Marco Mendicino

[Public Safety, June 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, far from being merely an observer, I have been active in advocating for victims' rights, including those of the families of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, because, I hope like all members, I share a great and sympathy compassion for them, given the retraumatization that they have no doubt had to endure.

Contrary to what Conservatives have said, this new instruction is stronger than anything the Conservatives ever did when it came to victims' rights, and if they were so worried about it, then why did they cut $300 million to the Correctional Service of Canada in their last year of government?

We know why. They are all talk and no action.

[Public Safety, June 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, as I have made clear now on a number of occasions, I have taken corrective steps to ensure that briefing protocols are provided in a timely manner, especially when it comes to sensitive decisions involving the transferring of dangerous offenders like Paul Bernardo.

As soon as I found out, I contacted the commissioner to express the concerns of the Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French families. That is precisely what the responsibility of this position is, as well as issuing new instructions to ensure that this kind of things does not happen again.

[Public Safety, June 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the definition of competence is to be a champion for victims' rights. That is exactly how I responded when I was informed, on May 30, of the decision to transfer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security facility.

I will continue to work with the representatives of the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. We have since issued new instructions to ensure that victims' families are informed in advance of any upcoming decisions that will affect them.

[Democratic Institutions, June 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what my colleague, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, is discussing with the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and, I hope, the Conservative Party.

I want to reassure everyone. We have already taken many steps, with new powers, to protect not only democratic institutions, but also Canadians. Budget 2023 will invest in new resources for the RCMP. That is what we have achieved so far. We will keep going.

[Democratic Institutions, June 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure my colleague and all members of the House that the work is already under way with new powers for CSIS, with new transparency mechanisms and, now, with constructive discussions led by my colleague, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, to find the best way to get Canadians involved in protecting our democratic institutions in a strong and transparent manner.

[Public Safety, June 15th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we are getting the job done by making sure that we equip our national security establishment with the tools that it needs to fight foreign interference, by adding resources for the RCMP, which we put into the budget, by raising the bar on transparency through the creation of NSICOP and NSIRA, and by continuing to engage Canadians on this.

That is what we are doing. What the Conservatives are doing is continuing on with an agenda that focuses on partisan attacks. They should stop that and do the work with all members in the chamber so that we can fight against foreign interference and protect our democratic institutions.

[Public Safety, June 15th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we are getting the job done by adding new authorities for our national security establishment, by adding $49 million for the RCMP to protect Canadians from foreign interference, by being on the cusp of introducing a new foreign agent registry—

[Public Safety, June 15th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, with great respect to my colleague, he needs to listen carefully to the RCMP, which has consistently updated Canadians that it is taking action in regard to foreign interference associated with these so-called police stations.

If the Conservatives are serious about fighting foreign interference, they will stop with the partisan attacks. They will support the government's agenda to tackle this issue and do so in a way that is unifying, because we must protect our democratic institutions, and most importantly Canadians, from this phenomenon.

[Public Safety, June 15th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, my hon. colleague does not understand our current laws. These are issues that we need to address. We are prepared to work with all members of the House.

In the meantime, I have issued a new directive to CSC to make sure of one very important thing: I will be briefed directly, and CSC will notify victims when making such decisions in the future.

[Public Safety, June 15th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, that is absolutely not true. I called the representatives of the families of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French to express our government's solidarity and our full support.

In addition, we will now work with CSC to prevent further cases like this from happening. Victims must be notified before such decisions are made. That is the commitment we are making for the future.