Debates of Oct. 29th, 2025

Public Services and Procurement

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals were truly intent on getting the best value for taxpayers' money, the recent CRA audit would not have a heading of “The value of the telephony service contract has reached $190 million from its minimum work guarantee of $50 million”. That is the heading because IBM was provided an original contract with a value of $50 million over 10 years, and now it is projected that the overall contract value will rise to $214 million through 2027, which is a quadrupling while service standards are dropping.

As a matter of fact, the Auditor General says that when it comes to the IBM contract, “Shared Services Canada...should strengthen its contract management and conduct a full review of the...contract and its life cycle to identify lessons learned.” There are constantly lessons being learned by the Auditor General. The issue is the Liberals' inability to follow up and deliver that change. When are they going to not just talk a good game but actually follow through?

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, our new government is tackling some of the most pressing economic and security issues of our time as we build a strong, united Canada. We are taking bold action to transform government and build up our defence efforts. We are moving quickly, but we are doing it in a responsible and pragmatic way.

As we manage some of the largest federal undertakings this country has ever seen, we will always act in the best interest of Canadians. We have a solid plan to build the economy of the future, and we are building up our military as quickly as possible to keep Canadians and Canada strong and free.

With respect to the well-documented issues around GC Strategies, I want to assure the hon. member that our government is focused on modernizing and fixing our procurement processes. As stewards of public funds, we know government spending must at all times meet the highest standards of accountability. We will ensure that this happens. Canadians deserve no less.

Public Safety

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am here tonight to follow up on a question I asked the justice minister in June on when we could expect the much-needed bail changes to reverse the Liberal bail system we have in place. As I noted when I followed this up last month during Adjournment Proceedings and could not get an answer from the parliamentary secretary at that time on the specifics of it, this is not actually a new question. This is a question I have actually been bringing up in this chamber since 2022 about the urgent need for massive reversal around the Liberal bail system.

I point out, as well, that this is actually something the Liberal government voted against in early 2023, when we called for those changes here in this chamber. I did not get a specific answer last month, but I am happy to report that today, we are finally debating a recently tabled bill, Bill C-14, which addresses many of the reversals needed around the previous Liberal bills, Bill C-75 and Bill C-5.

As I assume the parliamentary secretary of justice is going to reply to me, out of all the Liberals present, I want to focus the remainder of my time tonight on giving her the opportunity to just focus in on some of the private member's bills we have already tabled in the House and ask her opinion. Can she reassure me that Bill C-14 is going to address these? If not, will she actually support these private member's bills?

This is important because, as I said in my question back in June, in my riding alone and in just the city of Owen Sound, the annual police report stated that violent crimes were up another 14.6%. I have addressed concerns about the fact that the delay specifically tied to decisions around the Jordan's limit is taking away justice for the victims.

Let us get to the three private member's bills I want to talk to the parliamentary secretary about. The first is Bill C-242, the jail not bail act by the great member of Parliament for Oxford. It is focused on a few things that I hope the parliamentary secretary can address. That is, it would repeal and replace the Liberal principle of restraint that came out in Bill C-75, stating that instead, public safety and public protection have to be the primary consideration.

Bill C-242 also proposes a new major offences category, with reverse onus bail conditions on charges involving firearms, sexual acts, kidnapping, human trafficking, home invasion, robbery, extortion, arson and assault. Bill C-14 would address a lot of the reverse onus aspects, but it would also strengthen bail laws by mandating that judges consider an accused's full criminal history when they are making a decision. It would also prohibit anyone with an indictable conviction from acting as a guarantor. This is something I want to focus on as well.

We have Bill C-246 from the member for Lethbridge, which focuses on consecutive sentences and being able to do that, and I would ask whether Bill C-14 is able to address that.

Finally, there are a couple aspects of Bill C-225, by the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, which would force an offender convicted of intimate partner violence within the preceding five years to be released only by a judge.

Can the parliamentary secretary assure me that Bill C-14 will address all the concerns in those three private member's bills?

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise this evening to speak about Canada's bail system and to respond to the member opposite, who asked whether the Minister of Justice had specific timelines for introducing bail and sentencing reforms, which is a commitment we were elected on and promised to Canadians with the mandate they gave us.

As the member pointed out, last week, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada introduced Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing reform act. The even greater news is that Bill C-14 was already at second reading today in the chamber.

Earlier this afternoon, the Minister of Justice spoke about how the bill would crack down on repeat violent offenders, making it harder to get bail and toughen sentences. Bill C-14 would strengthen Canada's bail and sentencing system to better protect public safety and prevent repeat offenders. It would require courts to consider random or unprovoked violence in bail decisions and would clarify that restraint does not mandate automatic release. For serious and repeat violent crimes, new reverse onus rules would make the accused responsible to justify release rather than the Crown having to prove the grounds for detention. In regard to sentencing reform, Bill C-14 would add new aggravating factors, require consecutive sentences for certain serious offences and end the use of house arrest for serious sexual crimes, including those against children.

Regarding the member opposite's question on the timeline for this bill, it is important to note that reforms of this magnitude, over 80 amendments to the Criminal Code, require careful and thorough consultation. Let us recall what the Leader of the Opposition was doing all summer. He was targeting his own MP's seat to protect his job. At the same time, what was the Minister of Justice doing? He was targeting repeat violent offenders and building consensus among provinces, territories, police associations and victim groups to develop real, practical solutions. That consensus is what led to Bill C-14. For the first time, we have national consensus, with Conservative, New Democrat and Liberal premiers alike all calling for the swift passage of this bill. When every province and territory welcomes a federal justice reform system, and I mean everyone, that is not politics; that is partnership and that is leadership.

Finally, while Parliament sets the laws on bail, provinces and territories run the system, conducting most hearings and enforcing release conditions. All levels of government share responsibility for making bail work. We are doing our job with these sweeping reforms, and now provinces need to do theirs. The government remains committed to working closely with them to strengthen the system and keep Canadians safe.

Bill C-14 is balanced, principled and firm. It targets repeat violent offenders, strengthens community safety and upholds the rule of law. This is real reform, not rhetoric. This is leadership that unites and does not divide, which is exactly what Canadians expect and what they deserve.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I was actually a little surprised by a few of those comments from the parliamentary secretary. It was not where I expected it to go, but I did not get an answer to my question. I did not need a synopsis of Bill C-14. We are tracking that.

The minister indicated in debate today that he is open to amendments to the bill. The debate today did not shy away from the fact that these are much-needed changes that we require.

Again, I will ask the parliamentary secretary this: Is the government open to enacting the key things in Bill C-242 with the principle of restraint, in Bill C-246 from the member for Lethbridge with consecutive sentencing, and in Bill C-225 with intimate partner violence?

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it seems that the member opposite missed the news over the weekend and missed what frontline enforcement had to say about our bail and sentencing reform act, so I will bring him up to speed.

The Toronto Police Association called our plan “a step in the right direction”. The Canadian Police Association, for police across the country, said, “This should be the moment of collaboration, not division”, urging all parties to pass legislation quickly to strengthen public safety and rebuild confidence in our justice system. The London Police Association said that this legislation “represents a vital...advancement [and] an essential step in creating a safer [Canada].”

I ask the member opposite, what insight does he have that the frontline officers seem to be missing?

With regards to the timeline, as mentioned earlier, right now, the reforms are large, as there are over 80 amendments to the Criminal Code, which will require all the necessary time and thorough consultation to get it through.

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7 p.m.)