two press conferences on the subject and that this will be included in the upcoming budget.

I would like my colleague to tell the public the truth and stop repeating things to try to lull us into complacency.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that we have a plan with an investment of over $1 billion, the largest amount ever dedicated to border security in Canadian history.

I mentioned that there are five border crossings in my riding, Madawaska—Restigouche, and our officers are doing an amazing job on the ground. They work hard to protect our borders. I wanted to congratulate them in my speech.

Bill C‑12 introduces measures to make our borders even stronger. That is not to say that our borders are not secure right now, but we can always do better, and we recognize that. We want to give law enforcement the resources they need to do their job. They have asked us for this, and we are delivering.

[Jagsharan Singh Mahal, Conservative, Edmonton Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Liberal member advocating for Bill C-12.

If Bill C-12 intends to clean up the already burdened asylum system, how come it does not mention repealing pre-removal risk assessments once a refugee claim is already refused? It is parallel legislation within the legislation that would put an additional burden on Canadian taxpayers to force them to redo the same test once that test has already failed.

I would like to hear an answer from the member opposite on that.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague mentioned, Bill C‑12 includes several measures to strengthen the integrity of our immigration system. We made a commitment to do so during the election campaign. We are delivering on our commitment through Bill C‑12.

In doing so, we will take steps to protect the integrity of our system while respecting fundamental humanitarian principles. There will be enhanced measures, including new ineligibility criteria for asylum seekers, to ensure that asylum claims are not used as a shortcut to get around the proper immigration channels. There will also be measures to ensure that no one is removed if doing so would put their safety in real danger.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments my colleague put on the record. I would like him to expand on the importance of Bill C-12 in the sense that it is part of the overall package of what our new Prime Minister and this government has proposed.

During the last federal election, there was a commitment by the Prime Minister to secure Canada's borders. This is a very important aspect of fulfilling a campaign platform commitment. In addition to this legislation, as the member made reference to, there is the hiring of 1,000 new CBSA officers, which is another component fulfilling the election platform.

Could the member expand on the importance of fulfilling that particular platform issue?

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague says, we campaigned on a promise to make our communities safer. This requires a series of measures, including legislation such as Bill C‑12 on border security and Bill C‑9 on hate crimes. It also includes our upcoming bail reform, investments to hire more RCMP officers, and strategies, including the one announced yesterday about combatting online fraud.

When we talk about making our communities safer, we are not just spouting slogans. We are delivering investments, concrete measures and bills and taking a holistic approach to improving safety for Canadians.

[Chak Au, Conservative, Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-12, legislation the Liberal government claims will strengthen our borders and protect our immigration system, but when examined closely, this bill is not about proactive security, it is about political damage control.

Bill C-12 is not a fresh start. It is a rebranded version of Bill C-2, legislation the government withdrew after Canadians were outraged by its sweeping powers to access personal digital data without a warrant. Bill C-2 would have allowed authorities to obtain Canadians' communications from phone companies, dating apps and even mental health platforms, with no judge, no oversight and no accountability. Conservatives said no. We believe in strong border security and effective enforcement, but never at the expense of Canadians' fundamental freedoms. Security and privacy are not competing objectives. In a democracy, they must coexist.

The government removed the most invasive powers from Bill C-2 only because it was exposed, not because it understood the threat to Canadians' rights. The public safety minister has openly stated that those powers are still being pursued. The RCMP commissioner confirmed they are working with the minister to bring them back. Canadians' privacy has not been safeguarded, as this has merely been postponed. We must remain vigilant because the government has shown a willingness to reintroduce these measures quietly when public attention shifts.

While seeking new powers, the government has failed to deliver on basic enforcement. It promised to hire 1,000 new CBSA officers. That promise was broken. At major border crossings, such as the Pacific Highway and Douglas port near Vancouver, officers are stretched thin, trying to stop sophisticated smuggling operations with inadequate staffing and outdated resources. Organized crime is exploiting these enforcement gaps right now, yet Bill C-12 contains no staffing commitments, no new resources and no operational enhancements. lt does not address the real challenges facing our border agents.

Bill C-12 amends 11 acts. Some of these measures are constructive and will assist law enforcement, for example, allowing CBSA to use private export facilities for inspections, enabling the Minister of Health to quickly ban precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, allowing the Canadian Coast Guard to share security information with law enforcement and tightening safe third country rules so that illegal border crossers may be returned to the United States within 14 days if they do not qualify for asylum. These are constructive elements. Conservatives support targeted reforms that improve enforcement and close gaps in coordination.

However, these improvements are overshadowed by sweeping new powers the bill grants to the minister, powers that lack clear safeguards, transparency or due process. Bill C-12 would allow the minister to unilaterally cancel immigration documents based on allegations of fraud or criminality without defined criteria or independent oversight. Canadians expect fairness, transparency and accountability, not political discretion that could undermine the integrity of our immigration system.

In Richmond Centre—Marpole, residents are deeply concerned about the pressures on housing, health care and public safety. They support legal immigration and strong enforcement, not a system where ministerial power replaces due process.

More than 50,000 Canadians have died from opioid toxicity since 2016, and nearly 80% of those deaths involved fentanyl. Police have dismantled superlabs in Langley, Falkland and Richmond capable of producing kilograms of fentanyl every week. Just two milligrams, a few grains of salt, can kill a person. This is not recreational drug use. It is deliberate mass poisoning.

Conservatives believe that, if someone is manufacturing or trafficking fentanyl in lethal quantities, they are knowingly causing death and should face a mandatory life sentence. We have tabled targeted proposals to ensure major traffickers, importers and producers face real prison time, yet Bill C-12 is silent. There would be new offences, no new mandatory penalties and no enhanced enforcement measures for cross-border traffickers. While Canadians are losing their loved ones every day, the government refuses to act. We cannot accept a justice system that allows fentanyl traffickers to receive house arrest or suspended sentences. Conservatives will continue to fight for real consequences to protect Canadians and save lives.

To be effective, Bill C-12 must be strengthened. Conservatives are calling for mandatory life sentences for major fentanyl traffickers, real resources and staffing for CBSA to enforce our laws, strong privacy protections with independent judicial oversight and mandatory public reporting for any future orders affecting privacy or mobility rights. Canadians deserve legislation that delivers security with transparency and accountability, not legislation written to manage headlines.

Bill C-12 reflects a pattern we have seen repeatedly from the government, which is to introduce sweeping and vague legislation, face public push-back, retreat temporarily and then attempt to reintroduce the same measures under a different name. That is not leadership. It is governance by reaction, not reflection. Canadians expect responsible, balanced legislation that protects both public safety and constitutional freedoms. Conservatives reject the government's approach of overreach first and correction later. We believe law must be grounded in principle, built through consultation, and transparent in application.

Conservatives believe in strong borders, safe communities and an immigration system that is both fair and firm, one that welcomes those who follow the rules and holds accountable those who do not. Bill C-12 may have removed the most extreme intrusions, but it still reflects the same pattern: overreach, retreat and repackaging. The bill would fail to address the fentanyl crisis, would fail to fix enforcement gaps and would fail to protect Canadians' privacy rights.

We will continue to stand up for the safety and freedoms of Canadians, defend the integrity of our immigration system and fight the scourge of fentanyl with the seriousness it demands. Canada can have security without surveillance and compassion without chaos. That is balance and that is common sense. That is what Conservatives would deliver.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will be frank.

Given that asylum is granted by independent judges, is my colleague opposite not questioning the competence of our judges, just as his leader did with respect to our great RCMP officers?

[Chak Au, Conservative, Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is passing the buck when it creates a problem and then tries to solve the problem it has created. In so doing, it is not only that the Liberals do not do enough, and they do not do it in an effective way, but also that they pass the buck on to somebody else and ask some other people to solve the problem for them. That is not taking responsibility. It is being evasive.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to the bill, border officers have a surveillance mandate, but they are not truly a part of national defence. They cannot intervene directly.

I would like to know what my colleague thinks about that.

[Chak Au, Conservative, Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we understand that law enforcement officers need to have the power to do the job in an effective way. However, we cannot accept giving power to the authorities without checks and balances, oversight or judicial review. We cannot give the minister too much power so they can infringe on the freedoms and rights of Canadians.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government says that Bill C-12 protects Canadians, yet it expands government powers to collect and share personal information across departments.

Could he speak to why it is so important that Parliament scrutinize these new authorities to ensure Canadians' privacy is not compromised?