Debates of Sept. 23rd, 2025

Firearms

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I am very puzzled as to why the Conservatives are against getting guns off our streets. I am puzzled as to why AR-15s are required for hunting. I am not a hunter, but I have spoken to many hunters, and many of them will say that AR-15s do not belong on our streets, in our communities.

That is what we are doing here today. With the plan that we launched today in Cape Breton, and which will be spread across Canada, we are getting serious guns off our streets, and we will make sure our communities are safer.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant South—Six Nations, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the truth came out a few days ago. The minister knows the gun grab will fail. He was caught on tape admitting that it will blow the budget and that it would be better to lock up criminals committing the crimes.

I am sorry, but the minister's words were not misguided; they were the truth. However, today he is blindly plowing ahead, not to protect Canadians but because the Prime Minister wants a political stunt.

If the minister knows it will fail, admits it will waste millions of dollars and says it is all about politics, why is he still in charge of public safety?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I recognize that the member opposite is a lawyer, and I know he knows what defamation is. I invite him to say the exact same words outside the House.

What I will say is that the program we launched today is one that will make our communities safer. It will ensure that guns such as—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I could not hear. I am trying my best, but it is very hard sometimes, so the hon. minister can start from the top because I really did not catch anything he was saying.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I realize that the member opposite who just asked the question is a lawyer, and I know that he knows defamation law. I invite him to say the exact same words outside the House.

What I will say is that we have launched a program today that will ensure the safety and security of Canadians. We will compensate those who are willing to bring forward their prohibited weapons and collect remuneration for them. We will ensure that we have greater bail reform laws that will keep serious violent criminals off our streets. We can do both.

[Jamil Jivani, Conservative, Bowmanville—Oshawa North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, gun crime us up 130%, and Toronto police report that 88% of the illegal guns they seize have been smuggled north across our southern border. The Liberal public safety minister does nothing to keep our communities in the Toronto area safe. Instead, he focuses on banning legal hunting rifles in rural Canada.

When will the Prime Minister take action, actually hold the minister accountable and fire him? He has done nothing to keep Toronto safe, and that is his job.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Secretary of State (Combatting Crime)]

Mr. Speaker, the government has put historic investment into our borders to be able to keep illegal guns off our streets and keep Canadians safe. We are going to continue to bring further legislation that will tighten our sentencing and bail systems, but mass shootings are a crime, and we have several examples of mass shootings that have taken place in Canada and the United States. We should learn that lesson and get assault-style rifles off our streets.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with this Minister of Public Safety, it is one failure after another. We have seen a 130% increase in gun crimes. He was recorded admitting that the Liberal gun buyback program is politically motivated. Now he is failing on border security by allowing the African mafia to infiltrate the country and exploit Quebec's most vulnerable citizens.

Will the Prime Minister show his minister the door?

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Secretary of State (Nature)]

Mr. Speaker, it is important for us to complete this initiative. Canadians are waiting for this.

It is important to uphold our commitments, and this program will allow us to do that. I think all Quebeckers and all Canadians are waiting for this. It is not the only thing that needs to be done to fight crime, but it is a part of the whole package. It is one measure we will implement to ensure success.

La sécurité publique

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, my question is for the Minister of Public Safety, not the Secretary of State for Nature.

We are talking about border security. We are talking about crime and the African mafia. It is important to note that, because of this minister, public safety has become a major issue in Canada. We have problems. Nothing has been done to control African mafia groups.

Will the Prime Minister fire his public safety minister?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I do want to caution the member that he should really tread lightly in the language he is using, describing the particular group that he is concerned about. It is borderline racism, and I do caution him to take note of his language.

Let me be very clear. We are investing in our border. We have already invested $1.3 billion in securing our border. We are hiring 1,000 new RCMP officers, and we are also hiring 1,000 new CBSA officers. We will ensure that our borders are safe and secure.

Regional Economic Development

[Dominique O'Rourke, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, even with Canada's success in negotiating new trade deals around the world, efforts to secure a new agreement with the U.S., and the launch of major projects, the unjustified U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos are hurting businesses of all sizes, including manufacturing and agri-food in my riding of Guelph.

Will the minister responsible for FedDev please outline which new programs are available to support them in these difficult times and how to access them?

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Guelph for her important question and tireless work on behalf of her constituents and local businesses.

Southern Ontario, as we all know, has been among the hardest hit by tariffs, home to the steel and auto industries and industries that employ more than eight million workers. This summer, I spoke with businesses such as Laval Tool in Windsor and organizations such as Niagara Economic Development, which told us how much they value FedDev's work and its investment in innovation and creating new jobs. That is why our regional tariff response initiative is now open for applications and why our caucus—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola.

Public Safety

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the public safety minister's number one job is to keep Canadians safe, but he has failed at that job.

In a secret recording, he said, “Don't ask me” about “the logic”, and I agree. I do not see the logic either. Gun crimes are up 130%, bail across the country is perceived as a joke and the Liberals, in Bill C-5, voted to lower sentences for gun crimes. Everything in this file is a mess.

Why does the Prime Minister not fire his public safety minister?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to public safety in this country, we agree that there is work to do when it comes to bail reform and to tightened sentencing, which is why we will be introducing legislation that makes the criminal justice system treat serious crime with more serious consequences going forward.

A point of disagreement between the government and the opposition is the role of assault-style weapons in this country. My constituents at home in Nova Scotia and Canadians that I meet in every province believe that it is common sense to take guns that are designed to kill people off our streets. It is remarkable that the Conservatives have a contrary view.

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, if he wants a point of disagreement, how about this: house arrest for people who do drive-by shootings. The minister voted for it. That is a point of disagreement.

The minister has one job, and that is to keep us safe. There is $742 million going toward a program that he does not even believe in. How many RCMP officers could that get us? How many border security officers could that get us? This whole thing is an absolute mess.

The question is this: When will the Prime Minister fire him?

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Secretary of State (Combatting Crime)]

Mr. Speaker, we take crime, all types of crime, very seriously. That is why this government's second piece of legislation in this House was Bill C-2, to make sure we give our policing organizations the tools they need to crack down on organized crime and on criminals who are running our streets.

We do not need AR-15s in our country. That rifle was designed to kill human beings.

If I could ask the Conservatives, why are you on the side of crime?

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

I would remind members to speak through the Chair.

The hon. member for York—Durham.

Border Security

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the last election, the Prime Minister promised to hire 1,000 new border officers. Now, the Minister of Public Safety, in his response today, suggested they just do not understand the hiring process. Let me suggest to him that he does not understand how promises work; one actually has to keep them.

Internal documents from the CBSA last week disclosed to the House that the Minister of Public Safety, responsible for hiring border officers, has hired precisely zero. His number one job is to keep Canadians safe, and he has failed

When will the Prime Minister hold the minister responsible and fire him?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we made a promise in the last election. On April 28, Canadians gave us a mandate, and we are fulfilling that promise this afternoon.

We have launched a compensation program where, in Cape Breton as a starting point, we were piloting the ability for individual owners who have prohibited firearms to turn them in to law enforcement. They will collect them; they will inspect them and then advise on the compensation. This will spread across Canada in the coming weeks. I look forward to the support from the member opposite, who is really—

[The Speaker, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The hon. member for York—Durham.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister says he is taking this seriously, but his own response to the House tells a very different story. Not only has he failed to hire a single new border officer, but he does not even have a plan to hire any. He has failed to keep the government's promise, failed to hire new border officers, failed to stem the flow of illegal guns across the border and failed to keep Canadians safe, his one and only job.

When will the Prime Minister hold the minister accountable and fire him?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we look forward to welcoming 1,000 new RCMP and 1,000 new CBSA officers to the ranks of our frontline public service.

I was in Regina, speaking at the RCMP training facilities. They are getting prepared to train the 1,000 new RCMP officers we will be onboarding over the next several years. It is important that we continue to invest in law enforcement. That is exactly what the Prime Minister committed to. That is exactly what we will be doing.