David Lametti

[Justice, May 15th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I obviously share the hon. member's concern.

Bill C-75 did not fundamentally change the law on bail in Canada. It codified a number of Canada's Supreme Court decisions, and in certain cases with respect to sexual assault made it harder to get bail by adding another reverse onus provision in that particular bill.

We have heard the call with respect to repeat violent offenders. We have heard the call with respect to offences with weapons. We have promised to act. It is a complicated problem, but we are doing it together with the provinces and territories.

[Justice, May 15th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, our sympathies go out to the family in question here. Canadians deserve to feel safe, and we are taking measures, in concert with the provinces and territories, to do just that.

The hon. member will notice that there is something on the Order Paper, and hopefully that bail reform will coming soon.

We have listened and we have worked with our provinces and territories, our provincial and territorial counterparts. We have worked with police associations. We have listened to them, and we have a plan moving forward.

[Democratic Institutions, May 9th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we took concrete steps to address Chinese interference. My colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, took concrete action. We are responding appropriately. All the opposition ever does is whine and complain.

[Justice, May 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve to feel safe and to be safe.

That is precisely why we have been working with the provinces and territories to strengthen the bail system, among other things. We will take action in our areas of jurisdiction, but we will come up with solutions by working together, because these are complex problems. We are working together, and that is exactly what we will do.

I hope to have more news soon.

[Justice, May 3rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Vancouver Granville for his question and his French.

We recently introduced Bill S-12 in the Senate to strengthen the national sex offender registry. Offenders will have to register, unless they can prove that they do not pose a risk to public safety.

Bill S‑12 also gives victims more choice over publication bans by clarifying the process. Some victims want to protect their identity, others want to tell their stories. It is their voice and it should be their choice.

[Public Safety, May 1st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we have long been working with the provinces to strengthen the bail system. I hope that we will see results soon.

I also note that the provinces are themselves in the process of strengthening the administration of their systems. We are seeing that in British Columbia. We are seeing that with the investments being made in Ontario.

Last week, we introduced Bill S‑12, which will strengthen victims rights in cases of sexual assault.

We are working together on problems to improve Canadians' lives.

[Justice, April 27th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said several times, serious crimes deserve serious consequences.

Our government has taken action on several fronts to ensure that victims of sexual assault are treated with dignity and respect.

Yesterday, I tabled in the Senate Bill S‑12, which will strengthen the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and will also give victims more powers. I hope that all parties in the House will support it.

This is in addition to other measures we have introduced such as Bill C‑3 and Bill C‑51, which will protect victims of sexual assault.

[Justice, April 27th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said to the House on numerous occasions, we are working with the provincial and territorial attorneys general on bail reform. I have committed to doing that and tabling it in the House before the end of this session.

We are on track to do that. While I am up, let me tell the hon. members across the way and in the House and Canadians across Canada that yesterday we tabled, in the Senate, our government's response to fixing the sexual offenders registry, parts of which had been struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada.

We have created a presumption in favour of registration, as well as other measures to strengthen the sexual offenders registry.

[Public Safety, April 27th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have a right to feel safe, and they have a right to be safe. That is precisely why we are working with the provinces and territories and with provincial and territorial attorneys general. We are proposing to amend parts of the Criminal Code to strengthen the bail regime and work with the provinces so that they can also better administer the bail regime with adequate resources. We all have to work on this problem together. It is complex, given the structure of Canadian federalism and the assignment of responsibilities, and we are doing just that.

[Public Safety, April 17th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve to feel safe and be safe. We are working with the provinces and territories to reform the bail system. We will work to inject resources into the system to tackle violent crime in our society. Former Supreme Court Justice Michael Moldaver urged us to do more to address the issue of serious crime.