David Lametti

[Ways and Means, June 9th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I have the honour to lay upon the table a notice of ways and means motion to introduce an act to give effect to the self-government treaty recognizing the Whitecap Dakota Nation/Wapaha Ska Dakota Oyate and to make consequential amendments to other acts.

Pursuant to Standing Order 83(2), I request that an order of the day be designated for consideration of the motion of the notice of ways and means.

[Justice, June 9th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I salute the member's empathy and the good place from which the question came.

Our sympathies go out to Cody McConnell and his family and friends for his loss. I tabled in the Senate Bill S-12, whose intention is precisely to preserve and strengthen the sex offender registry. I have undertaken publicly, and I will do it again now, to look at the proposed Noah's law to see if it is in conformity with what we are trying to do and to work with members across the floor to see what we can do.

[Justice, June 1st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, there is no such catch-and-release policy. In fact, what we have done in Bill C-48 is address violent repeat offenders, including with knives, including with bear spray. The Government of Manitoba, as well as indigenous peoples, asked for that provision. We provided that, working with provinces and territories.

We need to work together. The provinces have the administration of the justice system as part of their portfolio, their jurisdiction. We need to work with the provinces, not use meaningless rhetoric to try to debase the problem.

[Justice, June 1st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working with provincial premiers, provincial ministers of justice, provincial ministers of public safety, and police associations across Canada to address questions about bail reform. We have done that. We have tabled Bill C-48, which has the support of provinces and police associations across Canada.

Saskatoon's police service deputy chief said, “It's encouraging to see the voices of the community and the policing community across Canada being heard”. He called it “a good move forward”. It is by working together that we can address complex problems like bail—

[Justice, May 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, serious crimes deserve serious consequences.

What we are doing is implementing criminal law reforms that are based on evidence, not meaningless slogans.

With regard to Bill C-48, the president of the Canadian Police Association, Tom Stamatakis, said that police officers appreciate that the ministers “worked collaboratively with stakeholders and introduced this common-sense legislation that responds to the concerns that our members have raised.”

[Justice, May 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we have introduced Bill C-48 precisely to address violent repeat offenders with weapons, including knives, which was raised by Manitoba and other provinces. We have done that working in collaboration.

Here is what the Saskatoon police Deputy Chief Cam McBride, who I am sure is a friend of the hon. member, said about our new federal bail. He said that it is “a good move forward. It’s encouraging to see the voices of the community and the policing community across Canada are being heard”.

We have the support of the police. We have the support of provinces and territories here. The only person we do not have the support of is the Leader of the Opposition.

[Justice, May 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-48 targets precisely violent repeat offenders with weapons.

We have been working in close collaboration with the provinces since last October in order to not only come up with a bill that is charter-compliant but also listen to concerns raised by police associations, provincial ministers of justice and public safety ministers. We have come up with a bill that addresses that.

Here is what the Canadian Police Association had to say with respect to the bill: “we appreciate that [ministers]...have worked collaboratively with stakeholders and introduced this common-sense legislation that responds to the concerns”.

[Justice, May 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, again, from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police: “We are convinced that the legislative changes put forth in Bill C-48 will go a long way to help eliminate the preventable harm and senseless tragedies attributable to violent and repeat offenders across Canada.”

We heard from provincial justice ministers and public safety ministers that we needed to attack repeat violent offenders with weapons. That is precisely what we are doing. We have done it in consultation with stakeholders. We have worked and listened to police associations across Canada and we have a bill that will strengthen our legislative framework.

[Justice, May 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-75 codified a number of Supreme Court of Canada decisions and did not fundamentally change the law of bail in Canada.

However, listening to provincial premiers, provincial ministers of justice and public safety, and police officers, we have proposed amendments to the bail regime to answer their concerns.

Here is the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police: “We commend the government for acting on the urgency for legislative change and for recognizing that our...amendments were not calling for a complete overhaul of Canada's bail system”.

We are listening and we are getting results.

[Public Safety, May 17th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Mississauga—Lakeshore for his hard work.

We have promised Canadians we would crack down on gun violence. Assault-style firearms have no place in our communities. That is why we are pushing forward with smart policy to get these weapons off our streets, investing in our borders to stop illegal smuggling and investing nearly $400 million to support law enforcement and address guns and gangs.

Yesterday, I introduced a bill that would make it harder to get bail after committing a crime involving a firearm.

What do the Conservatives do? They vote against these measures and they filibuster. We have a plan. They have a record of slashing police budgets and stalling.