Debates of Feb. 10th, 2026

Opposition Motion—Serious crimes and refugee claims

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are trying to build a narrative of obstructionism by saying we are obstructing their efforts to combat the problems that they themselves have created over the last 11 years. The irony here is that they are actually opposing a bill that would fix some of the problems they have created, which they claim they want to fix.

My question for the member is why.

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey Newton, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite evident that Bill C-2, which would give lawful access to police forces, Bill C-12, which deals with asylum seekers, and Bill C-14, which deals with bail reforms, are the bills that police chiefs, premiers and the public want. There is only one party, the Conservative Party, that is blocking those bills and not letting them pass.

The Conservatives are the ones who are putting Canadians at risk every day. That is what I am hearing on the ground, and I am here to fix that problem.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, not long ago, the House voted on a bill dealing with applications for citizenship by descent.

In committee, an amendment was moved to require that applicants for this kind of citizenship undergo the same citizenship screening as any other applicant, particularly the criminal record check.

Why did the Liberals, along with the NDP, vote against this amendment, ensuring it would be defeated?

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey Newton, BC]

Mr. Speaker, any person who claims to be a citizen, either by descent or by naturalization, has to go through criminal and security checks. That is what I personally believe and what this Parliament believes, and that legislation is in place.

[Parm Bains, Liberal, Richmond East—Steveston, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for all of his hard work, especially on this topic and the challenges we are seeing with extortion and other crimes.

We all know that as criminal organizations evolve, they look at new ways to do things. Can the member for Surrey Newton let me know what he is hearing on the ground about the kinds of changes being made, and how important people think these changes are that we are bringing forward?

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey Newton, BC]

Mr. Speaker, recently, members might have noticed that some of the criminals who are trying to commit crimes are seeking asylum. When we see Bill C-12, which has already gone through the House, pass through the Senate and get royal assent, they will not be eligible to claim asylum, effective June 2025.

What I am hearing on the ground is that the people who are caught should not be free. They should be kept behind bars. If the Conservatives and the opposition parties support Bill C-14, once it passes, those criminals will stay behind bars and not be out and free.

[Burton Bailey, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that the member criticizes the Conservatives on this side of the House while we are proposing solutions. Since the election, there has been a lot of talk, but no action. The Liberals know what needs to be done to keep criminals and terrorists off our streets.

Will the member be voting for the Conservative motion, which prioritizes the safety of Canadians over political expedience?

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey Newton, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, if we look at this motion, it is nothing but politics. It has no solutions. The only solution is the immediate action we need on the ground to catch those criminals.

I want to tell the hon. member that I brought up that the CFSEU-BC should be deployed in British Columbia. The Prime Minister, the Minister of Public Safety, the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime and the B.C. Liberal caucus supported me in that. The only person who did not support that is the Leader of the Opposition. The member should go and tell his leader to support me on that issue.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Development)]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak about a matter that is of deep and pressing concern to my constituents in Surrey Centre, as well as to those living in the Lower Mainland region in my home province.

The government's first priority is to protect Canadians and their communities. We are deeply concerned about the reports of people in B.C, in Ontario and across Canada who have been targeted by extortion, threats and violence. These types of crimes are insidious. They sow fear in our communities and prevent hard-working Canadians from running their businesses and sleeping soundly at night.

This is why we are working with a wide range of stakeholders and law enforcement to ensure that we address these issues head-on. Our government has tabled over six major public safety and criminal justice bills, legislation that is specifically designed to crack down on violent and repeat offenders, strengthen sentencing and modernize Canada's Criminal Code. This is why I find it surprising that the Conservatives have chosen this as their motion for today. Rather than fast-tracking the legislation that premiers, law enforcement, municipalities, police chiefs and police associations across the country have all called on Parliament to pass urgently, the Conservatives constantly delay and obstruct the committee and the House.

Bill C-2 and Bill C-12 will bolster Canada's law enforcement tool kit with critical assets, like lawful access, to combat transnational organized crime. For those who might not know what lawful access is, it is the ability to catch digital phone systems like WhatsApp and Signal and track them down to the subscriber.

In fact, there is nothing in the Conservative motion today that has not already been addressed or tabled in the House, or that is not categorically false.

Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing reform act, would bring in stricter bail laws to address violent and repeat offending and organized crime, and tougher sentencing laws for serious and violent crimes, including extortion. Combined, Bill C-2, Bill C-12 and Bill C-14 would crack down on intimidation and violence by using tools like lawful access, and reduce risks to victims and witnesses.

In addition to this legislation, we have held summits on extortion in collaboration with the Government of British Columbia and the Government of Ontario. These summits were a strong, collaborative effort, bringing together federal and provincial governments, local law enforcement and the RCMP to advance a joint response to extortion cases.

In fact, one of the few parties that have not been willing to collaborate is that of the sponsor of today's motion. Instead, they prefer to mislead Canadians by mis-characterizing our justice system. For instance, this motion calls to bar non-citizens convicted of serious crimes from making refugee claims. First of all, Canadians cannot make refugee claims, so it sounds pretty odd.

Serious criminality is already grounds for inadmissibility for claims to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Asylum claims do not and will not prevent criminals from being punished to the fullest extent of the law. The minute the CBSA suspects someone of serious criminality, like extortion or firearms offences, it suspends their refugee claim. Everyone other than the Conservatives knows a person cannot claim asylum if they are being investigated for serious criminality.

While Conservatives continue to rely on slogans and ideological proposals, our government is delivering thoughtful, targeted reforms to strengthen public safety and protect Canadians. We have announced millions in funding through Canada's border plan for the creation of regional integrated drug enforcement teams, which will bring together law and border enforcement resources from multiple agencies and jurisdictions to fight organized drug crime and combat extortion. We have announced additional funding to help bolster the work of local law enforcement to combat extortion, support and provide services to victims and build on efforts already under way through local police task forces in Peel Region and in British Columbia.

The CBSA is committed to supporting the task force through the removal of inadmissible foreign nationals involved in extortion and other serious criminal offences.

Further, because we know that preventing crime in the long term means targeting its roots, we have allocated $390 million over five years to support provinces and territories with prevention programs and law enforcement activities through the initiative to take action against gun and gang violence. Our government is also providing $250 million through the building safer communities fund directly to municipalities and indigenous communities to bolster gang prevention programming and counter the social conditions that lead to criminality.

These actions build on the national coordination and support team, which was established by the RCMP in February 2024 as a nationwide alliance supporting police and helping to coordinate and advance extortion investigations across Canada. Through the national coordination and support team, the RCMP is working with police departments across Canada and internationally to address extortion and violent incidences.

In response to the call for more federal resources to address the extortion situation in Surrey, the RCMP is providing 20 additional federal officers and helicopter resources to strengthen local operational capacity. As I have made clear, we are collaborating across all levels of jurisdiction to combat extortion and help those who have been affected. We are also investing in an additional 1,000 new RCMP and 1,000 new CBSA personnel. This funding comes from budget 2025, which commits over $1.8 billion over four years to strengthen federal law enforcement.

To ensure that members in our communities feel safe, we have introduced legislation; made significant federal investments in enhancing federal law enforcement capacity, directly supporting provincial and locally led efforts; and continued to meet with affected communities. We are using all our tools to crack down on crime and protect our communities.

I would like to take this time to recognize the tireless work that our officers in the RCMP and CBSA do each and every day. If someone receives threats, we urge them not to comply with demands and to report the incident to their local police of jurisdiction. All of us have a right to live and work free of threats and intimidation. We will continue to work together with all levels of government and law enforcement to ensure that all Canadians have safe communities in which to live, work and raise their families.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I will start by thanking the secretary for coming to Winnipeg and addressing a number of concerns, concerns he is addressing here today, by meeting with different stakeholders. I was really impressed with the manner in which he alleviated a great deal of concern.

I think a lot of that concern comes out of misinformation that comes from the Conservative Party as it tries to give a false impression that the government is not doing anything. The reality is that the Conservative Party of Canada has been filibustering crime legislation that would have helped with issues such as extortion.

Can the member provide his thoughts on the crime package that we currently have? If the Conservatives would stop the filibustering, we would be able to do more.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I was able to go to Winnipeg to speak to people who have been victims of extortion or who are getting threats.

Let me be clear that, if Bill C-2 had passed, if we had legislation on lawful access, we would not have police and prosecution departments working four to six months to get production orders to find out the source of a threatening call. If we were prioritizing that rather than making slogans and having opposition day motions like we are today, we would have a tool the police could immediately use to find out, when someone gets a threatening extortion call, who is making that call. Then the next level of action could be taken to wiretap, surveil or do other things.

When we have legislation that was created so far in the past that it predates cellphones, we need to modernize it to this date and time so we can capture those who are extorting our vulnerable citizens.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I always find it ironic when we hear the Liberals talking about crime, crime rates and things like that. They have had 10 years in government, and if we look at any of the trend lines, they show that, once the Liberals got into power, crime started increasing. When Conservatives were in power, crime was decreasing.

Will the hon. member at least acknowledge that the Liberals have been the cause of the rise of crime in Canada?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the funny thing is that, in modernizing our legal system, most of the legislation we have had to deal with is because of the violations of the previous government. The Supreme Court gave ruling after ruling saying that all the legislation the Conservatives passed was invalid, was not just and does not comply with our charter. Over the last 10 years, we have been fixing all the Conservatives' errors.

Crime is actually on the decline in Canada. I think major serious crime is on the decline. The Liberal government will continue to work hard to address the root causes and make Canada a safer, more compliant place, where our citizens can live freely, free of crime and free of threats of extortion.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in several European countries, the standard is to process asylum claims within three or four months. Here, it takes four or five years, sometimes longer. In my colleague's opinion, what are the consequences of such long wait times? It is also a humanitarian issue.

Should we not try to reduce these wait times?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I think the delays, in the criminal aspect, have zero weight, because immediately upon the suspicion that someone is involved in criminal activity, the asylum proceedings suspend. The CBSA will not pursue those. The CBSA goes through the claimant's criminal actions, so it does not affect it.

When it comes to anybody who has been living over a year in Canada, under the new bill, if it passes the Senate, comes back here and we expeditiously pass it, they would be ineligible for asylum. That would reduce the timelines in general, but when it comes to anybody involved in serious criminality, the asylum process would not be a hindrance to their criminal trial. It gets suspended. Once their sentencing is done, they would be deported as needed.

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

Mr. Speaker, the member mentions a very important point. We need to pass Bill C-2 to catch the criminals so that they can face penalties. The Conservatives seem to misrepresent, because in this country we have a maximum penalty of 25 years and minimum sentences for firearms and organized crime.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we need to pass Bill C-2 immediately so that we can give the tools to our law enforcement to catch the extortionists, who are violating our homes and our communities. I urge, on a non-partisan basis, all parties to please enforce this and pass this bill.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Gateway, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Battle River—Crowfoot.

Canada is facing a crisis that begins at our borders and ends up in our communities. Criminals have been emboldened by weak Liberal policies, and non-citizen criminals have been able to exploit our asylum system. Some of these criminals are now exploiting the refugee system, and those with false claims are remaining in Canada.

At the same time, extortion has exploded 330% since the Liberals were elected. Families and small businesses in places such as Brampton, my hometown of Edmonton, Surrey, Vancouver and Calgary are living in fear. Many of them are actually contemplating leaving this country.

Violent crime is at the highest level we have ever seen in Canada. In British Columbia alone, extortion is up nearly 500%. This is happening right across the country and in plain sight. In fact, these criminals are filming themselves shooting at houses, creating videos and posting them. When non-citizen criminals are caught committing serious crimes, including extortion, many of them file false asylum claims, which delay deportation and provide more lenient sentencing. In fact, under the Liberal government's catch-and-release bail laws, many are put right back on the streets, where they are free to reoffend.

Despite many Conservative proposals on both issues of broken immigration and soaring crime, the government continues to make things worse by letting unvetted criminals into our country, and then allowing them to stay as they exploit asylum loopholes. The government is also refusing to enforce tough penalties for serious crimes. No wonder crime is out of control and victims are the ones paying the price.

Just last week, the Premier of British Columbia expressed deep frustration with Canada's immigration laws as they pertain to non-citizens committing serious crimes and subsequently making asylum claims. He asked for our laws to be changed and called the abuse of our system “ludicrous”. Ten years of weak Liberal laws have allowed serious dangerous criminals, many of whom should never have been in Canada in the first place, to gain a foothold and terrorize our communities.

What is happening today with foreign gangs and criminals across this country is a symptom of two deep structural failures caused by the Liberal government. First, foreign criminals have learned that Canada's asylum system is porous and easily manipulated and second, weak Liberal laws have made our system unable to keep criminals in jail or deport non-citizen offenders. These two failures are driving up crime almost everywhere across the country.

On top of this, the Liberals stopped performing criminal record checks on immigrants, allowing people with criminal pasts to come here and continue their criminal careers. Before the summer, I asked the government what it was doing to protect Canadians. The answer was that it is going to hire 1,000 new RCMP officers. In the fall, we asked how many of them had been hired. Those RCMP officers have not yet been hired.

Weak legislation on crime, which does not even keep the worst criminals in jail, as well as Canada's asylum system, which has become a shield for foreign gangs and criminals, continue to spread crime and disorder throughout our streets without an end in sight.

Conservatives have put forward real solutions. On extortion, I introduced my private member's bill, Bill C-381, the protection against extortion act, that would have restored mandatory jail time. The Liberal government voted against it.

On asylum abuse, we warned the government years ago that criminals were exploiting gaps in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and in November, the Conservatives proposed an amendment to Bill C-12 to bar non-citizens convicted of serious crimes in Canada from making refugee claims. This was a common-sense proposal that would have prevented the abuse of our asylum system and stopped non-citizens from using refugee claims as a tactic to delay deportation after committing serious crimes. The Liberals rejected it at committee.

The Premier of British Columbia has said that Canada's immigration laws must change, and he is right. Conservatives agree with him that non-citizens convicted of serious crimes should not be allowed to file asylum claims. We also agree that Canada must bar non-citizens with active judicial proceedings for serious crimes from making refugee claims. This would stop those who believe they can commit serious crimes and avoid deportation by abusing Canada's asylum system.

Furthermore, the practice of judges granting leniency at sentencing to help non-citizens avoid deportation must end. Too many individuals convicted of serious crimes have benefited from this practice at the expense of victims and public safety.

Conservatives attempted to make these changes by amending Bill C-14, but Liberal members voted it down. That is why the member for Calgary Nose Hill introduced Bill C-220, which is a simple one-line change to the Criminal Code to end this practice once and for all. The bill will be up for a vote in a few weeks, and we hope the Liberal government will support the Conservatives with this bill.

The Liberal government has failed repeatedly. Its members voted against Conservative motions to end loopholes for false refugee claims. They voted against tougher sentencing for extortion in my bill, Bill C-381. They have refused to repeal Bill C-5 and Bill C-75, which created Canada's revolving-door justice system. They have now rejected our common-sense amendment to Bill C-12 to bar non-citizens convicted of serious crimes in Canada from making refugee claims.

Conservatives are calling on the government to stop blocking justice and to bar non-citizens convicted of serious crimes from making refugee claims. We also must bar non-citizens with active judicial proceedings for serious crimes from making refugee claims and end the practice of sentencing leniency designed to help non-citizens avoid deportation.

There are overdue, crucial changes to Canada's immigration system and asylum laws that would finally close loopholes and prevent serious offenders from using Canada's immigration system to their advantage.

Canadians deserve to feel safe in their communities. They deserve a government willing to stand up for victims, not criminals, and they deserve a federal government that will finally fix the asylum and immigration failures at the core of this crisis. Conservatives have the common-sense solutions. We are ready to work with the Liberals to expedite legislation that will deliver these long overdue changes and restore safety to Canadian neighbourhoods.

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

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to correct a falsehood, that we stopped criminal background checks. That is completely false. We did not stop any type of background criminal checks from being done.

Second, would the member agree that this motion is completely moot because of Bill C-12? Anyone who has been convicted of a serious crime and who has been in this country for over a year would be ineligible to apply for asylum with Bill C-12. They would not be able to make the claim.

It is the Conservatives who have stalled that bill. That was a provision in Bill C-2, which we tabled in the House back in June, and they did not allow it to progress through the House. Also, anyone who comes in irregularly through our ports of entry would, after only 14 days, not be able to apply for asylum.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Gateway, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Liberals like to, first of all, believe that crime is down, which is false. The other thing is that after 10 years of bringing forward soft-on-crime Liberal policies that created this mess, that made it easier to get bail and reduced sentencing for serious violent criminals, they are trying to blame us now for stalling legislation. The fact of the matter is that 19 times we tried to debate those bills to be able to vote on them in the House of Commons and they blocked it. We are ready to work with the government to protect Canadians. Will the government work with us?

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more with my hon. colleague that it is Liberal failures that have brought us this increase in crime rates across this country. The extortion that the member talked about right off the top is a thing I never heard about when I was growing up. I wonder if my hon. colleague has another story he can share about the extortion happening in Edmonton.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Gateway, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there are so many stories from across the country, and I have met so many of these victims, from Brampton, Surrey, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and right across the country. I have heard from business owners, many of whom say they came to this country to build a better life for themselves and their families but now are actually thinking about leaving this country because they do not feel safe. I have talked to kids who say they have not been able to go to school because their family is under threat; their family is hiding. Obviously it has a very, very serious effect on children as well. I have talked to families who are now living in their basement. They do not live upstairs because the upstairs might get shot at, so for weeks and months now, they have been living in their basement because their lives are under threat. Many of these families are in hotels. This has completely uprooted Canadian families, and unfortunately, the Liberals have yet to take real action on this.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have brought forward a tough-on-crime agenda, including six different bills. The Conservatives have been stalling all of those bills. They would like Canadians to believe that because someone has applied for asylum, they are going to get it, which is completely false. None of those criminals will be allowed to stay in Canada.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Gateway, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is completely false. We have brought forward legislation to stop this extortion threat. A couple of years ago, I brought forward a private member's bill that would have brought in mandatory minimum sentences for extortion. The Liberals voted against it. My colleague from Oxford brought in the jail not bail act, which we tried to fast-forward, but the Liberals blocked it. We tried to move forward and debate their legislation to strengthen the bail laws, which does not go as far as we would like, but we were still willing to work with them. They blocked it 19 times.

We are willing to work to help Canadians to be safer, but unfortunately, the Liberals have yet to do so.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Edmonton for his great advocacy and work on this file for so many years and for standing up against extortion and all other crime.

Can he point out even one situation where the Liberals have taken action? They like to make all sorts of claims, but is any one of those claims true?