Mr. Speaker, crime is escalating, and families and workers in my community are paying the price.
In Cambridge, families sleeping in their beds and workers in retail and service jobs are now facing violent criminals. Just this week, there was a smash-and-grab at a Canadian Tire, an armed jewellery store robbery at the Cambridge Centre and gunshots fired at a family home. Imagine being a retail worker wondering if today is the day mass criminals will storm in with weapons. Innocent employees are looking to earn a paycheque and feed their families, but now, nowhere feels safe, not even at home or at work.
My community is done waiting. They are speaking up loudly. They are flooding my email. They expect the government to protect them, not be easy on criminals who terrorize their streets. What they get from the Liberal government is half measures and a weak justice system where criminals roam free.
Cambridge has a message for the government. It has had enough of the soft-on-crime approaches that put criminals ahead of Canadians. Cambridge residents are asking the government to stop the revolving door of crime and bring back consequences to protect our community.