Marco Mendicino

[Democratic Institutions, March 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, has said, we take the threat of foreign interference very seriously, which is why we have taken concrete action, like putting in place threat reduction measures for CSIS and cracking down on foreign funding which could interfere with our domestic elections.

With corresponding transparency through the creation of bodies like the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians to ensure that we are up front with Canadians, all members should be united in protecting our elections. They are sacrosanct. Canadians, and Canadians alone, determine them.

[Public Safety, February 16th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I share my hon. colleague's concern, which is one of the reasons why we partnered directly with the City of Toronto, in the form of an announcement of $12 million to address many of the social determinants that he mentioned in his question.

What this means is that local organizations will have a greater capacity to offer mental health services that can help address substance issues, that will provide them with the additional capacity to help people who are at risk, especially young people who need more training when it comes to schooling and careers.

We will continue to work very closely with the City of Toronto and municipalities across the country, so we can stop crime before it starts.

[Public Safety, February 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague will have seen that we are consulting with legal firearms owners. In fact, that is precisely what we have been doing throughout the course of Bill C-21 and will continue to do so, because we know that hunters, trappers and first nations are part of the Canadian social fabric.

More to the point, what we are targeting are those AR-15 style guns that have been used in some of the worst mass-shooting tragedies in this country's history. That is what we are after. We are also going to support the CBSA, which is stopping an increasing number of illegal firearms at our border. That is something that I hope my colleague would support. However, in order to do that, he actually has to vote for those appropriations, and the next time we do that, I hope he will.

[National Defence, February 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I will begin by assuring my colleague and all members in the chamber that Canada has acted and will continue to act swiftly and decisively to protect our safety and our sovereignty. Over the past week, we have seen NORAD doing what it does best, with our two countries working seamlessly together to ensure continental security. We are continuing to monitor the situation. We are conducting recovery operations, and we will take whatever action is necessary.

I do want to take a moment to thank the women and men who serve NORAD to protect Canadians and our sovereignty every day.

[National Defence, February 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, no matter the threat, we have acted and will continue to act swiftly to protect Canada's safety and sovereignty.

Over the past week, we have seen NORAD doing what it does best, our two countries working together seamlessly and transparently to ensure continental security.

We are continuing to monitor the situation, conduct recovery operations and take whatever action is necessary.

I want to take a moment to thank the women and men who serve within NORAD for their service.

[Public Safety, February 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we are doing that work. We are doing that work by introducing a national ban on assault-style rifles, which have been used in some of the worst mass killing shootings in this country's history. We are doing that work with Bill C-21, which would raise maximum sentences for hardened gun traffickers.

What is my colleague doing with regard to that bill? Her and her party have been filibustering it. They should stop doing that. They should study the bill. They should support our policies. They should also support the investments we have provided for law enforcement and for addressing the root causes of crime when it comes to the building safer communities fund. They voted against each and every one of those things. They should reverse course.

[Public Safety, February 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concern, which is precisely why a number of my colleagues and I have been in direct contact with the City of Toronto to make sure it is getting the support it needs when it comes to mental health, homelessness, poverty and other social determinants that lead to crime. We are also providing additional supports for law enforcement.

At each and every critical juncture when the Conservatives have had an opportunity to support these measures, what have they done? They have voted against. If they are serious about protecting our communities, they should support the policies of this government, because that is how we are going to better do that.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, February 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, has already said, we have an agreement and we have principles to protect the rights of refugees. This is a core Canadian value. We often collaborate with the province of Quebec to welcome refugees. It is a good system.

However, we must continue to strengthen our borders to protect the integrity of our immigration system. We will continue to work with the province of Quebec.

[Justice, February 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I assure my colleague and all members in this chamber that we are introducing common-sense policies, like Bill C-75, that allow us to concentrate on the most serious offenders so we can protect our communities.

I would also point out to my Conservative colleagues that this government has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to support law enforcement and to address the root causes of crime so that we can stop it before it starts. What have the Conservatives done? In each of those instances, they have voted against.

If they are serious about taking crime seriously, they should get serious about supporting this government's policies.

[Business of Supply, February 2nd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the short answer is yes. In fact, I have met with battered women's groups and shelters in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. We have met with municipal leadership there. I had the chance to meet with the new mayor. We are looking forward to being able to make, I hope in the not too distant future, some announcements around the building safer communities fund, which speaks to the core of our issue around prevention to address the systemic issues that have far too long plagued our justice system.

We need to ensure that we put an appropriate focus and emphasis on those who have been marginalized: women, members of the 2SLGBTQI community, indigenous peoples, racialized Canadians. That has to be part of this debate, and that is precisely what this government will do. Let us keep all Canadians safe.