Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, when we talk about this system, it is really important to talk about the people who are actually affected by it. I am very grateful for my hon. colleague's question. We all know individuals who have been impacted. Some of them are adults my age and a lot of them are

Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, I cannot help but acknowledge that there is a little inconsistency here, because I recall that during the last federal election campaign and also during nearly a year of debate on the cannabis bill, the member opposite and his party strongly advocated not for legaliz

Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding the insulting remarks by the member opposite, I am happy to answer the question. In Bill C-93 there is already a clear articulation that a cannabis conviction would be subject to expungement, provided it meets certain conditions. If there are other

Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that we have finally met somebody on that side of the House who would actually like to speak about the budget. I point out to the member that in the 2019 budget, $2 million is allocated to support the provisions of Bill C-93. In addition, with respec

Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, it is very clear in Bill C-93 that we speak very specifically to a certain set of offences. On October 17 of last year, legislation came into effect that fulfilled our promise to legalize and strictly regulate the production and distribution of cannabis. We have do

Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to offer a little perspective from my experience. We know that many Canadians have records and have gone through the border. We also know that American authorities and authorities in other countries may have access to information about that historica

Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, the member for New Westminster—Burnaby's question gives me an opportunity to explain that we examined the issue of the best way to deal with these existing records and what would have the greatest benefit to Canadians who have these records. Let me say that the prac

Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, that is a very important question. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify this. With respect to those offences, they were expunged earlier as a result of an acknowledgement that certain criminal charges and the criminal law were in fact unconstitutional and were a

Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for the question. We believe that, overwhelmingly, those individuals who have these criminal records have been impacted by them and that impact is disproportional to these offences. One of the reasons we brought forward the legislation ch

Criminal Records Act  Mr. Speaker, perhaps I can provide a little more specificity. As the member knows, the current pardon system of records suspension, as implemented by the Conservative government, had a very substantial fee of $631 imposed on these applications. We know that for many of the peopl

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to acknowledge the excellent partnership we have with the Province of Quebec and the City of Montreal. I wish to extend my sincere appreciation for that partnership and for their hard work. Canada has experienced an increase in p

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, we remain committed to maintaining a well-functioning refugee system, and that is why we have made significant investments in budget 2019 to improve the efficiency of the IRB in holding these hearings and to bring in regulation to encourage people to use the appropri

Criminal Records Act  moved that Bill C-93, An Act to provide no-cost, expedited record suspensions for simple possession of cannabis, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Border Security  Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear that people who come to Canada seeking our protection are overwhelmingly families and children. When they enter the country, regardless of how they enter, if they make a claim for asylum, they are entitled under Canadian law to a fair hearing, du

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Mr. Speaker, Canada and the United States have the most secure and efficient border in the world. The safe third country agreement remains an important tool for us to continue to work together on the orderly processing of asylum claims made in both our countries. We know that thi