Mr. Speaker, in the words of the great Yogi Berra, “It's like déjà vu all over again.” Here we are again, debating a bill that was first introduced by my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George on March 9, 2023.
This is a problem that has been escalating across the country: violence against emergency health care workers, first responders and others. I personally want to thank Senator Housakos and Senator Yussuff for bringing this bill back, because it is an important piece of legislation, one that this Parliament could have approved years ago, if not for delays with respect to prorogation and such. I often get asked, as a former firefighter, what is the one thing I find frustrating about being an MP and a parliamentarian. My answer is, how long it takes for things to happen and how long it takes for decisions to be made.
I can think back to my career and to others I worked with. What if we responded to a house fire, and we sat outside that house fire and said, “You know what? I think we're going to come back next week, after we have a few meetings on how to deal with this situation”? We identify the problems, we mitigate them, we solve them, and then we move on to what will inevitably be the next problem. That is how things work in real life, but around this place, everything gets delayed and obstructed. This is an important piece of legislation, as I said earlier, to protect the health and safety of health care workers and first responders.
One only has to look at the headlines, and I did look at some of them. There are thousands of headlines across this country about assaults that are taking place on health care workers and frontline first responders. On Sunday, May 3, a headline read, “Man, 59, charged after multiple health-care workers sexually assaulted, threatened at Grace Hospital”. Another states, “Charges pending after health-care worker assaulted at Edmonton hospital: 2 patients involved in alleged attack on Christmas Day”.
Another headline states, “In a rare move, two Manitoba hospitals declared unsafe for nurses: Staff describe being punched, kicked, and sexually assaulted. The union is discouraging members from the facilities.” The union is discouraging them and asking them to stay away from their workplace because of the assaults that are going on. Other headlines read, “Teen charged during hospital visit after nurses and police officers allegedly assaulted: The 17-year-old had been brought to the St. Thomas hospital for treatment”, and “Stabbing of health care worker outside [Vancouver General Hospital] the latest in long list of attacks”.
An article entitled “Firefighters say they face increasing rates of violence while on duty” stated the following:
In a survey of over 117 fire departments in Canada, 40 per cent of firefighters have experienced an assault within the last five years, says Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Kelly also...believes incidents of violence are under-reported.
“We had a Toronto firefighter bitten by a patient,” Kelly said in an interview last month. “In Winnipeg, we’ve seen a severe rise; we’ve had 58 reported incidents in Winnipeg this year alone.”
I would suggest that Winnipeg is the epicentre of this violence. “Violence against Winnipeg firefighters escalates” is another headline, as is “3 assaults against first responders in 1 week 'unacceptable,' paramedic chief says”. One story reports, “A Kamloops, B.C., paramedic was assaulted while refuelling her ambulance at a gas station on Sunday evening.” Another headline says, “Brampton man charged after female paramedics sexually assaulted in Peel Region”.
Even CUPE, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, came out and talked about the increasing assaults that are happening on its members. There is a deeply troubling pattern that is underlying many of these incidents: repeat violent offenders cycling endlessly through the justice system.
On September 29, 2024, a Barrie police officer was stabbed while on duty by a violent repeat offender who was on probation at the time of the attack. Over the previous two years, that individual had reportedly been arrested and released 17 times and had more than 100 interactions with Barrie police. Still, despite all those warning signs, an officer was stabbed.
Canadians are increasingly asking themselves very reasonable questions: How many chances does the system have to give someone before innocent people, including first responders, pay the price? How many warning signs must exist before meaningful consequences follow?
It is not the politicians or the bureaucrats who are facing this danger. It is the police officers who answer the calls. It is the paramedics who enter chaotic scenes. It is the nurses working overnight shifts in emergency departments. It is the firefighters responding to dangerous and unpredictable emergencies. They are the ones placed directly in harm's way when the system fails to deal with violent offenders. After 10 years of failed Liberal bail reform, the least the government can do is stand behind the first responders and health care professionals who keep our communities safe despite the cards they have been dealt by it.
Why does Bill S-233 matter? It recognizes a simple and profoundly important principle, that an assault against a first responder or health care professional is not just an assault against an individual but an assault against the people of our communities who rely on them in moments of crisis. These are the people who run toward danger when everyone else is running away. These are the people who arrive at the worst moments in a person's life, such as accidents, overdoses, domestic violence incidents, mental health crises, fires and medical emergencies, in an attempt to restore safety and hope. For that service, they deserve more than just our simple gratitude. They deserve the protection of the law and the clear support of this Parliament.
Bill S-233 sends a message that Canada will not normalize violence against those who dedicate their lives to protecting others. It says clearly and firmly that violence is not part of the job description. The truth is that repeated exposure to violence changes people. It wears them down emotionally. It creates anxiety. It creates fear. It contributes to burnout, trauma and psychological injury. Ultimately, it drives people out of the professions our country desperately needs them in. Across Canada, we are already facing a shortage of nurses, paramedics, firefighters and police officers. We cannot afford to create working conditions where the people we rely on the most feel abandoned, unsupported and unsafe.
Bill S-233 matters because laws do more than punish conduct after the fact. They also reflect the values of our nation. This legislation says clearly that Canada values and respects those who protect, rescue, heal and care for others. It says that when a person assaults a first responder or health care worker, the justice system must recognize the heightened seriousness of that offence. Most importantly, it says to every frontline worker in this country that Parliament sees what they are enduring, recognizes the sacrifices they make and will not accept violence against them as simply part of the job.
I started off by saying that this is like déjà vu all over again. On March 9, 2023, the member for Cariboo—Prince George put this bill on the table, but because of prorogation it fell off. We are back at it again because of a Senate bill. I appreciate Senators Yussuff and Housakos for bringing this back.
This is a cascading problem happening right across the country. We need to send a message to not just our frontline health care workers but our first responders that Parliament has their backs. This would also act as a deterrent to those who normalize violence against our first responders. I want to thank the member for Cariboo—Prince George for his continued advocacy to ensure the safety of our health care workers and frontline officers.
This is an important piece of legislation. Today, we must make sure we pass it so that our frontline health care workers, paramedics, firefighters and police officers can continue to do their jobs in safety across communities in this country. We must stand with them.
