Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I have declared intimate partner violence an epidemic, and I was quite clear in doing so in response to the Renfrew County inquest.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I am encouraged by the member's passion for addressing domestic violence; it's got to be a passionate priority for all of us. I am discouraged by the fact that when we introduced legislation that would have things like a red flag law to take a gun away from an abusive spouse, the member voted against it.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the weapons that are being used in terms of violence against women include guns. That is what we have heard at committee. That is why we implemented legislation to freeze handgun sales and to regulate the fact that red flag laws—

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I would say again, because this is an issue that needs to be addressed, that guns and gangs relate to keeping people safe. When that member and her party vote against funding for guns and gangs, they are not keeping Canadians safe, nor Canadian women.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, what I said at that committee, I will say again here: the Lego in my basement is subject to more restrictions than the screens my children are on. That has to change. We need to change the incentivization on social media companies from monetary incentivization to safety incentivization.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I would say that we can start by moving with pace on Bill C-63. It talks about the fact that hate crimes are up 130% over the last five years in this country. We know that the hatred people are exposed to online has real-world consequences. Look no further than the trials of the individuals who were killed at the Quebec City mosque and the trials of the Afzaal family, who were killed in London, Ontario.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, by way of addressing a couple of points on extortion, what I would indicate for the benefit of the House is that we have announced an RCMP national coordination and support team to help coordinate investigations of extortion, and that extortion remains subject to a maximum life imprisonment penalty, which the Supreme Court has indicated demonstrates the seriousness of the offence.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the mandatory minimum penalty to which I am referring is actually larger than what the member just quoted. It is a seven-year mandatory minimum penalty, which is appropriate in those circumstances.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I have a statistic for the period from 2012 to 2021—

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, extortion is on the rise in Canada, and it needs to be addressed.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, with respect to my previous response to the member, who spent a long time in the Crown courts, I would indicate that—

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, my presence could be deemed to be potentially influencing the process, which is why I do not—

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I have indicated that extortion is an issue that needs to be addressed in Canada.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the rise in extortion, largely due to organized criminality, has seen a recent increase.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, there were 7,671 charges completed for extortion—