Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise this morning on behalf of my neighbours in Oshawa to speak to Bill C-12.
One issue has constantly been at the top of the list for the people I speak to and represent, and that is safety. They want the government to fix its broken border and immigration system and restore public safety. This concern is not limited to Oshawa, of course. Across Canada, people are living in a country they barely recognize, and they worry about the violence in their communities, about dangerous drugs devastating neighbourhoods, about weak border controls and about a chaotic immigration system. They worry that their government is failing in one of its most basic responsibilities, which is keeping Canadians safe.
For over a decade, the Liberal government has promised the opposite. It has promised safer communities, stronger borders and a credible immigration system. After 10 years, the results speak for themselves: Crime is up, border enforcement is down, hard drugs are more accessible than ever and confidence in our immigration system has collapsed. Canadians are justified in asking why this government refuses to take responsibility. This is the context in which we are debating Bill C-12, the strengthening Canada's immigration system and borders act.
The bill before us is the government's attempt to convince Canadians that it now wants to repair the very problems it created. We are being told it will strengthen border processes, improve enforcement, remove individuals who pose risks and restore confidence in the system.
Canadians have heard these promises before. They heard them when the government weakened bail laws in 2019 and insisted that everything was fine. They heard them when violent repeat offenders were released time and time again. They heard them when the government claimed its drug policies were working while overdoses increased. They heard them when the government claimed that the border was secure while irregular migration surged. Canadians are right to be skeptical.
As a member of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, I studied Bill C-12 closely. It became very clear, quickly, that the bill is incomplete and does not address many of the core concerns Canadians have raised.
Conservatives approached this process in good faith. We were ready to work, ready to improve the bill and ready to deliver solutions. Unfortunately, the government showed little interest in rising to the seriousness of the moment. Too often, it dismissed legitimate concerns and brushed aside constructive proposals, even when those proposals were aligned with what frontline and academic experts have been calling for.
We listened to expert witnesses, examined the details and brought forward roughly 40 substantive amendments focused on enforcement, accountability, border security and removal processes. These amendments were practical and grounded in the concerns Canadians voice every day. I want to thank the member for Calgary Nose Hill for her leadership on the immigration components of the bill, and the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola for his contributions. Their expertise ensured that our amendments were well researched and solutions-oriented.
Our amendments targeted the major gaps in Canada's border and immigration enforcement system. We clarified what serious criminality means under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, ensuring that convictions for indictable offences, including hybrid offences proceeded by indictment, are treated as serious for immigration purposes. This is simple common sense. We addressed endless deportation delays by stopping repeat removal risk assessments when there is no new evidence. Canadians expect that when someone is found inadmissible for public safety reasons, the removal actually happens.
We also modernized outdated timelines and procedures so that removal orders could be enforced more predictably. We strengthened the asylum system by deeming a claim abandoned if a claimant returns to the country they claimed to be fleeing for safety. We added quarterly reporting requirements to bring transparency to asylum pressures and costs. We gave decision-makers better tools to dismiss clearly fraudulent claims, and we placed clear limits and oversight on the extraordinary powers in part 7 of the bill, which would allow the government to extend en masse, cancel or modify immigration documents.
We insisted on transparency and parliamentary oversight so that temporary resident status could not be modified behind closed doors. These were reasonable, constructive amendments. Some even received support from our colleagues in the Bloc Québécois, yet the Liberals rejected far too many of them and in some cases attempted to gut the ones that did pass.
The safety of Canadians should not be a partisan issue. We expect a government that secures the border, enforces the laws, and manages immigration with competence and fairness. Instead, they have watched trust erode year after year. We have seen cases where individuals who clearly pose a risk to Canadians were not removed quickly, even when removal was fully justified. These failures compromise public safety and undermine confidence in the entire immigration system.
When trust collapses, the system itself begins to break down. This debate matters, because Canadians want real solutions. They want a system that prioritizes safety, fairness and order. They want an immigration system based on common sense, not on political messaging that works for a time.
In Oshawa, I hear this often from newcomers who followed every rule and are proud to be Canadian. They are frustrated by a system that no longer operates predictably or fairly. I hear it from long-time residents who support strong, sustainable immigration but want it managed securely and transparently. They want a system that rewards honesty, not loopholes. They want a border policy that treats public safety as a priority, not as an afterthought.
These voices are not extreme. They are not partisan. They are simply asking for competence and responsibility from their federal government. Canadians want compassion, but they also want accountability. They want a system that works, so if the government wants to restore trust, it must acknowledge the consequences of its own policy.
Conservatives believe in safe communities, secure borders and an immigration system that is firm, fair and focused on public safety as well as success. We believe trust must be rebuilt, and that begins with leadership, so I say again, if the government wants to restore trust, it must acknowledge the consequences of its own failed policies, give law enforcement and border officials the tools they need, and bring accountability back to a system weakened for nearly a decade.
We talk about trust, and it is at this point I want to mention that the members opposite in earlier questions and comments were talking about Bill C-14 and swiftly passing it, and simultaneously, their colleagues in the justice committee, as we speak, are actively blocking Conservative unanimous consent motions to move to Bill C-14. Again, this Liberal government speaks out of both sides of its mouth. It does not know what it wants to do and does not even really care, and that is the saddest part of it all.
My neighbours in Oshawa want a government that takes public safety seriously. They want order restored to our immigration system. They want leadership focused on results, not excuses. Canadians deserve better, but they should not fear: Conservatives stand ready to deliver better.