Greg Fergus

[Military Justice System Modernization Act, October 8th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and for his service in the Canadian Armed Forces. I am very grateful to him. I am also very pleased to know that he and his colleagues are going to support this bill. He asked a very sincere question.

I have a question for him too. Does he believe that the current military court system serves the interests of Canadian Armed Forces members who are victims of sexual misconduct, or does he believe that using civilian courts instead is a better option for those individuals?

[Military Justice System Modernization Act, October 8th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for sharing his personal testimony on this bill. I would like to confirm whether I understand correctly that the official opposition intends to support this bill at second reading so that it can be sent to committee for study.

I would also like him to explain what he expects from this study in committee. Can he tell us about one or two amendments that he would like to see made to the bill in committee so that he and his colleagues can support it at third reading?

[Military Justice Modernization Act, October 8th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I am deeply grateful for the support of my colleague from Laurentides—Labelle. She listed the reasons why these sexual offence complaints need to be handled by civilian courts.

She talked about the importance of implementing policies that support military members and veterans who intend to file complaints. Would she be able to elaborate on the type of policy she would like to see proposed when the bill is studied in committee?

[Military Justice Modernization Act, October 8th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Shefford for her very informed speech. She is always very well prepared for all the debates she takes part in.

I am pleased that she mentioned in her speech that the Bloc Québécois supports this bill in principle. As I said, my colleague always backs up what she says in her speeches with facts and figures.

Beyond supporting this bill in principle, does my colleague have any specific proposals for improving it?

[Military Justice System Modernization Act, October 6th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, for many years, Canada has opened the doors for women to be part of the Canadian Armed Forces, but unfortunately, they have not had justice when they faced sexual discrimination or sexual misconduct.

Bill C-11 offers an opportunity to take these particular issues out of the military justice system and into the civilian courts. Can the member talk about why that is an important development and how it would make sure that victims of sexual assault and sexual misconduct have an opportunity to have their case heard fairly?

[Military Justice System Modernization Act, October 6th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I would like my colleague to tell us about the importance of supporting our soldiers overseas on missions outside Canada and, more importantly, of ensuring that our female soldiers can have confidence in the system that determines when there has been a breach of the rules against sexual misconduct in the CAF.

[Military Justice System Modernization Act, October 6th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech. We work together in committee, and because he is a lawyer, I greatly appreciate his thoughts on this bill.

I am very pleased to learn that the Bloc Québécois will support this bill so that we can pass it quickly. I think that is very important.

Toward the end of his speech, my colleague talked about the importance of giving military personnel, especially women, confidence that the system in which they can file a complaint will be neutral and independent of the military process.

I would like my colleague to elaborate on that.

[Public Safety, October 3rd, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, every October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Canada. This initiative aims to educate us all about the importance of good cybersecurity practices.

Can the parliamentary secretary tell us about the steps our government has taken to strengthen the cybersecurity of individuals and businesses in the face of increasingly sophisticated threats?

[Business of Supply, September 23rd, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to see that the official opposition has, for once, asked a question relevant to the debate that we are having today and not backing it on other issues. I thank the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for asking this question.

It goes right back to my speech, which said that the use of the notwithstanding clause is legitimate. The adoption of various laws in different provinces is also very legitimate. We are not contesting that. What we are contesting is whether one should use it in a preventative fashion and keep renewing the use of section 33. The question we are then left with is this: Do those rights exist anymore that were supposed to be guaranteed by the charter?

My reflection would be that, no, effectively it is a backdoor constitutional change that is eliminating rights that people should enjoy. There are opportunities for provincial legislatures and the federal Parliament to take a look at these laws, take a look at the decisions from the courts and try to come up with a compromise that can work this thing out.

[Business of Supply, September 23rd, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question, but I cannot provide a specific answer.

I can say that, in theory, the pre-emptive use and constant re-invocation of the notwithstanding clause raises a problem: It basically denies the fundamental rights of people who need them. We cannot do that, because that would permanently infringe on rights, which amounts to a constitutional amendment through the back door.