Debates of Feb. 10th, 2026

Opposition Motion—Serious crimes and refugee claims

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience]

Madam Speaker, as always, my colleague gave a very interesting speech.

The last part, part (d) of the motion, calls for the repeal of Bill C-75, which would essentially put the criminal law back to the state it was in before Bill C-75. Bill C-75 did a number of important things, one of which was to repeal the bawdy house laws and vagrancy laws that led to the mass jailing of gay men in Toronto and Montreal.

Would the member explain to us why the entire Bill C-75 should be repealed, as opposed to only the part on extortion?

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Speaker, my question would be why, as a member of the government caucus, the member supported a bill that protected the rights of LGBTQ Canadians, which I fully support, but also made their lives more difficult by catch-and-releasing criminals who terrorize them. The government often makes these false dichotomies, where we have to sacrifice common-sense civil liberties or protections that protect victims in order to protect one group of people. I do not buy that, and the member opposite should not either.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today on this motion we put forward in the House.

I have had the privilege of travelling to Rwanda multiple times. It is a beautiful country. When I say I am going to Rwanda or have been to Rwanda, people look at me with shock on their faces, because they have an image of a country that was rocked by genocide 32 years ago, which it was. It was a tragic thing, but the country has been rebuilt. It is a beautiful country, hilly and tropical. The fruit there is amazing, and so are the people. It is now a very safe country that is well developed. There are roads and buildings. They have a beautiful soccer centre and a basketball centre. It is an amazing place. They had the cycling UCI Road World Championships there last year, which was the first time ever in an African country.

When I talk to Rwandans about what it is like in Canada, they do not believe me. The conversations are quite interesting. I talk about things like homelessness and how we can see homeless people in any major city, tent cities, people cooking on fires in our cities in Canada. When I tell that to people in Rwanda, they do not believe me. I talk about the drug use we see in our cities, the fentanyl use, people literally dying on our streets and the way our government actually supports that by providing tools and facilitating the use of drugs and in some cases giving hard drugs to people. They cannot believe that. One certainly does not see that on the streets of Kigali in Rwanda.

The obvious consequence of these things is that crime has increased since 2015 in Canada. Violent crime is up 55%, firearms crime is up 130%, extortion has skyrocketed and is up 330% across the country, sexual assaults are up 76%, and homicides are up 29%. This is the result of some of the changes that the Liberal government has made. It is hard to imagine that when one is sitting in a country like Rwanda. We have a perception that it should be a problem in Rwanda, but it is actually a problem here, not there.

Then I tell Rwandans that police are increasingly powerless. Any of us who have talked to police officers will hear every time that they got into policing to catch the bad guy and put him in jail. They are increasingly frustrated that they cannot do that because courts are releasing the bad guy. It is frustrating police officers to the point that they do not even bother to arrest some people for crimes now because it just does not matter.

Why is this happening? It is partly because of Bill C-5, which took away mandatory minimums. It allowed judges the freedom to give lesser sentences, which has happened across the board, and not for little things; it is for serious things such as gun trafficking, robbery with a firearm and drug trafficking. These kinds of offences are now not subject to mandatory minimums, and judges are free to give whatever lenient sentence they may choose.

Bill C-75 was a big expansion of bail. It was the bill that not allowed but actually required judges to consider the least possible thing they could do to a criminal. There is a thing called “the principle of restraint” that was introduced in the bill, for police and courts to ensure that release at the earliest opportunity is favoured over detention. It forces our criminal justice system to release criminals at the earliest possible opportunity. This is how we arrived at the revolving-door bail situation, where people are arrested and end up back out on the streets.

These are the things that have been done by the government that have caused crime to increase in our country and light sentences to prevail. The consequences of crime are gone. We have completely lost control of crime in our country. When I say these things to a person from Rwanda, they are shocked. This is not the view of Canada that they have, but it is the true Canada that we do have.

On the immigration side, we have to remember that somebody who is not a citizen of Canada showing up at our borders does not have the right to become Canadian. Canadians are the ones who decide who can become Canadian. Canadians are the ones who decide that we should allow certain people to come into our country and in certain quantities. Those are our decisions to make. They are no one else's.

For many years, Canada had a consensus on immigration. If someone is not an indigenous person, then they quite likely have an immigrant in their background somewhere. My grandparents came here 100 years ago, so I am the product of immigration to this country, as are most of us here who are not indigenous people. Canadians were happy and comfortable with that. We had a system that picked the brightest and the best people because that is what benefited Canada the most. If one talks to an economist, they will say that we should be selecting people who have the potential to earn higher-than-average incomes in our country to bring all of us up as a country.

This worked well, but we also left room to help those in need. We all recognize that there are refugees who come to our country, and we need to help those people too. This system worked, and immigrants would be the first to say that.

Then the Liberals completely lost control. They allowed in way too many people, and we have seen the impacts of that on our housing, our jobs and our health care. Trying to buy a house is expensive. Trying to pay rent is expensive. Jobs are hard to find. Our unemployment rate for youth is very high.

It has overwhelmed our system. Sometimes people forget about this, but we have a system in our country that was designed to process tens of thousands of people a year. It has now been dealing with millions of people a year, and it cannot keep up with that volume. Something like security screening, for example, is woefully inadequate and behind. As a result, someone can sneak into our country as a criminal and we probably will not catch it. This is a sad thing to say, but it is the reality. We see it every day.

We also have low-wage people coming into the country, which suppresses wages. It gives employers an opportunity to have a temporary foreign worker they can pay a low amount of money to, so Canadians do not have jobs. This is why we have such high unemployment among the youth in our country. Those same youth are faced with high rents while not having a job. They cannot find a place to live.

At the same time as that, we are letting in criminals, as I said, because we cannot really screen properly. We have, for example, IRGC members from Iran here in Canada, who have been able to come here, launder their money and have a pretty good life, and they should not be able to do that. We have scam artists who are taking advantage of the immigration system.

Let us remember that immigrants are not the criminals here. Immigrants are not the problem. There is a very small fraction of people who are the problem, but when we have a system we can take advantage of, bad things happen.

This leads me to the unholy marriage of an out-of-control crime system with an out-of-control immigration system. This is where we find ourselves. We talk a lot about immigration, and some of my constituents do not necessarily have experience with this, so I want to read this because it is shocking. This is an example of an extortion letter. It says:

WARNING...we are...gang members, we want our share from your busineses like protection money. as you seen on news on November...two shotting on houses...were targeted because we asked them [little] money they...denied.... We want...peacefully from you this amount if you...do...business here in abbotsford—

This is in Abbotsford.

—you have no other way...please make sure do not contact...POLICE....

We asking only 2 million...in cash...here or we might get...INDIA we have links all over do not ignore us, it will efect you realy bad. we will contact you next month we gave you 1 month to decide....

This an example of an extortion letter that people are getting, and it is not just one. There were 36 incidents like that in Surrey in the month of January alone. There was a situation on January 19 where a business received a message like that, and their place was shot up overnight. People do not necessarily even report these things. Also in Surrey, there were 15 suspects of this type of crime who were arrested by the police, and they immediately claimed asylum.

This a problem in our system. The asylum system is broken. There are 300,000 people in our asylum queue right now waiting for a hearing. That is the size of Saskatoon. The equivalent of the entire city of Saskatoon is currently waiting for nearly four years, which is how long it is going to take to process them. Because our system cannot process them, 100,000 of those people are simply waiting for security clearance.

This why NDP Premier David Eby from British Columbia called the situation “ludicrous”. He said that something had to change, that something has to be different. We proposed these changes. My colleague from Calgary Nose Hill proposed a change like this to Bill C-12 that would have barred asylum claims from people who are convicted of a crime. Premier Eby actually wants to go further by barring people from claiming asylum if they are in a judicial process for a serious crime. We think that is a good idea. We want to partner with the House to make that kind of thing happen.

Let us remember that Bill C-5 removed mandatory minimums for extortion with a handgun. There are also sentencing discounts, which allow judges to reduce sentences. There are multiple examples of this. It happens all the time. We need to fix this by undoing Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 so that there are true consequences. The member for Oxford brought in Bill C-242, which is the jail not bail act.

We need to fix Bill C-12, as I just described, but we also need to implement Bill C-220, which is from the member for Calgary Nose Hill. It would forbid judges from giving sentencing discounts where it impacts deportation. Criminals who are convicted of a crime greater than six months are subject to deportation, so judges are giving them sentences of less than six months so they are not subject to deportation.

We need to fix this. Something is wrong in Canada. We have to get crime and immigration back under control. The motion today would do that. For the benefit of Canadians, all Canadians, especially young ones, we need to do this today.

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

Madam Speaker, the good news is that this new government has a tough-on-crime agenda. The Conservatives are good at giving salacious speeches, but they have been obstructing any of our measures that we have put forward to be able to handle these types of issues.

Once again, we brought Bill C-2 back in June of last year, June 2025. Had we passed that bill, the people who had claimed asylum in that Surrey case would not have been able to do so. I have good news, because that bill was split and is now at the Senate. Retroactively, when passed, those cases will be ineligible. They will get cancelled. That is the good news. That is the work we can do together when the Conservatives stop obstructing.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Speaker, the bad news is that a significant minister of our country is very confused about her own legislation. It is Bill C-12 that is doing this. We were actually very co-operative with the government on the bill. We wanted to see it passed. We supplied many good suggestions and many good amendments, some of which were adopted. Most were not, as I described in my speech.

This is what we have been doing to help the House, to get good legislation passed, so that we can protect Canadians from things like this. That is what we want to do, and that is what we will continue to do.

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

Madam Speaker, as I said earlier, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act already stipulates that, if a refugee claimant has committed an offence, whether in Canada or abroad, they may be deemed inadmissible to Canada.

However, if everyone with a criminal record abroad is systematically banned from entering the country, what would happen to prisoners of conscience, like Raif Badawi?

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Speaker, there are a lot of very specific cases that can be cited, and that is why we have the system that we have. We have to make sure, though, that we are also able to deal with those people who do commit serious crimes in our country. It needs to be very clear that the system cannot be abused. That is what is happening today. People are taking a system that had a very legitimate purpose and are abusing it.

The government has done nothing to fix that. It did not even recognize that it was a problem until very recently. It has allowed the queue to grow to 300,000 people, four years' worth of work, before it finally decided to do something. That is why we need to fix this. We need to make sure that this cannot be done again.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Madam Speaker, Conservatives had two objectives when introducing amendments to Bill C-12. One was to truly fix Canada's broken asylum system, and the second was to strengthen Canada's border security.

Can the member please tell us here in this place why the Liberals were so opposed to our very reasonable amendments?

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Speaker, that is the million-dollar question.

There is partisanship in this place. It is alive and well today. When we propose something that is good and constructive, it gets rejected. That is the mode of operating of the Liberal government. We want to see this country work. We want to see legislation that affects people in a positive way passed. We want to be helpful. We want to do what we can. That is why we are proposing amendments that we think are good amendments that everybody can agree with.

The problem is that the other side, the Liberal side, tends to say that, just because it came from us, it is a bad idea and therefore they are not going to support it. That happened multiple times on Bill C-12. I mentioned the example of barring criminals from claiming asylum, which is a great example of that. That is why we need to—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Brampton South.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Madam Speaker, I was listening to the member's speech when he was talking about extortion. He says that we need to fix this. This government has a big legislative agenda with six bills to fix this. If the member is serious about extortion, why is he stopping Bill C-14, which would create reverse-onus bail for violent extortion, require consecutive sentences and strengthen the bail system?

Why is there obstruction? Will that member join us to pass the bill?

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Speaker, I am actually very excited to hear about all the co-operation from the Liberal side to allow things that we want to do to come through the House. We are excited to propose good amendments. We are excited to work with the government on legislation that works for Canadians.

We will be helpful. We are doing our best to get good legislation. We are not going to pass bad legislation. The Liberals are not going to trick us into passing something bad, but we are very much ready to help good legislation get through the House for Canadians' benefit.

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

Madam Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to lend my voice to the debate. I wish to assure Canadians today that our government is committed to protecting their safety and security and ensuring that all communities remain safe and free from violence. Bill C-12, the strengthening Canada's immigration system and borders act, includes measures that would expand Canada's law enforcement tool kit to combat transnational organized crime. It is the culprit.

Under this legislation, we would expand the CBSA's authority to access warehouses and export staging zones to identify and disrupt the movement of stolen vehicles and illicit commodities before they leave our shores. This provision would be game-changing. CBSA would be able to go into these warehouses to stop the export of items, whether they are drugs or autos, that are being exported out of our country and threatening the safety of Canadians. This is a good bill.

We would cut off the flow of fentanyl into our communities by accelerating the scheduling pathway under this bill for precursor chemicals. We would also crack down on money laundering by increasing the monetary penalties for anti-money laundering violations, ensuring that non-compliance is no longer just the cost of doing business.

Another critical section of Bill C-12 would establish clear legal authorities for IRCC to share information with provincial law enforcement partners. This means that investigators would be able to confirm the identity and immigration status of individuals in real time, eliminating delays, which previously hindered criminal investigations. This provision would directly correct a lot of the things that I think the Conservatives wish to correct as well. However, we have already done those things in our legislation, which is why I ask that they stop obstructing and allow this legislation to progress.

While Bill C-12 carries forward urgent priorities, Bill C-2, the strong borders act, would continue to advance critical tools to further secure borders. This would include measures to further facilitate law enforcement's access to basic subscriber information. In cases of extortion, this is critical.

Without the measures in Bill C-2, which were proposed and tabled in the House back in June, this is very difficult. We are basically tying the hands of our law enforcement officers if we do not give them these lawful access measures. This would not only help in extortion cases but also help in child pedophile cases, and I do not know why the Conservatives are against that. It would also enable Canada Post to perform warranted searches of mail to stop the circulation of fentanyl and other contraband, which is an issue that is of grave concern in Canada.

Finally, we are addressing the revolving door of justice through Bill C-14. This legislation contains changes designed to keep repeat violent offenders off our streets. The proposed legislation would expand reverse-onus rules for violent and repeat offenders, limit bail releases and mandate stricter public safety considerations. It would also impose tougher sentencing provisions for crimes such as motor vehicle theft, break and enter and extortion.

With respect to the crime of extortion in particular, Bill C-14 is a game-changer. Not only would it impose tougher sentences for this crime, but it would also mandate consecutive sentences for extortion when it is committed alongside arson or with a firearm. Our government introduced these bills to crack down on crime, protect Canadians and increase public safety.

The Government of Canada is aware of the growing concerns related to the growing crime of extortion and is deeply concerned about Canadians who are victims, as am I. We agree that the recent increase in the numbers and severity of extortion attempts are alarming. That is why we are committed to protecting the safety of Canadians and Canadian interests from all criminal threats, including extortion-related acts of violence. Whether this is through physical threats, coercion or blackmail, extortionists seek to profit at the expense of others' livelihoods, safety and well-being. It is a crime that involves using threats, accusations or violence to coerce someone into surrendering something against their will.

Extortion is not just a financial crime; it is a direct assault on the peace of mind of our citizens. We have seen a surge in extortion incidents targeting families and small businesses, particularly in the South Asian community, of which I am a part. This is an issue that is deeply concerning to me, not only as the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime, but also on a personal level. As the member of Parliament for Brampton North—Caledon, I have personally witnessed the impacts of extortion on people's lives. They can be very scary and devastating.

In addition to our proposed suite of legislative changes, our government is moving to target extortion on a number of other fronts. The RCMP's national coordination and support team, which our federal government put in place, recognizing the seriousness of this issue, was started back in February 2024, when the crime was starting to surge. This support team supports investigations into extortion and intimidation tied to organized crime, working closely with police across Canada and international partners as well. The NCST serves to expand the reach and impact of police agencies by facilitating information and intelligence sharing between law enforcement agencies, and by providing tools, techniques, best practices and other resources to advance investigations led by the police of jurisdiction.

Across Canada, law enforcement agencies have applied significant resources to this issue. The Peel Regional Police established the extortion investigative task force. The Calgary Police Service stood up a South Asian extortion working group. In B.C., the province and municipal police forces have mobilized to stand up the B.C. extortion task force.

In B.C., the extortion task force, led by the RCMP, brings together the CBSA, the CFSEU‑BC, the Delta Police Department, the Metro Vancouver Transit Police, the Abbotsford Police Department and the Surrey Police Service. By combining expertise and intelligence, these agencies are expanding capacity, strengthening coordination and driving a unified response to dismantle organized crime networks and protect communities. To bolster enforcement, the B.C. RCMP has added resources to the task force, while the CBSA has opened investigations into foreign nationals who may be inadmissible, and it has already removed individuals from Canada.

RCMP surge resources continue to be deployed strategically, using an intelligence-led approach to support local police agencies. This evidence-led increase in police resources has ensured that additional tactical resources have more presence in identified areas.

As of January 17, 2026, the task force has taken conduct of 32 files from jurisdictions across the Lower Mainland. Investigators are analyzing physical, digital and forensic evidence to establish linkages and advance investigations toward enforcement into identified cluster groups. The task force has obtained almost 100 judicial authorizations and executed multiple search warrants across the Lower Mainland, in the southeast district, and in Alberta. Investigators have made arrests, conducted searches incidental to those arrests and obtained statements to lawfully secure perishable evidence. To date, task force efforts have resulted in seven individuals being criminally charged. Municipal policing partners have also secured charges in some of their respective investigations, both independently and through joint evidence gathering with the task force.

As of January 20, 2026, in support of this task force, the CBSA Pacific region is investigating 111 foreign nationals who may be inadmissible for immigration and refugee protection-related offences. So far, nine of these individuals have been removed from Canada.

I want to pause right here. This task force I am mentioning is in relation only to B.C. There have been many other arrests in Edmonton, Calgary and the Peel Region. Through the national coordination team and the intelligence provided, I am absolutely certain that we are going to continue to see success.

What is key, and this addresses the opposition motion today head-on, is that we have incorporated the CBSA directly into these task forces. The CBSA's job has been to work with police and process the removal of these individuals, sometimes even before charges are laid, when they are removable. If people are out of status in Canada and are connected to criminality, and the police are able to identify them, we are working efficiently and quickly to remove them from the country so that they do not take up resources and police time, and we are able to dismantle criminal transnational networks. We are putting in every effort and we are thinking outside of the box so that we can tackle these issues in a non-traditional sense.

Beyond that, there are many provisions currently in Bill C-12, like those I have named, which will also help in these cases. They will apply retroactively, once passed through the Senate, and they will no longer allow people who have been in the country for over 12 months to even file a claim for asylum. Those with criminal intentions, who often come between our official ports of entry, through illegal means, will not be allowed to file a claim of asylum after 14 days.

On top of that, I also wish to acknowledge that in this country, if someone has been found criminally liable and convicted on charges, that sheer fact makes them removable. They would be removed. If someone who is a PR or on some other temporary status serves a sentence in Canada today of six months or more, which one would for serious criminality, they are removed from Canada.

The Conservatives are raising sensational issues based on headlines in which the Crowns are also responsible. I would urge that in many cases where Crown attorneys dismiss charges or fail to adequately pursue the charges the police lay, they do it so that these people can then be removed by the CBSA. The system is there to make sure that we can quickly identify these people and remove them so that Canadians are safe.

Making a refugee claim does not exempt lawbreakers from the consequences of their actions. The CBSA continues to aggressively pursue the removal of extortionists attempting to evade justice by abusing Canadians' concern for genuine refugees in need of protection.

I do not want to single out only immigrants in this conversation, which I feel the Conservatives' motion does. They are trying to target immigrants and put them in a bad light, but the system is already there to identify when somebody has been criminally convicted in our country, and we have a process in place to remove them.

I just mentioned that we are also creating other informal processes to remove those who are already removable. In response to B.C.'s January 2026 request for additional federal support to address the acute extortion situation in Surrey, which was recently heard about in the news, our government is providing 20 additional RCMP officers and a helicopter to strengthen local operational capacity.

All of these efforts build on the federal leadership already demonstrated in November 2025, when the Government of Canada convened a trilateral summit in Surrey, B.C. It brought together federal, provincial and municipal leaders, along with law enforcement officials, to coordinate national action on extortion and organized crime. The summit focused on law enforcement, supporting victims and prevention. At its conclusion, federal, provincial and municipal leaders committed to enhancing and strengthening law enforcement capacity, expanding community safety planning and increasing supports for victims and prevention initiatives.

To strengthen Canadian law enforcement's capacity to disrupt organized crime groups that control the illegal drug market in B.C., the Government of Canada, in collaboration with provincial partners, is creating a regional integrated drug enforcement team, backed by a federal investment of $4 million over four years provided through Public Safety. It will bring together law and border enforcement resources from multiple agencies and jurisdictions to fight organized drug crime and combat extortion. To maximize collaboration, participants will co-locate in a centralized hub.

In January, we convened a summit on extortion in Peel, during which we announced another, similar $100 million to help the Peel Regional Police combat extortion, provide support and services to victims and build on the efforts already under way through its police force. This investment is further backed by a federal investment of $4 million to establish a similar drug enforcement team with the Government of Ontario.

Let me be clear: These are not the only resources that are being put into this matter. Provincial governments are responsible for policing their provinces, and they have also put in resources to tackle this issue.

The drug enforcement teams, or RIDETs, are a key part of Canada's $1.3-billion border plan. This is a historic investment. No other government has put this amount into its border plan. This, alongside proposed border security legislation, will support the provinces, territories and municipalities in combatting the illegal fentanyl trade and protecting communities from those who try to evade our border security measures.

As part of our border plan, we are hiring 1,000 new CBSA officers and 1,000 new RCMP personnel to further strengthen our ability to combat threats from organized crime. Extortion is one of those crimes that is organized and transnational in its nature. Investing in and expanding these resources means that we are cracking down on crimes like extortion, money laundering, online fraud and gun smuggling, which have caused havoc in our urban centres.

In addition to our focus on bolstering the capacity of law enforcement, we are making investments in prevention efforts and assistance for victims. To support victims of extortion, the Government of Canada and the B.C. government committed $1 million. The Government of Canada is also providing the Government of B.C. with $500,000 over two years through Justice Canada's victims fund for four additional outreach workers to assist the B.C. extortion task force and local police. These investments address the need for additional victims services and community outreach in Lower Mainland communities, particularly Abbotsford and Surrey. This funding will also support the development and translation of public resources, including web pages and safety planning tools, to improve cultural relevance and accessibility.

Through the crime prevention action fund, we recently announced $1.5 million for the Yo Bro Yo Girl Youth Initiative in Surrey to divert vulnerable youth away from gangs. The crime prevention action fund is a key component of the Government of Canada's initiative to take action against gun and gang violence. It was renewed in 2023 and provides $390.6 million over five years to provinces and territories. The government also launched the building safer communities fund in 2022, which provides $250 million directly to municipalities and indigenous communities to bolster gang prevention.

The reason I am listing all of these things is that they are all interconnected. It is important to understand that. No one fund or plan will solve the problem completely, but as I have been saying, we have a tough-on-crime agenda, we are adding resources, we have drafted legislation and we have tabled it in the House. All we have asked for is support from the Conservative Party of Canada to pass these measures so that we can catch and convict criminals in this country and, when necessary, also remove criminals from this country.

All I would say to the Conservatives is allow the vote, pass the bill and catch the criminals.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke, ON]

Madam Speaker, in 2023, a foreign national attempted to buy sex from an underage girl. However, when he got to the location, it was an undercover officer, who arrested him. When it came time to sentence the individual, he was given a lesser sentence so as not to affect his immigration status.

Do you believe that an individual who commits a serious offence such as this should one day become a Canadian citizen?

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

I would remind the hon. member that I do not believe anything. I am just a carrier of messages.

The hon. secretary of state.

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

Madam Speaker, the answer is absolutely not. Anyone who commits a serious crime in Canada and does not have citizenship is removed if they serve a sentence of six months. Also, during the citizenship process, criminality is a factor, and criminal background checks are asked for, which is another check and balance we have in our system.

The system is in place. However, I would ask that Crown prosecutors pursue these matters and make sure these criminals are convicted and held accountable. There is no federal legislation that says sentencing should be reduced for anybody.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Speaker, you may not believe anything, but I believe in you.

I think there is a major blind spot in the Conservatives' motion when it comes to political prisoners. There are authoritarian regimes in the world that fabricate charges and convict innocent people simply because they oppose a repressive regime. With the Conservative motion before us today, I feel that these people would not even be given a hearing to explain why an authoritarian regime has accused them of very serious crimes.

Is this not a flaw in the motion that would make it impossible for anyone to support?

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

Madam Speaker, yes, it is important that all of these cases are taken case by case. The Conservatives are trying to tarnish the image of immigrants as a whole, which I am against. Today, even if somebody—

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

Madam Speaker, on a point of order, the Standing Orders state that members are not to say anything that would bring the House into disorder—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

Order. Can we listen to the honourable member?

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

Madam Speaker, to say that Conservatives are trying to tarnish all immigrants, as the child of immigrants and somebody who sits with immigrants, that is reprehensible. The member should withdraw the comment.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

This is entering into debate, and this is a debate that is very emotional.

The hon. secretary of state has the floor.

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

Madam Speaker, I am just trying to point out the fact that when we have broad motions like this, which are salacious in nature and trying to rage bait Canadians, it is irresponsible and creates a conversation in our country that is not factual in nature and overlooks a lot of very important concerns. Even today, if a protected person in this country commits a crime, Public Safety Canada and the minister have the ability to issue a danger opinion and remove that person from this country.

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey Newton, BC]

Madam Speaker, extortion has been a key issue in British Columbia. I have been on this file almost every day, talking to the secretary of state, the Minister of Public Safety or even the Prime Minister.

The Conservatives are playing games when it comes to dealing with extortion. I would ask the hon. secretary of state what the Conservatives can do immediately to deal with this situation instead of making it a political football?