Arpan Khanna
Oxford, Ontario · Conservative · Canada
“This new bureaucracy the Liberals announced would do absolutely nothing to fix the affordability crisis, but it would continue to line the pockets of Liberal insiders.”
“We need to know where the funds would be going. It is not fair that Canadians work their butts off, make the sacrifices, stay away from their families— An hon. member: Play by the rules. Arpan Khanna: That's exactly right. They play by all the rules, Mr. Speaker, yet they are being pushed right to the back.”
“That is a big chunk of change that would help stimulate the economy but also give that first-time homebuyer a chance to get into the market. We have talked about removing the capital gains tax, so investors could invest and those folks who want to buy their first rental property could get into the market.”
“On this side of the House, we will always stand for tax cuts and we would make sure that money goes back in the pockets of Canadians, but not how the government does it. (2005) Here is a story from Dezmond.”
“Some stuff made sense, but homes cannot be built with empty words, stomachs cannot be filled with empty words, and jobs cannot be created in this country with empty words, and that is all we are getting with the Liberal government. There is another concern we have when the Liberals talk about homebuilding.”
“Food security is a priority. Domestic production, making more, growing more and harvesting more here in Canada, should be a priority. When the Liberals have reckless projects taking away our farmland, that is a problem. One of those projects that we hear about is happening in eastern Ontario. My colleague is here today.”
The complete record
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“Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of petitioners from Oxford County who are calling for the exemption from taxes for registered massage therapies, removing GST and HST from these services and putting them in line with physiotherapy and chiropractic care. Massage therapy is prescribed by medical professionals to help with chronic illnesses, occupational injuries and physical injuries, and to deal with stress. Petitioners are calling for this to happen as soon as possible so any barriers could be removed for people who might need help. It would promote early intervention, reduce long-term care health care costs and would align with federal policy on modern clinical regulatory realities. Petitioners ask this to be petitioned and passed as soon as possible.”
“Mr. Speaker, on the Bill of Rights, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker said, “I am...free to speak without fear, free to worship God in my own way, free to stand for what I [believe is] right, free to oppose what I believe wrong”. Those are the foundations our country was built on, which are the same values the Liberal government is attacking. It is attacking faith all across the spectrum: Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Jews and Christians. Why is the government prioritizing putting away pastors for preaching the Bible as opposed to putting away repeat violent offenders? The member travels quite a bit across the country, meeting with folks from all walks of life. What is he hearing from different faith leaders across our country?”
“Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. We sit in the House and listen to, a lot of times, pure nonsense from the member on a regular basis, but we have never called it “garbage”. We respect the member's right to speak his mind, even though he says a lot of words but does not say much. For him to say that the member's speech was “garbage” is absolute nonsense and unparliamentary. Every member—”
“Mr. Chair, this is an urgent issue. As my colleague said, this is a five-alarm fire. Is it not a burning issue? People's lives are at stake. Christmas is around the corner. People do not know what is going to be there the year after this. The problem we have is that the Prime Minister is going to all these countries, but who is benefiting? Brookfield is benefiting. If it is for Brookfield contracts, they are getting deals. They are making progress. How come they are not making progress on files that affect the lives of Canadians? If it is their Brookfield buddies, there is no problem. They are getting pipelines. They are getting AI deals in Dubai. It is all open season for them. The Brookfield buddies win. Canadians pay the price. That is the sad reality with the Prime Minister .”
“Mr. Chair, when $15 billion of Canadian money is being sent out to executives and we do not know if there are job securities, that is a problem. Just recently, we heard in committee about when Conservatives demanded that the contract be presented to the House so that we could examine the contract. First, we learned that the government did not review its own contracts before signing, and second, we learned it was the government who redacted the contract, because Stellantis came out and said that it never asked for anything to be redacted. The government is clearly hiding something. It is Canadians' money. It is for Canadian workers, and Canadians deserve to know.”
“Mr. Chair, the auto industry is being burdened by the regulatory burden, the EV mandates, the weak action on tariffs and, obviously, the industrial carbon tax. They are setting up roadblocks at every step of the way. That is taking away the certainty. They are now saying that they are pausing the EV mandates. That is not a permanent solution. There is still no certainty on what is going to happen. We have to end the EV mandates. The Conservatives will do that. Our auto workers support that. I can tell us that, in my riding, auto workers are very nervous. They want action. We have asked the minister for action on the CAMI plant. There is nothing, no answers, no plan and no updates. Every day that goes by is more trouble, more nervousness, more anxiety and more panic for our workers.”
“It is they themselves who should be looking in the mirror and knowing they are the problem and that they have to get out of the way.”
“Toyota, whom I met with last week, said the same thing to me. If the tariffs do not come down from 10%, they will have to re-evaluate their situation as well. The industry will be destroyed, yet the Liberals are missing in action once again. When they are handing out taxpayer dollars, hard-earned taxpayer dollars, they are not even reading contracts. The latest news we heard was that they gave $15 billion of hard-earned taxpayer money, and they did not even read the contract to see if there were any job securities. They are signing blank cheques to executives while our workers are the ones paying the price. This has to change. We must stand for auto workers. We must protect our auto industry . The Liberals are missing in action. They are pointing fingers everywhere else.”
“Canadians should decide what cars they should be driving. It should not be forced by a top-down government that is pushing its own agenda. In rural Ontario, those EV cars do not work. Electric vehicles do not work because of bad weather, no infrastructure and not enough towing capacity. The Liberals failed on EVs, and that is hurting our auto industry. Second, they failed on our trade situation. The Prime Minister has travelled across the world and has talked a big game, but when it comes to one of our most serious partners, he is missing in action. Ninety-two per cent of our vehicles are shipped to the U.S. This is a big part of our industry. The Prime Minister needs to work and get to the table to get a good deal for our auto workers. Everywhere he goes, tariffs go up. It is the same in the auto industry.”
“The Liberals are forcing their radical views on manufacturing with the EV mandates, which will have serious implications. Brian Kingston, the CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, has said very clearly it is “a direct challenge to our competitiveness as an auto manufacturing jurisdiction because it is levying punitive costs on companies that do not achieve these arbitrary sales targets.” They are not feasible either. Electric vehicles are not working. The CAMI plant BrightDrop project was an electrical vehicle project. Hundreds of millions of dollars were put into that plant's retooling. A lot of things happened, but it does not survive because there are no sales right now. The demand for electric vehicles has gone down. I am a big believer of the free market. The market should decide where a product should go.”
“It also hurts our township. The CAMI plant is 12% of Ingersoll's tax base. When we lose that, that is going to have some serious ramifications for the citizens in my riding. I have always said this. I have always said that in Oxford County, our farmers are the heart of our community, but our auto workers are the backbone. They are very hard-working, highly skilled people who roll up their sleeves and get things done. What we have seen in the last few years is a government that is failing our auto workers and that is failing our auto industry at large. It continues to fail. It continues to let them down. It continues to sell out our workers. We have had a great discussion on EV mandates. The Liberal government is driven by ideology, an ideology that does not work.”
“Mr. Chair, it is an honour to rise on such an important issue, which not only affects my riding but Canadians right across our country. Canada's auto sector is the backbone of our country. We have over 100,000 auto sector jobs here in Ontario. We are very proud of our auto workers, who have done a fantastic job. They give $14 billion to our economy. That is a lot of money. That is a lot of workers. That is a very positive impact on our local economy. My riding of Oxford is also home to a strong auto sector. We have Toyota and we have CAMI. We have all heard the news coming out of CAMI that 1,200 jobs will be terminated, recently announced by GM. This has devastated my community. In Ingersoll, 1,200 workers means 1,200 families. It affects our businesses. It affects the thousands of spinoff jobs that support our local economy.”
“Mr. Speaker, termination letters are starting to roll out for CAMI workers out in Ingersoll, just weeks before Christmas. One of the workers said that it is “a punch to the gut”. On October 23, the Minister of Industry said, “I expect a full update within 15 days” from GM. Well, her self-imposed deadline has come and gone. There is no plan. There is no action. There is no update. Our workers cannot keep feeding themselves with empty Liberal promises. After breaking her own promises, why should our auto workers believe a word she says?”
“Mr. Speaker, that is a great question by hon. colleague. He and I share a passion for building a strong justice system. I looked at the budget, and I do not think the word “crime” is mentioned even once. The Liberals keep reannouncing the promise that they are going to hire new officers, yet they have not done that. Even the public safety minister , who is responsible for this, says it is not his job. We have a huge demand to support our law enforcement agencies and support our legal justice system. The member is absolutely correct to say that justice delayed is justice denied, and we are going to keep holding the government accountable for its failure to keep Canadians safe.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is true that I represent a great rural farming community. I want to thank the hon. member for all the great work he does in championing our farmers. As we all know, farmers are the ones who feed our families, and I can tell members that farmers are not happy with the government either. We are asking for some sort of relief on tariffs, but every time the Prime Minister travels the world, things go the opposite way. Our farmers are now being hammered by Chinese canola tariffs. They are struggling to get our goods to market. We saw it with the Indians; they slapped new tariffs on our peas. The Prime Minister goes everywhere, and even though he is jet-setting around the world, there has been no relief for our farmers. If we look at the budget, we see the same thing. Our farmers need our support. They want to grow.”
“Mr. Speaker, the only people benefiting from this Brookfield budget are Brookfield's management on Bay Street, so maybe what she is quoting is from Brookfield. The folks who live on main street in our communities are struggling. Homelessness is at record numbers. Encampments are popping up everywhere. Food bank lineups are right around the corner, and people are barely struggling to get by. I understand that the Liberals might be excited because the portfolio manager of the Prime Minister is probably lining pockets at Brookfield, but real Canadians are struggling. On this side of the House, we are going to stand up for working-class Canadians every step of the way.”
“There is a better path forward: a Conservative plan where we unleash Canada's natural resources, cut taxes and stand up for families. Every family could provide for themselves, and people's sacrifices would actually mean something. If they spent time away from their kids, they would know they could provide for their kids' sports games or soccer during the summer. It would be a country where it would not matter where people come from, what language they speak or what industry they work in, a united country that is successful. I know that Canadians are some of the hardest-working people in the world, including our auto workers, farmers, machinists, servers and those in hospitality. When Canadians get down to business, everything is possible. The Liberals just have to get out of the way.”
“They know that those were just empty words to win over their trust. It does not have to be this way. The Conservatives voted against this budget because we did not see any real relief for Canadians, but there is a better path forward where we unleash Canada's advantage and look to develop our natural resources. We can be one of the richest countries in the world if we get our energy moving to the rest of the world. We can cut taxes for hard-working Canadians and for businesses so they can innovate, take risks and help create jobs in our country. We can cut the red tape. Under the Liberals' watch, red tape has skyrocketed, strangling any growth in our country. We have seen investment going down south and record numbers of folks moving out of the country because the Canadian promise that I spoke about earlier is no longer there.”
“A sign of a healthy country and democracy is when parents, families and workers can feed their own children, save money and not rely on governments. For the Liberals, it is all about control and taking away power from our citizens. This budget did absolutely nothing to help relieve the anxiety and tension that Canadians not only in my riding but across the country are facing. They looked at this budget and wanted something. Seniors wanted something, and youth wanted to know that one day their sacrifice would pay off, but this budget has absolutely nothing to help them get by every single day. This came from the guy who said he was the man with the plan. He promised this stuff. He made these big promises in the campaign, and now Canadians are learning they are having buyer's remorse.”
“As we were driving, she shared that her story is like that of many other seniors: She is struggling to pay rent, and for the first time, this month, she does not know how she will make up the difference. Our veterans are struggling as well. Oxford County's industry and community are looking at truckers and suppliers who are losing their jobs because of plant closures and tariff impacts through Toyota, Vuteq and others. They are now all in jeopardy. These are real-life stories; they are not just numbers. When we have two and a half million food bank visits in a single month, that does not show a strong, vibrant country. That does not show that the Liberals' plan is working. They often talk about the food program for kids.”
“The tariffs, the trade wars, the industrial carbon tax and the cost of living crisis have all forced him to sell his personal belongings just to survive, not to live a luxurious lifestyle. Truckers sacrifice so much. They spend days on the road away from their family, moving our goods and making sure our supply chain is intact. They are sacrificing, yet they are barely moving up in life. (1530) Denise, an auto worker from my riding, was just laid off permanently right before Christmas. She describes the plant closure as a gut punch. A week and a half ago, we had Remembrance Day ceremonies in our ridings, and many members attended. I was at a Legion lunch after a ceremony, and one of the veterans, Connie, asked me if I could drop her off at her home, so she jumped in.”
“These are people who work extremely hard, including those who work double shifts, but who are struggling to get by because of the Liberals' fiscal irresponsibility. There are stories from my riding I want to share with the House. The Liberals may say that this is all made up, but it is not. Their actions are having real consequences in the lives of Canadians. Nicole is a hard-working mother who works two jobs, 70 hours a week, and barely sees her autistic child. She has $1,500 coming in every two weeks. Her rent costs $2,500, and she is losing her home despite being in what is called the middle class. She said to me that she is now part of the working poor. There is Shane, a trucker who has been on the road for 28 years.”
“They cannot afford that. The Parliamentary Budget Officer, an independent officer whom the Liberals are now trying to fire, is also raising the alarm bells, saying that there are no fiscal anchors. The numbers on the Liberals' spreadsheet are just banker accounting to hide the real numbers in the deficit. Oxford County is a strong community, but even there we are starting to see cracks in the foundation. There are lots of great charities that do amazing work. Just last week, Operation Sharing, which is one of the largest supports in Woodstock, put out a Facebook post showing the empty shelves at its food bank. The shelves are empty because demand has skyrocketed, not just from people who are on the streets but also from Canadians who are now considered the working poor.”
“The new guy came in during the last election, just eight months ago, and he promised Canadians he would be different. He promised Canadians he was the man with a plan. He has banking experience, but we are looking at his banking results right now, and we see that he is cooking the books. The budget that the Liberal government presented is going to spend a record amount of Canadian taxpayers' hard-earned money. The Liberals used slogans and said they were going to spend less and invest more, but they are actually spending record amounts, and Canadians are getting so much more of less for all the money they are spending. They said that the budget was going to be generational, but it is generational debt, which Canadians are going to struggle to pay. The Liberals' budget is putting an extra cost of $5,400 on every Canadian family.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to rise in the chamber to fight for the great residents of Oxford County. There was a promise in this country that if someone worked hard and played by the rules, they could achieve anything. People made sacrifices, but they knew those sacrifices would one day pay off. They knew that if they worked hard and sacrificed with time away from their families, they could retire in peace, build a beautiful life and pass something on to the next generation. Every generation would be better than the one previous. However, what we have seen in the last 10 years from the Liberal government is fiscal carnage and fiscal irresponsibility. The last Liberal prime minister literally doubled the national debt.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is actively doing absolutely nothing for our workers. He literally campaigned on getting a deal with the U.S., but now, since he is failing, he is brushing it off. He says, "Who cares?” The thousands of auto workers who are losing their jobs care. The tens of thousands of spinoff workers who will not be able to pay their bills, pay their mortgage or feed their families care. Canadians do care, so how can the Prime Minister look workers in the eye and tell them that their livelihoods are not a burning issue?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said he was a master negotiator, and he looked our auto workers in the eye and promised a deal with the U.S., but now that he is failing, he is shrugging it off, saying that it does not matter. He said, “Who cares?”, and that it is not a “burning” issue. He is wrong, because it is a burning issue for Denise, an auto worker in Oxford who is losing her job, and for thousands of others who do not know how they will make ends meet. Why does the Prime Minister not care about the same jobs he promised he would protect?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister spends more time in the air than he does here in Canada, jet-setting with global elites. In just eight months, he has taken 28 trips, racking up over 153,000 kilometres, which is enough to circle the globe nearly four times. What does he have to show for these air miles? He has absolutely nothing: no trade deals and no results. Every time he is wheels up, Canadians get higher costs and higher tariffs. When he met the Americans, U.S. tariffs doubled. India has slapped tariffs on our peas. China is hammering our farmers on canola. Auto workers are losing their jobs. Now the Prime Minister is on another trip. He is in Dubai just a few days after Brookfield invested billions of dollars there. What a coincidence. He is always there for his Brookfield friends, but he is never there for hard-working Canadians.”
“Mr. Speaker, I understand that all levels of government have to work together. The problem with the Liberal members is they do not want to take responsibility for fixing in the chamber what they have control over. The Criminal Code is a federal responsibility. The RCMP is a federal responsibility. The CBSA is a federal responsibility. Instead of pointing fingers at everybody else, maybe they should look at themselves in the mirror and take some responsibility for their own actions.”
“Liberal members said they were not sure what was going on with their own party, they needed change now and they supported the jail not bail act.”
“Mr. Speaker, all the member said was that they talk and talk. The Prime Minister has talked about it. He has talked about it. They have had discussions about this and discussions about that. Talking is all they have been doing for the last 10 years. Our deputy leader brought Bill C-381 to the floor of Parliament last year. What did the Liberals do? They voted against it. They had an opportunity to stand up for their residents, but they did not. Winnipeg has one of the highest crime rates in the country, yet the member is constantly defending the failed Liberal policies that put his community at risk every single day. When we had the town hall in his community, we had folks from all walks of life. Even Liberals showed up.”
“Mr. Speaker, I could spend all day discussing the differences between our bills. The Liberals have kept the principle of restraint intact in their legislation. We would repeal it and add the principle of public safety as a primary consideration. We would make changes to the conditions for those being released. We would make changes to the legal test to make it tougher for repeat violent offenders to get bail. We would make it mandatory for judges to look at a person's criminal history. We would make all of these changes to toughen our system so that repeat violent offenders stay behind bars, where they belong.”
“Mr. Speaker, there is a presumption of innocence in our country. That is a fundamental principle that we will defend all the way. The people we are targeting are the repeat violent offenders who have made this a business, who are part of organized crime and who are constantly terrorizing our communities. The statistics do not lie. In Kelowna, the RCMP and the mayor said the same 15 people were responsible for almost 1,500 crimes. They are not innocent people. They were found guilty of committing those crimes. The same 40 people in Vancouver committed 6,000 crimes. We are targeting the small number of people who repeatedly and constantly attack our communities. That is who we are going after with this bill.”
“They are ignoring that their actions are causing the problems we are facing today. That is why we brought forward legislation in the House to stop extortion. They voted against it. We brought forward legislation to stop these violent carjackings and auto thefts happening in the community. They voted against it. We brought forward a motion to fast-track the jail not bail act, which has support right across our country. They blocked it. They have been standing in the way of keeping our communities safe. Conservatives are united. We will continue to raise these issues. We will come back to a Canada where anyone from anywhere can live on a safe street, raise their families, enjoy a stroll in the park and have coffee with their friends without the café being shot at. We will have a life where everyone feels safe, secure and protected.”
“It would repeal the Liberals' principle of restraint that allows repeat violent offenders to be released at the earliest opportunity and on the least restrictive conditions, which justices of the peace are constantly quoting as they release these criminals. The Liberals said that, yes, there is a problem with the principle of restraint, and they were going to tinker around with it and make some changes, but it still exists. The Conservatives believe in making sure that public safety is a primary consideration. The Liberals talk about law enforcement. They make these big announcements, like hiring 1,000 new RCMP personnel. They have been saying that for years. They are not hiring anybody. The Minister of Public Safety just said it is not his job to hire. The Liberals are ignoring the will of Canadians.”
“I am happy that they are finally acknowledging, through political pressure, that we have a problem. The piece of legislation the Liberals have brought forward, as I have said before and will say again, is trying to treat a gunshot wound with a band-aid. This is a band-aid solution that would stop some of the bleeding, but it would not heal the wounds or the problems we see in today's society. It is a step in the right direction for sure, but it does not go far enough. It would not stop the crime wave we are seeing in our communities. I brought forward the jail not bail act, which would go a lot further than Bill C-14 .”
“and at all of the tour stops he did, buying ice cream and living the good life, not once did he speak about extortion. I would think that a prime minister who cared about public safety would talk about one of the biggest crises happening in that community, but he did not. These people's words meant absolutely nothing to him. This is about action. For seven months, the Liberals delayed, denied and obstructed. For years, we talked about bringing forward legislation and pushed them to raise these issues, and we were ignored. They simply ignored our calls to take action. I have said this before and I will say it again: I am glad they have finally admitted that we have a problem. That was step number one. With any problem, if we do not accept that there is a problem, which they did for four years, the problem continues.”
“The headlines we are seeing are like something from a Hollywood movie. Just last night, in Abbotsford, there was another extortion call. We never had an extortion problem in our country. When I was in Surrey, doing my jail not bail town hall, I met with residents who shared stories of their homes being shot at. This one gentleman said a bullet flew over his daughter's bed. If she had been standing up or walking around, she could have been hit. (1245) The Prime Minister was in B.C. a few days ago. He was taking a nice stroll on the beach, looking at the water and admiring what was going on. Not too far away, there was a town hall on extortion. Families and victims were coming together to share their concerns. In all of the press conferences the Prime Minister did while he was in B.C.”
“She had done absolutely nothing wrong. What about the charter rights of Bailey McCourt or Cait Alexander, or any of the other victims going through these troubling times? Liberal policies have caused a massive shift. Instead of them being about public safety and keeping Canadians safe, they have shifted toward empowering the criminals. There is no deterrence in our system right now. Criminals know how to game the system, and they are gaming it every single day. There is no fear of consequences. The law is supposed to deter people from committing crime, but when soft-on-crime, catch-and-release legislation like Bill C-75 and Bill C-5 is brought in, these are the problems that come from it. This did not happen overnight. This is a direct result of the policies the Liberals brought forward, and now we are living with this nightmare.”
“Liberal policies on crime are easy on criminals and tough on Canadians. In my riding of Oxford, a victim in Beachville wrote to me and said it feels like she is the one on house arrest, while her attacker is walking free around the community. She has to change her behaviour to avoid seeing him at a public library, a museum or a grocery store. The criminals are not worried about anything. That is the type of system the Liberals have created. Conservatives have always asked, “What about the charter rights of law-abiding Canadians who follow the rules and are not criminals?” What about the charter rights of that 71-year-old grandma who went to buy groceries? All she wanted to do was go to the store, pick up some food, come home, make a nice meal and enjoy time with her family. She was brutally stabbed to death in a parking lot.”
“We met with victims, business owners, young students and other Canadians. They said they do not recognize the country they knew and still love today. They are concerned about the level of crime that is happening in their community, as well as the severity of the crime. The shift that is happening in our system now, whether it is in a big city or a rural community like Oxford, is not just about an increase in crime but about the type of crime. There are shootings in broad daylight, violent home invasions and carjackings. This is stuff we have never seen before at this level in our country. The government often talks about charter rights, but we are seeing it protecting the charter rights of criminals. I talk to Canadians every day, and they are saying that criminals are getting a free pass and a free ride.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to be in the chamber to rise on an issue that is affecting Canadians from coast to coast to coast. I have spoken about this issue many times. I brought forward the jail not bail bill to help crack down on repeat violent offenders. We held town halls right across our beautiful country, in Surrey, Winnipeg, St. Thomas, Vaughan and Peel. Canadians are very concerned. They are very scared of what is going on in their communities. The town halls were packed with hundreds of concerned residents who showed up without any political affiliation. For many of them, it was the first time they had gone to a town hall meeting. They expressed deep concern about public safety. I was in Vaughan recently with my hon. friend, the member for King—Vaughan .”
“I thank all the victims who have courage, take a stand and share their stories. It is with their stories and efforts, when we are all united, that we can make change happen in our country.”
“Mr. Speaker, we have all seen the stories. We have seen the headlines in the media, the social media posts and the cries for help. The headlines seem like they are from Hollywood movies. Families get destroyed. Sometimes the person who is killed is the only income-earner. Sometimes they are the only person taking care of their kids. It is not only about the stories we want to share, but about the feelings and emotions that come with them. Bailey's family's lives are completely destroyed. They are not in a good spot right now. It is the same with other victims. For Conservatives, the purpose of sharing these stories is for us to all wake up and know that we are in this chamber to keep Canadians safe. That is one of our top priorities. It is also to make sure the Criminal Code reflects those changes.”
“Mr. Speaker, I agree. There is time for us to modernize our justice system, but it is important that we modernize our Criminal Code to defend the rights of law-abiding Canadians. When it comes to our prison capacity, it is important for everyone to understand that this bill targets repeat violent offenders. To share some facts, in Kelowna, the same 15 individuals committed 1,500 crimes in a single year. In Vancouver, the same 40 committed 6,000 crimes in a single year. If we put away these repeat violent offenders, there will be less in and out happening in the criminal justice system. Our job is to make sure we go after repeat violent offenders. As always, there will be a presumption of innocence, and we will let the courts do their work.”
“Mr. Speaker, our jail not bail act is fully constitutionally compliant. These targeted, reasonable, proportionate measures to change the Criminal Code go after a small number of repeat violent offenders. I am strongly confident that our bill is charter-compliant. Speaking of charter-compliance, on this side of the House, we stand for the charter rights of victims and law-abiding Canadians, unlike what we saw recently with the decision of the Supreme Court, which removed minimum mandatory sentencing for child sexual offences. The government has stayed quiet. On this side of the House, we will invoke the notwithstanding clause to ensure that law-abiding Canadians and children are kept safe.”
“That should not happen. If somebody is guilty of an indictable offence, they would be removed as a possible surety. I personally believe that someone needs to be of good standing or of good character to vouch for someone else, especially someone in their care. Also, if someone who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident but a temporary resident commits an offence and is being charged, they must surrender their passport. We do not want any more flight risks like we saw happen in Edmonton. We will make sure there is annual reporting happening to Parliament. The stats are not there on a national level. We want to make sure there is accountability. Safe streets should not be a fantasy in a faraway land. We should have them here in Canada.”
“If somebody has been convicted in the last 10 years for one of the major offences, was charged again and was out a third time, and then commits another offence, they should not be getting bail unless a superior court judge looks at their file. We are also going to be collapsing bail post-sentencing for indictable offences. Bailey McCourt's killer was found guilty. He was guilty in the eyes of the law. He should not have been out on the streets. The next time somebody is found guilty of an indictable offence, they should not be released on bail until someone else looks at it, not just the regular courts. The bill would make sure we do not have criminals who are vouching for other criminals as sureties. Can members believe that right now in our system, organized criminals can vouch for and be sureties for other criminals?”
“Right now, when it comes to assessing risk, the Liberals look at whether there is a substantial likelihood to reoffend. My bill would lower that threshold to look at reasonable foreseeability. Would a reasonable person believe that this accused person, based on their history and prior bail conditions, would be likely to reoffend? That change would lower the threshold. It would provide objective clarity to the test as well. The bill would also make it mandatory in the Criminal Code for judges to look at someone's criminal history. We do not see that right now, so it would be codifying that aspect. It would also make it tougher for repeat violent offenders, going after recidivism.”
“The bill would introduce something new called a major offences category. This would categorize some of the most extreme violent offences that we have seen in our communities, such as violent shootings, home invasions, violent carjackings, extortion, human trafficking and drug trafficking. Also, when someone attacks a first responder, irrespective of whether they are a police officer, a firefighter or a paramedic, that should be a serious offence requiring a serious look when it comes to bail. We would make it a reverse onus. We would make sure it is on them to justify to a judge, a justice of peace or a peace officer why they should be released, not the other way around. Furthermore, we would be tightening the risk assessment standard when it comes to bail.”