Debates of Sept. 24th, 2025

Firearms

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just admitted that he does not even know what his gun ban applies to. For example, this gun ban applies to 10-gauge and 12-gauge shotguns, which are used by the great people of Alberta and all Canadians for duck hunting. It applies to 70 .22-calibre firearms that are used by almost every farmer to go after gophers.

Will the Prime Minister stop wasting money banning gopher guns, read his briefing notes, so he knows what he is talking about, and fire that incompetent minister?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what this government is doing is providing fair compensation for Canadians to return illegal firearms and illegal assault rifles. What this government is doing is proposing the biggest tightening of our border in our nation's history. We want the support of the opposition to make sure that happens.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has absolutely no idea what guns he is banning. He is banning twenty-twos. These are known as farmers' guns for going after gophers and other pests. One of them is even called the Plinkster because that is the sound it makes when it bounces off a pop can.

The Prime Minister is wasting precious border and police resources, harassing farmers and banning duck hunters while real gun crime rages in our streets. Once again, will he pick up a briefing note so that he knows what he is talking about and go after the real criminals?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has his briefing notes. The RCMP has its experience. The RCMP vets this list and decides for this list what are real guns, what are assault rifles and what should be kept off the streets. That is the process.

Taxation

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's knowledge bank on this subject is now depleted, so we will move on to something else: the subject of food prices.

The Prime Minister said that he would be judged on prices at the grocery store. Well, the verdict is in: Food prices are rising 50% faster in Canada than in the U.S. and are almost double the Bank of Canada's target. The Daily Bread Food Bank says that there will be four million visitors to Toronto food banks, a doubling from over two years ago, yet the Prime Minister has three grocery taxes in place, and going up, while people line up at food banks.

Will he stop taxing food so Canadians can afford to eat?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let me bring the Leader of the Opposition up to speed on taxes. This government cut taxes for 22 million Canadians. This government cut taxes on first-time homebuyers. This government cut the carbon tax.

Justice

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has, of course, read the factum filed on behalf of his government with the Supreme Court to attack secularism as it is understood in Quebec and the notwithstanding clause. He has, of course, approved it. This factum was, of course, ultimately signed by his Attorney General.

This is the man who sought the solemn support of Quebeckers and who believed in their judgment. Does he actually think that Quebec will resort to using the notwithstanding clause to allow summary executions, take away women's right to vote, or bring back slavery?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what protects Canadians, Quebeckers, men and women, young and old, is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is the Government of Canada's responsibility to defend the charter.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want all Quebeckers to see all the Liberals rise to insult them all as a whole. I want the Prime Minister to explain to me why, in his brief, he felt the need to mention the possible return of forced labour or slavery. I want him to explain to me why his members talk openly of racism. I want him to explain to me why he believes that Quebeckers, members of North America's most progressive and open society, would want to bring back the death penalty and summary executions.

Why does he allow insults like these?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is simple. Canadians and Quebeckers have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and it is the Government of Canada's job to defend it.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Constitution we have was imposed on us. It contains a notwithstanding clause that we have the right to use, much to the government's consternation considering the crass insults that it has been hurling not only at Quebec, but at other Canadian provinces as well.

Will the Prime Minister do the decent thing: withdraw this brief and apologize to Quebeckers?

[Mark Carney, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the government is not backing down. We are defending the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. With respect to use of the notwithstanding clause, that is a decision for the Supreme Court of Canada to make.

Public Safety

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what should we call a person who says one thing in public and then does the exact opposite thing in private? That is exactly what the public safety minister did. He called the Liberal $750-million gun buyback program a politically motivated scam.

The minister's number one job is to keep Canadians safe. Violent crime and gun crime are up, and 90% of gun crimes, police say, are committed with illegal guns, yet he calls his main plan a scam.

This is stunning incompetence. Why has he not been fired?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I was proud to launch the assault-style firearms compensation program in Nova Scotia. We look forward to expanding it across Canada. It is part of a broader plan to ensure that our guns are off our streets. It includes changes to the Criminal Code. It includes resources at the border, a $1.3-billion investment at the border.

Bill C-2 is in the House today. I invite the party opposite to support us so that we can get that through Parliament.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, except that, in a private conversation, the minister said the exact opposite. He called the Liberal gun buyback a politically motivated scam.

Imagine what could be done with this $750 million. How many police officers could be hired? How many border officers could be hired? How many scanners could be purchased to find the illegal guns coming in from the United States?

The minister is doing nothing. He is pushing forward with his politically motivated scam. Canadians deserve better. They deserve to be safe. This is staggering incompetence. Why will the Prime Minister not fire him?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, staggering incompetence is when someone thinks that AR-15s can be used for hunting and farming.

We have brought forward a very important plan in Nova Scotia. We look forward to expanding it across Canada. We look forward to doing that in the near future.

We are going to be investing in 1,000 new RCMP, as well as 1,000 new CBSA officers. We will ensure that our borders are safe and guns are off our streets.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie South—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 600 foreign nationals with criminal convictions are roaming around Canadian cities. More than half are on the CBSA's wanted list, and their whereabouts are unknown. Over 70% of these non-citizen criminals have been convicted of serious crimes, including sexual assault. The public safety minister has one job, which is to keep Canadians safe. On this and many other issues, he is failing miserably.

It is really hard to believe that the Prime Minister, just yesterday, said he has confidence in the minister. Why will he not fire the minister? Not doing so calls into question the Prime Minister's judgment.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, this year, the Canada Border Service Agency has removed over 20,000 people. That is one of the largest removals of people in Canadian history. CBSA will continue to do its job.

We will ensure that we hire another 1,000 new CBSA officers to strengthen the border and ensure enforcement. We will continue to make sure our borders are safe. We will, at the same time, ensure that guns are off our streets.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie South—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, he cannot find them. He cannot find the 600 serious criminals who are non-citizens and should be deported but are roaming the streets of Canadian cities. The minister had the entire summer to come up with a plan to find these convicted non-citizen criminals, who have been convicted of crimes like sexual assault. He lost them and he cannot find them.

My question is for the Prime Minister. If this level of incompetence happened at Brookfield, would he still have confidence in that person or would he fire them?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, this year the Canada Border Services Agency will be removing 20,000 people who are not eligible to be here. This is one of the highest numbers in recorded Canadian history.

We will continue to strengthen the border. We will continue to remove those who are not eligible to be here. We will also be investing in 1,000 new CBSA officers, along with 1,000 new RCMP officers, to make our border stronger.

[Harb Gill, Conservative, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the number one job of the public safety minister is to keep Canadians safe. The Liberals promised to hire 1,000 border officers, yet their own documents reveal they have not hired any and have no plans to do so either. This will result in more guns and fentanyl being smuggled across borders like Windsor and Sarnia.

The public safety minister has failed miserably. How does the Prime Minister still have confidence in the minister? Why will he not fire him?

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

Mr. Speaker, this new government has made historic investments in our border, and that goes for CBSA as well. We are in the process of starting to hire 1,000 new personnel for the CBSA and 1,000 new personnel for the RCMP. We are going to do the work necessary so that guns do not get into Canada.

We will make these necessary investments, while all the Conservatives did was make cuts, cuts to the CBSA, cuts to the RCMP and cuts to law enforcement that needed them the most. We are going to invest in these programs to make sure that we can fight crime in Canada.

Firearms

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of Liberal governance, crime in Canada is on the rise. Violent crime is up by more than 55%. Gun crime is up over 130%. Extortion is up over 330%. That is the Liberal record after 10 years.

Now the Minister of Public Safety has admitted that the gun buyback program is not working. It has failed. It is a waste of money and is not making Canadians any safer.

Why is the Prime Minister keeping someone at the head of public safety who does not believe in this very important program at all?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to accept criticism from the Conservatives when it comes to issues of crime, given their completely lackadaisical approach to protecting Canadians against gun violence. When we look at their record, when they were last in government, they eroded investments at the border, making it easier to have guns illegally smuggled into this country. At every opportunity, they have voted against measures that take assault-style weapons off our streets.

We have put measures in place that ban the kinds of weapons that were used to kill RCMP officers in Moncton, that killed people during the École Polytechnique shooting and that will potentially kill people going forward. We need to take gun crimes seriously.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice should focus his efforts on trying to convince the Minister of Public Safety, because that minister does not think the gun buyback program is working. On the contrary, $750 million has been wasted. The public safety minister said so himself, and yet the Prime Minister is keeping him in his position.

How can the Prime Minister put up with a guy who thinks the exact opposite of what he says publicly when, in private, he acknowledges that the program is not working?