House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 42% of the vote.
Public Services and Procurement December 2nd, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about businesses. What have we done for businesses in the past seven or eight days? We have increased the pollution rebate to give businesses that rebate. Just last week, we paused the GST to give all businesses representing all restaurants across Canada a GST holiday.
What did the Leader of the Opposition do? He decided to vote against it. He and his entire caucus voted against efforts to help businesses. That is the Conservative Party of Canada, all right.
Public Safety November 29th, 2024
Madam Speaker, the people who decide to arrest an individual are police. The people who prosecute the bad guys are provincial Crowns. The people who render the decisions are provincially appointed JPs and provincial judges. The jails people run for people to be placed in when they are denied bail are provincial detention centres. All of that relates to the province.
The province needs to do its part and invest in resources for cops, Crowns, JPs and detention centres so we can keep Canadian cities safe.
Public Safety November 29th, 2024
Madam Speaker, with respect to being tough on crime, the critical piece is the administration of justice at the level of the province. I am going to point out what Premier Ford just said. He talked about JPs and provincial court judges, both of whom he appoints. What is illustrated by the member from Nova Scotia is that in his very province, JPs, who decide things like bail, have to have legal training before they are appointed. That is an example of best practice in our federation. That is not the practice in Ontario.
If we are going to improve the quality of the justice being rendered, we need to ensure people like JPs, who are deciding things about serious risks of reoffending, have legal training in Ontario the way they do—
Public Safety November 29th, 2024
Madam Speaker, what we have seen in the last 24 hours in Toronto is completely unacceptable and terrifying to the people in the city that I call home. We need to take action strictly and strongly on exactly what is happening in Toronto.
The federal bail law is very clear. If someone is at serious risk of reoffending, they are not to be given bail. I am going to cite Premier Ford, because his reaction was correct. He said, “It's ridiculous. These JPs and these judges, they have to start keeping people in jail.... We need tough judges and tough JPs when it comes to crime. People are fed up with it.” That includes people in the House. Canadians are fed up with what we are seeing—
The Economy November 29th, 2024
Madam Speaker, Canadians respect principle, but they have challenges with duplicity. I know that member to be a strong advocate for small businesses in this country. I know that because she herself is a small business owner. In the past seven days, we have had the Canada carbon rebate apply to small businesses in the terms of thousands of dollars, which is tremendous. Last night, we had a vote in this chamber about axing a tax that reduces the GST on the small businesses that member defends constantly in this chamber. I just do not understand the duplicity when she cannot find her conscience and vote in favour of a tax that will help businesses in B.C. and right around the country.
Justice November 29th, 2024
Madam Speaker, what I can say about the fight against hate is that we currently have Bill C‑63 on the table here in the House. It deals with aspects of the Criminal Code of Canada relating to hate. For example, if they want a change or amendment to the same sections in the Criminal Code of Canada, there is already a way to do that here in the House.
If they want to co-operate with us to promote this bill, I am quite comfortable co-operating with them.
Justice November 29th, 2024
Madam Speaker, we are well aware of the figures and data concerning the truly alarming rise of hate in our societies, both in Quebec and in the rest of Canada.
We are being asked to take action against hate. I am perfectly willing to work with the member, with the Bloc Québécois and with the Government of Quebec to fight hate.
What we are asking is to break the gridlock in the House, with the help of the Bloc Québécois, and to study this bill and all others in good faith to fight hate.
Justice November 28th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, who often acts as the conscience of this chamber.
I would simply appeal to all parliamentarians: The issue of protecting kids from child sex predators should not be a partisan issue. Getting this bill into committee is of paramount importance for all of us who want to combat online sex predation by people who take vulnerable children and spread revenge porn about them. If we all simply listen to Amanda Todd's mother and Rehtaeh Parsons's mother, we can get behind this bill, get it to committee, get it off to the Senate and protect children. That is what Bill C-63 is about. I hope everyone in this chamber can support it.
Public Safety November 28th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, let us talk about investments.
On this side of the House, we have made investments to protect Canadians, including Quebeckers. We have invested in border services. We have invested in scanners to monitor our borders, particularly at the port of Montreal. Here are the results. Auto theft is down 41% in Quebec. We have taken action to fight crime and protect Canadians.
Public Safety November 25th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate my support for what the Winnipeg police officers do and what every police officer does around this country to keep all of our communities safe. That is the first point.
The second point that I want to reiterate is that we are actually seeing declining numbers of law enforcement officers in municipalities right around the country. I can speak most directly to my own town of Toronto. There are currently 700 fewer officers on the beat in Toronto than there were when the Minister of Defence was the chief of police.
We need to ensure that municipalities and provinces are stepping up to complement the work we are doing with the Criminal Code to keep our communities safe. That means officers, Crowns, JPs and detention facilities.