House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 42% of the vote.
Public Services and Procurement October 26th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, what is being raised by the member opposite is being addressed by the RCMP. As I have said before in the House, we trust our law enforcement professionals to do their work and to do it independently. We will not be participating in, or commenting on, their investigation. We know that it has been referred to them. Our professionals in our law enforcement system will do the work necessary to come to a conclusion.
Public Services and Procurement October 26th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, misconduct of any kind in a procurement process is never acceptable. We are aware of the RCMP's ongoing investigation into those very serious allegations.
To protect the integrity of that investigation and the work the RCMP does, we will not be able to provide any further comment.
Democratic Institutions October 23rd, 2023
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that question, but I also appreciate who it is coming from. The member opposite is somebody I have worked with in the past on the justice committee, somebody who knows the criminal justice system in this country and the difference between political operations and policing operations. There is a bright line in a democracy between those two things. In a democracy, we do not instruct police officers how to do their job.
The RCMP conducted an independent investigation and concluded there was no further investigation merited. We trust the RCMP in this country to do their jobs independently. I wish my colleague opposite would do the same.
Justice October 17th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, the mental health of Canadians is a fundamental priority for me and everyone in this chamber. The issue of MAID is a deeply personal and complex choice. It involves balancing the protection of the vulnerable, as well as the autonomy and freedom of choice of individuals. Those decisions always need to be made commensurate with the charter protections that exist.
This is why we need to be vigilant in terms of ensuring our decisions are informed by evidence and expertise. Our government is moving to restrike the joint committee of parliamentarians to deliver that expertise and advice. I hope the official opposition can support us in that endeavour.
Public Services and Procurement October 5th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, as this is my first day rising in the chamber with you in the chair, I want to congratulate you sincerely on your appointment.
Misconduct of any kind in procurement processes is never acceptable. We are aware of the RCMP's ongoing investigation into these serious allegations. To protect the integrity of the investigation, we will not be providing any further comment at this time.
Justice October 5th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, what happened over the past 10 days in the House of Commons was completely unacceptable and embarrassing for all of us. The former Speaker of the House accepted full responsibility and resigned, which was the honourable thing to do. The Prime Minister apologized in the House.
Our country has a dark history with respect to Nazis in this country, which is particularly hurtful to all Holocaust survivors and particularly to the Jewish community in this country. Senior officials and civil servants are looking carefully at the Deschênes commission report and will be making recommendations soon on the options that are available.
Justice September 26th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking my colleague, the member for Mississauga—Malton, for his important advocacy.
Repeat violent offenders do not belong on our streets; everyone in this chamber agrees on that proposition. As a government, we have a job to do, which is to keep people safe. That is why last week, on the very first day of the House of Commons sitting this fall, we passed our bail reform legislation, our plan for keeping people safe. MPs on that day put politics aside for the safety of Canadians.
I hope the Senate will do the exact same and help make this bill become law. We need safe streets in our country. This bill would help us get there.
Criminal Code September 20th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, this bill was initiated in the Senate and studied extensively over some months and carefully considered in that chamber. That is the first point.
The second point is I absolutely share my colleague opposite's conviction and commitment to eradicating the scourge of sexual offenders in this country in keeping people safe. What is important is this bill helps to do that by maintaining a sex offender registry.
I have a simple question for him. Given we must pass this legislation quickly or else that registry will cease to operate for convictions that occur from October 29 and following, will the member opposite join me in committing to prevent that dangerous outcome and help to get this bill to royal assent before October 29 or is he willing to lose that sex offender registry going forward?
Criminal Code September 20th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's contribution.
I would say that we are enacting what we believe would be the strongest possible regime against sex offenders in compliance with the Supreme Court's direction. It is crucial that victims and survivors of sexual crimes can feel safe and can have confidence in our criminal justice system.
We must pass this legislation quickly. It must receive royal assent before October 28 or else the national sex offender registry would cease to function going forward. Will my colleague opposite join me in supporting this legislation and preventing this dangerous outcome?
Criminal Code September 20th, 2023
Mr. Speaker, I would say a couple of things. What is critically important is understanding that, when we have automatic registration, as we are proposing, for child offenders and repeat offenders, and we also have a rebuttable presumption, we are going to end up with the vast majority of individuals who are sexual offenders maintaining to be registered. That is the first point. That is critical to public safety and to empowering victims.
The second point is a critical one about what happened in Parliament before I was ever elected, and that was that there had been a notion and suggestion coming out of the committee to remove prosecutor's discretion but maintain judicial discretion. That is exactly what we are proposing to do here today in compliance with the Supreme Court of Canada.
As the Attorney General of Canada, my fundamental role is promoting safety, always in compliance with the charter. When the courts give me a directive that says one aspect of our pieces of legislation is not compliant, it is incumbent upon me, on behalf of all Canadians, to ensure that we are enacting new legislation that complies with the charter. This bill would do just that by ensuring that there is judicial discretion guided by important criteria. However, in the main and in the majority of the cases, people will be registered, which is, I think, the important point the member opposite is making.