Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to speak about public safety in Canada or, more accurately, the lack of public safety in our country under the Liberal government.
Bill C-14 is another classic miss by the Liberals. Right now, we should be strengthening Canada's bail laws and protecting law-abiding citizens. We should be making the public safer and keeping criminals in jail. We should be protecting victims from dangerous offenders and keeping murderers behind bars where they belong.
Instead, the Liberals have put forward a bill that does not come close to the changes we need to fix Canada's justice system. We need to be tough on crime. We need to keep criminals in jail. We especially need to keep repeat violent offenders behind bars. We should be increasing penalties for repeat violent criminals, including people who commit sexual assault.
This is about public safety. It is just common sense. Conservatives have been pointing this out for years.
The Liberals' soft-on-crime approach to bail is simply not working. We have taken issue with their generous bail laws in the past and sentencing reforms that return criminals to the streets. Time and time again, their laws have granted criminals the freedom to keep causing chaos. These revolving-door policies allow criminals to reoffend. Unfortunately for Canadians, under the Liberals, criminals essentially have a get-out-of-jail-free card. It is a dangerous game of Monopoly.
This summer, our country was plagued by a string of high-profile violent crimes. It is heartbreaking to know that each and every one of these crimes was preventable, and each crime was a failure of our system to protect our citizens. Sadly, many of these crimes occurred in my community of Edmonton.
Just this summer, Cody Desjarlais was in jail facing 27 charges, including impaired driving, yet he got bail. He was released on July 4, and less than two weeks later, he went on a crime spree. He stole a vehicle. He then used this stolen vehicle to plow into a 59-year-old cyclist. After that, he attacked and stabbed a 40-year-old man. He now has a laundry list of charges, including attempted murder, aggravated assault, possession of stolen property, two counts of dangerous operation, driving while prohibited, breach of release order, possessing a weapon dangerous to the public, assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, failing to stop after an accident and theft of a motor vehicle.
Desjarlais should never have had the chance to go out on this crime spree. He should have remained behind bars. The public should have remained safe from him. Desjarlais' crimes were severe and dangerous enough but, sadly, crimes committed by others who got out on bail have been even worse.
Here is one story of a crime that did not have to happen. It was horrendous. It is the murder of Bailey McCourt. Bailey was murdered in a parking lot by her ex-husband, James Plover. However, here is the thing: Plover had been released on bail following an assault conviction just hours before murdering Bailey.
This murder obviously should never have happened. James should have been behind bars. Just that afternoon, he had been convicted of choking someone and uttering threats. He was a dangerous offender who should have been locked up. Instead, he was out and free to cause even more harm. Our justice system had the chance to protect Bailey McCourt, but our laws failed her.
Another person who fell victim to the Liberals' weak bail laws was Marina Simard. Marina was just 18 years old, with her entire life ahead of her. Sadly, she was murdered by her 26-year-old brother, Tyrone. Guess what. He was out on bail.
There are so many heartbreaking examples of this happening. There are too many to share in my time today, but I also must mention Savannah Kulla. Savannah was a 29-year-old mother of four who was brutally shot and killed at a Brampton strip mall. Her killer, Anthony Deschepper, surprise, surprise, was out on bail. Following Savannah's senseless murder, one detective shared some stark comments about the crime spree with the Toronto Sun. A detective told reporters:
If you continue to release these sorts of people, events like this are going to happen. It’s inevitable.... There are so many people out there like this; no community is safe. And now, because of the broken bail system, a young woman has paid with her life.
This murder was preventable. It is just a matter of keeping criminals behind bars. How hard is that?
My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of these victims. To the families of Bailey McCourt, Marina Simard and Savannah Kulla, I say I am so sorry for their loss and for the heartbreak they have endured.
Let this be a reminder to all of us. The legislation we pass in this place has real consequences. We must stand up for Canadians, protect them and keep them safe. As I have said, Bill C-14 is a missed opportunity to do just that. It is a missed opportunity to strengthen penalties for serious violent offences. It is a missed opportunity for the Liberals to recognize the disastrous mistakes being made. It is a missed opportunity to keep Canadians safe.
The laws in our country must change. Since 2015, violent crime is up 55%. Firearms crime is up 130%. Extortion has risen 330% across Canada. Sexual assaults are up 76%, and homicides are up 29%. A recent poll by Leger Marketing asked Canadians about public safety. Unfortunately, the results confirm what Conservatives already knew: Canadians do not feel safe. The poll found that 51% of Canadians say they are worried about general safety in their own neighbourhood and that more than half of Canadians feel that the justice system is working against the interests of citizens.
Police officers across this country know that the lax Liberal laws are not working. The Saskatoon police chief, Cam McBride, has called for urgent bail reform. He said, “There are, at any point in time, violent [offenders] in our communities that really need the support and structure of incarceration or remand”.
The Police Association of Ontario has blasted Canada's bail system, warning that it is putting communities at risk. The president of the association said:
Every day, our members work tirelessly to ensure the safety and security of the communities we serve, yet violent and repeat offenders are routinely released on bail and returned to the streets.... This ongoing threat undermines public safety, erodes confidence in our justice system, and puts both police officers and innocent people at risk.
There is one good thing this bill accomplishes. It is an admission by the Liberals that their criminal justice reforms have failed. In a press release, the Liberals acknowledged this problem themselves. They noted that there has been a 41% rise in the violent crime severity index since 2014. That is outrageous.
Conservatives will always work to toughen bail laws. We must put public safety and community safety ahead of the rights of criminals. We must keep serious, dangerous offenders off our streets. My colleagues and I are calling on the government to end crime, chaos and disorder in our streets.