Tamara Jansen
Cloverdale—Langley City, British Columbia · Conservative · Canada
“We call on the government to accept the committee's recommendation and support Bill C-218 , which is already before the House and which would accomplish the policy objective the committee recommends. Conservatives are prepared to work collaboratively with the government to that end.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the Conservative members of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying to table, in both official languages, our supplementary opinion.”
“Spending is increasing faster than inflation and faster than economic growth. He promised economic renewal. Canada remains the only G20 country in recession. He promised to build faster, yet despite his creating new offices, new agencies and new approval processes, Canadians are still waiting to see any results.”
“When a government finds $25 billion for a brand-new sovereign debt fund, only weeks after presenting a budget, Parliament should begin to wonder if perhaps these programs are not emerging from a coherent economic plan, but are being invented on the fly whenever the government finds itself in need of a new announcement.”
“What makes this particularly troubling is that all of this is happening while Canada stands alone among the G20 countries as the only one in recession. The government continues to insist that more spending is the solution, yet with all that spending, Canada is the only G20 nation that has managed to achieve this disastrous distinction.”
“At some point, governments must be judged not by the announcements they make but by the results they achieve. Now the government has asked Parliament to spend less time examining legislation at the very moment it is asking Canadians to accept more spending, more borrowing and more debt. That is backwards.”
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“(1545) Among G7 countries, Canada stands out for how frequent and fast-growing extortion has become in our national crime data. This is a crisis created by Liberal laws putting violent offenders ahead of victims. Let me repeat: This crisis is the direct result of Liberal government choices, and the numbers speak with brutal clarity. Violent crime has risen sharply since 2015. Firearms offences have more than doubled. Extortion has risen at rates that should alarm every elected official in this country. Sexual assaults have increased dramatically, with women paying the highest price for the government's softness. This brings me to an equally painful truth: Violence against women remains an afterthought in federal justice policy. I have spoken with women here in Surrey, Cloverdale and Langley who are still carrying the trauma of assault.”
“As a result, there is no certainty in sentencing, no clarity and no firm line drawn in the sand. Worse still, crimes involving firearms, robberies, drug trafficking and even extortion can still be punished with house arrest, not with real jail time and not in a secure facility. This is house arrest in the very neighbourhoods where the victims live. It is impossible to overstate the danger of such a system. I do not say this lightly: The criminals orchestrating these extortion networks understand our laws better than most members of Parliament. They understand the loopholes. They understand that even if they are caught, the consequences may be minimal. They operate with boldness because the law allows them boldness.”
“They have learned that the federal government's reforms over the past decade have tilted the balance away from holding criminals accountable toward releasing criminals faster than police can file the paperwork. The principle of restraint, the rule that police and courts must favour release on the least strict bail conditions, remains intact. Bill C-14 would not remove it. That principle may sound gentle and humane, but in reality it tells violent offenders that the justice system is more concerned about their comfort than our safety. Mandatory minimum penalties, the clearest signal a country can send that violent crime will not be tolerated, were dismantled by the government in 2022 with Bill C-5 . What Canadians need to know today is that Bill C-14 would not restore them, not one.”
“They hoped this would be the moment the government understood the scale of the crisis: that extortion, gun crime and organized criminal activity were no longer occasional headlines but daily realities for innocent people. They hoped that at the very least, there would be a sign of courage, but hope collapses when leadership fails to show up. Unfortunately, Bill C-14 does not meet this moment. It is not strong enough. It is not decisive enough. It lacks the moral clarity that a government needs when the safety of its people is on the line. To understand why we need to look at how we got here. Criminals in this country have learned that there is very little to fear from our justice system. They have learned that punishment is often shockingly lenient.”
“We have seen extortion-related shootings at banquet halls, restaurants, insurance offices and family homes. We have seen respected businessmen murdered. We have seen houses shot at twice in the same week because criminals felt confident enough to return. In neighbourhoods like Cloverdale, neighbourhoods that once symbolized calm, quiet and safety, families are now installing cameras, reinforcing doors and staying home instead of accepting invitations to birthdays and family gatherings. This is not how Canadians should live. When the Liberal government introduced Bill C-14 , people hoped that Ottawa had finally woken up and wanted to fix the mess it had created.”
“He sat across from me, hands folded the way people do when they are trying to stay composed, and I asked him how things were going. He took a moment and said that staff had been followed to their cars, that they had had threats, that they were watching the parking lot instead of customers and that this was not how he wanted to run his business. He was not angry, nor dramatic; he was simply describing the quiet fear that has settled over too many hard-working families in our community, families that came here believing Canada was safe, stable and full of opportunity. He was sad, and that should trouble every single one of us, because what he described is not normal. It is not the Canada that we built. It is not the future we intend to hand down to our children and grandchildren. Surrey is facing something no community should ever face.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is time to speak plainly today, because families in Surrey and across Canada deserve the plain truth, not another round of empty words from Ottawa. Over the past months, as I have met with business owners and families across Surrey, Cloverdale, Clayton and Langley City, the conversations have been sobering. Everywhere I go, people lower their voices, look over their shoulder and tell me the same thing: “Tamara, we don't feel safe anymore.” Not long ago, I hosted a small business round table in my office with several local business owners. One of them runs a handful of small restaurants in Surrey, family-run places where the food is good, the staff knows people's names and the community keeps them alive.”
“Mr. Speaker, at a time when Canadians are being terrorized in their own neighbourhoods, our globe-trotting Prime Minister jet-setted into B.C. for a carefree stroll down the White Rock Pier, while families in Surrey were barricading their doors and while homes and businesses were being shot up for the second and third times. He took a sunset stroll while gangs told victims to give them five more names of people to extort, or they would be next. It is mind-boggling that he flew out to crack jokes on the pier instead of tackle extortion. Why will the Liberals not support the Conservative plan to crack down on the extortion crisis?”
“Madam Speaker, what our young Canadians are facing is a made-in-Ottawa problem. It is not that our young people stopped working hard; it is that the government stopped letting the economy work for them. When it taxes small business owners into the ground, when it buries job creators in red tape and when it makes it easier to open a shop in Texas than in Toronto, the government drives opportunity out of reach. The Conservatives will fix that. We will unleash the economy so businesses can hire again and young Canadians can finally get that first paycheque, that first start and that first shot at independence.”
“Madam Speaker, the challenge we have is that jobs are not matched to needs in all the different ridings, so we will have to work to make sure that we have a balanced immigration system that meets needs and matches them to the jobs out there.”
“Madam Speaker, the Conservatives believe that immigration is a blessing, but it needs to be managed responsibly. Right now, the Liberals have lost control. They have flooded the labour market without any plan for housing or credential recognition. We have young Canadians out of work and newcomers with engineering degrees who are driving taxis. It is chaos. The Conservatives will fix immigration so that skills match jobs, housing matches people and both new and born-and-raised Canadians can thrive again. That is the Canada we promised the world and the one we will rebuild.”
“We can rebuild an economy where every teenager, every student and every young graduate gets that first chance, and where our kids can save for their first car, their first home and their own family someday. That is the Canada we grew up in and that is the Canada we owe them. (1700) I have to ask this of the government: When will it stop making excuses, stop burying our youth under red tape and debt, and start giving them the same shot at success that built this country in the first place? The next generation is not asking for a handout; it is asking for a fair chance.”
“This is how we restore confidence in our economy. It is by trusting Canadians again, by giving business owners the freedom to grow and by treating workers, both new and born and raised here, with fairness and respect. If we unleash the economy and fix immigration, we will open the floodgates of opportunity. Young Canadians will not have to leave their hometowns or move back in with their parents just to survive. They will finally have that first chance to work, to save, to build and to start living. This country was never meant to hold its young people back; it was built to lift them up. Every young person deserves to believe that their hard work still pays off and that the future still belongs to them. We can fix this.”
“It is not fair to the Canadians struggling to find a job, and it is not fair to the newcomers who come here expecting opportunity, only to find chaos. The Conservatives will realign immigration with labour market realities by bringing in the people we actually need to fill genuine shortages, not paper quotas designed to hit political talking points. We will fix credential recognition so that newcomers trained as doctors, engineers and nurses can work in their professions instead of driving taxis, while our hospitals and job sites go short-staffed. When we match skills with need, everybody wins. Young Canadians get a fair chance to start their careers, and new Canadians get the respect and opportunity they came here for. That is the Canadian bargain, or at least it used to be. We intend to bring it back.”
“Every new shop that opens, every truck that rolls off the lot and every mine that reopens is a door opening for a young Canadian who just wants a chance. That is what unleashing the economy really means: believing in Canada again. Let us talk about another piece of the puzzle, immigration. Canada has always been a nation built by newcomers. It is part of who we are. However, immigration has to work for everyone: for those arriving and for those already here trying to build a life. The Liberals have lost control of the system. They have flooded the labour market with no plan for housing and no plan for matching skills to real jobs. While hundreds of thousands of young Canadians cannot find work, the government is on track to issuing among the highest number on record of temporary foreign worker permits. How can that be possible?”
“The Conservatives will repeal the anti-resource laws that have scared away billions of dollars in private investment and shut down entire communities, because the best way to help young Canadians find work is to let our economy work. We will cut taxes to drive reinvestment and job creation, letting employers keep more of what they earn so they can hire again, expand again and believe again. We will slash the mountains of red tape that make it easier to start a business in Texas than in Toronto. When businesses are free to grow, jobs follow. It is not complicated; it is common sense. We do not need more government transformation strategies or glossy reports written by consultants who have never run a payroll in their lives. We need shovels in the ground, paycheques in pockets and opportunity back on main street.”
“I would like to touch on two pillars: unleashing the economy and fixing the broken immigration system. When I was younger, the local mechanic always had a student sweeping the floors and learning the trade. The diner had teenagers busing tables and saving up for their first car. Every small business in town was proud to give a kid their first start. Today, those jobs are disappearing, not because Canadians do not want to hire, but because it is too expensive to hire. It is too complicated and too uncertain to grown a business in this country anymore. Under the Liberals, we have seen investment flee overseas, projects get cancelled and small businesses squeezed dry. Red tape has become a growth industry all its own. We need to turn that around.”
“We are already seeing record mental health struggles, delayed families, lost skills and an economy that is missing out on the potential of young people. It is not just their problem; it is also ours. A country that does not make room for its young people is a country losing its future. If we allow this to continue, we will face a generation that is less secure, less optimistic and less connected to the Canada we grew up in. That is not a legacy any of us wants to pass on. (1655) We cannot build tomorrow on unemployment lines. We cannot build families on debt. We cannot even build dreams when the path to success has been blocked by bureaucracy and bad policies. We need to turn this around now. That is why the Conservatives are putting forward a serious plan, one rooted in common sense, hard work and fairness.”
“The Liberal government's economic failure has made life harder at every turn, with higher taxes, higher rent, higher prices and fewer opportunities. While they pat themselves on the back for resilience, families see the truth: Our young people are struggling, not because they lack talent or ambition but because government policies have shut the door on opportunity. This is not a blip. It is not just a tough year. This is a crisis, and it is one the Liberal government's bad policies have created. If we do not act and act fast, we are not just losing jobs; we are losing an entire generation. When young people cannot find their first foothold, they start falling behind, not just financially but also emotionally. They lose confidence. They start to believe the system is not built for them.”
“That is nearly 15% of everyone aged 15 to 24, the highest rate we have seen in over a decade, outside the pandemic. For students trying to balance school and work, it is even worse; 17% cannot find a job. In Ontario, over 17,000 young people lost work just last month. Across the country, the youth employment rate has dropped to its lowest level in 25 years. These numbers represent actual lives on hold: kids moving back home because they cannot afford rent, graduates working jobs that do not use their skills, or young couples putting off marriage or kids because they cannot build stability. Even among young people with post-secondary degrees, one in six is working outside their field. They studied, they borrowed and they worked hard, but still they cannot find a place to belong in this economy.”
“For many small business owners, it was rewarding. They were not just hiring someone; they were mentoring the next generation. Watching a young worker grow into confidence and seeing them save for their first car or their first apartment gave hope for the future, and that is how we built a sense of purpose: one job, one handshake and one lesson at a time. Back then our economy worked in harmony. At the local store, the farm, the trade school and the credit union, everyone played a part. When young people thrived, the community thrived. When one generation moved up, the next one stepped in, but today these opportunities are drying up, and the next generation is paying the price. Today our young people are doing everything right but getting nowhere. They are a generation on hold. According to StatsCan, more than 460,000 youth are unemployed.”
“That is how we built strong communities where every young person had a chance to learn, to grow and to start building their future. Unfortunately things have changed drastically over the last 10 years, and unless we act now, it is going to worse before it gets better. There was a time when every business in town saw hiring young people as part of their duty and their joy. I remember summers when high school kids would line up outside the greenhouse, eager to work. We would give them a chance. We would teach them how to handle tools, how to talk to customers and how to show up on time. It was not glamorous, but it built character and grit. I would see teenagers working at diners, mowing lawns and running deliveries. They were learning the habits that make a society strong: hard work, pride in a job well done, teamwork and respect.”
“Madam Speaker, I am going to be sharing my time with my colleague from Elgin—St. Thomas—London South . Do members remember their first job: the smell of the uniform, the feel of depositing their first paycheque and the pride of earning something that was truly theirs? For my generation, that first job was more than just work; it was a rite of passage. It taught us responsibility, discipline and independence. We could not wait to start. We wanted to earn money for our first car or first date, or maybe save for school. Back then, businesses were eager to take on young people. They saw potential, not risk. Small shops, farms and restaurants hired kids and trained them, and I still remember watching those young faces light up when they realized they were being trusted to do real work. That is how it used to be.”
“Mr. Speaker, Cloverdale's Maurizio Zinetti runs a Canadian-owned company that is doing everything right: feeding families, employing Canadians and doing whatever he can to keep affordable food on our tables. However, thanks to the Liberals' new front-of-package labelling rules, regulations that have nothing to do with food safety, he is now facing a $2.2-million compliance bill. Across the industry, the cost will top $100 million. Prices are going to rise and contracts are being cancelled, all because of red tape politics. Will the Prime Minister stop trying to engineer a costly election on a costly budget and instead scrap the costly labelling tax?”
“Madam Speaker, Canadians are tired of the spin. The government's Bill C-75 and Bill C-5 turned our justice system into a revolving door: catch, release, repeat. Since then, violent crime is up 41%. In my own riding, I sat across from small business owners this weekend who are terrified of extortion, and from families afraid to walk home at night. Add to that record-high immigration levels with no proper vetting, and our neighbours are being shot at while they sleep in their homes. We are watching communities buckle under the pressure. Please tell me this: After years of failure, why did the Liberals not support the Conservatives' jail not bail bill when they had the chance to fix it?”
“Canadians deserve better. We need to keep repeat violent offenders off our streets and give people the confidence to open their doors again. It is time to restore safety, restore fairness and bring back common sense to our justice system.”
“Mr. Speaker, small business owners used to say that their biggest worry was making payroll. Now it is keeping their doors from being kicked in. In Vancouver, a restaurant owner, Foz, has been hit so many times by break-ins that the latest one looked like something out of a bad comic book. The thief came dressed as Spider-Man with a knife in this hand, but there was nothing funny about it. His staff are scared to come to work. He has lost over $100,000, and he has stopped calling the police, because every time he does, the same people are back on the street before the paperwork is even done. This has happened because the Liberals brought in soft-on-crime bail laws that turn revolving doors into escape hatches. Criminals walk free while honest Canadians pay the price in fear, in lost income and in shattered confidence.”
“Madam Speaker, if we are serious about strengthening the Conflict of Interest Act, then we cannot turn a blind eye to the top. The Prime Minister 's corporate and shareholder interests are extensive, and Canadians have a right to know whether those holdings intersect with the decisions he is making every day. That is why this amendment calls for witnesses who can shed light on those interests. Is this review more than a check box, or is it a real test of accountability?”
“Before granting citizenship, should we not expect at least some genuine connection and some proof of interest in, effort for or belonging to the country we all call home?”
“Mr. Speaker, at a time when our immigration system is already stretched and faith in its fairness is fading, Bill C-3 tells the world that one can be Canadian without ever truly living here. Canadian citizenship is one of the most valuable things in the world. It is something that generations have worked hard to earn and honour, but Bill C-3 would give automatic citizenship to children born abroad, even when their parents have spent little time living in Canada. We used to have an immigration system that was the envy of the world, one rooted in fairness, contribution and community, but the bill risks turning citizenship into a paper privilege rather than a lived commitment.”
“Mr. Speaker, being Canadian is something people around the world dreamt of, and for good reason. Our immigration system used to be the best: fair, predictable and built on hard work. However, now it is a mess, with millions of temporary residents, hundreds of thousands of undocumented people, and endless backlogs. Instead of fixing the problem, Bill C-3 would make it worse, handing out citizenship without real connection and commitment. It seems that the government does not understand that the system is in cardiac arrest. Is there any reason why the Liberals refuse to fix the problem?”
“Before granting citizenship, should we not expect at least some genuine connection and some proof of interest in, effort for or belonging to the country we call home?”
“Mr. Speaker, at a time when our immigration system has been stretched and faith in its fairness is fading, Bill C-3 tells the world that one could be Canadian without ever truly living here. Canadian citizenship is one of the most valuable things in the world. It is something that generations have worked hard to earn and to honour, but Bill C-3 would give automatic citizenship to children born abroad, even when their parents have spent little time living in Canada. We used to have an immigration system that was the envy of the world. It was rooted in fairness, contribution and community, but the bill risks turning citizenship into a paper privilege, rather than a lived commitment.”
“Mr. Speaker, when a family cannot balance its books, they lose the trust of the bank. When a government cannot do so, it loses the trust of investors, and that is dangerous when we have to refinance $473 billion this year alone. If Canada looks reckless, borrowing will only get more expensive, and every Canadian will pay the price. Canada needs a budget that shows fiscal discipline, but the current finance minister is the same guy who, as the industry minister, helped Trudeau double our debt. Will the Prime Minister show some fiscal discipline and commit to not exceeding his $42-billion promise in the upcoming budget?”
“Mr. Speaker, Canadians were told that borrowing billions would make their lives better, but 10 years later, the only thing growing faster than the debt is the cost of living. This year alone, the Liberals have to refinance $473 billion in debt, and that will only get harder if the government keeps spending as though the bill will never come due. We cannot spend our way out of inflation. Will the Prime Minister keep his word and hold the deficit under $42 billion in the next budget?”
“Mr. Speaker, most important right now is understanding that, across Canada, when extortionists target banquet halls, when young women like Tori Dunn are murdered by someone already facing multiple charges and when seniors in Langley are afraid to walk outside after a brutal attack, those are all costs. They show up in policing, in health care, in lost economic activity and in the trauma families carry. We need to scrap the Liberal bail.”
“Mr. Speaker, honestly, I want to come back to the real issue, and that is the Liberal catch-and-release system. That is the problem. Right now, judges are told to start from the principle of restraint, which tilts the balance away from public safety. That is not the fault of the judiciary. It is the framework the House handed it with Bill C-75 . We need to scrap the Liberal bail. The jail not bail act would not undermine judges. It would empower them to protect the public. It would direct them to weigh community safety first. It would ensure that they see the full record of the accused. It would give them tools to deny bail when serious risk is reasonably foreseeable. Judges need a law that lets them keep dangerous people behind bars, which is what our bill would deliver. It is a framework built on common sense, not catch and release.”
“Mr. Speaker, the real issue here is the catch-and-release law the Liberals put in place that keeps putting dangerous people back on the street. The tragedy of our current system is that it only takes one case to devastate a family or a community. When extortionists target businesses or when someone like Adam Mann, already facing multiple charges, is still free to kill a young woman like Tori Dunn, no empty thoughts and prayers will bring comfort. We need to scrap the Liberal bail. This is a direct result of the Liberals' catch-and-release approach. Bill C-75 instructed judges to prioritize restraint, which has meant giving repeat violent offenders more chances than the victims ever receive. The jail not bail act would correct that.”
“It says that if a person commits a major crime, like pulling a gun, breaking into a home or assaulting their neighbour, they do not just stroll back onto the streets the next day. This bill would tip the scales back to where they belong. It restores balance. It protects victims. It puts common sense back at the heart of justice. I say to the Prime Minister that if he is serious about restoring peace to our communities, he will back the bill. He will correct his justice minister , and he will reverse his party's failed bail laws, because Canadians deserve better than ideology. They deserve safety. Let us do the right thing. Let us stand together. Let us pass the jail not bail act, and let us give our communities back their peace.”
“This is what catch-and-release looks like in real life. It is not just a line in a bill, but fear in the eyes of our grandmothers and grandfathers, our opas and omas. That fear, my friends, is something we have the power and the responsibility to end. At the end of the day, this is not about politics. It is not about left and right. It is about whether a mom can walk her child to school without fear, whether a small business owner can open his doors without an extortionist calling at midnight and whether a senior, like our omas and opas, can sit on a porch without looking over their shoulder. The Conservatives have put forward the jail not bail act, not because it sounds good on paper but because it puts people first. It says that public safety is the priority.”
“Here is what makes this hit home even worse for me. This was not just any street corner. This was steps away from the seniors home built by my own church community, the home where my grandparents lived. It is filled with seniors who worked a lifetime, who built this country and who should be able to walk outside without fear. Imagine the conversations after that crime, with seniors asking their grandchildren to walk them to the pharmacy because they do not feel safe alone. That is not the Canada they helped build. That is not the promise they earned, yet here we are because a bail system tilted in favour of the offender gave another chance to a man who had already burned through all his chances, and because Bill C-75 , by the Liberals, told judges to restrain themselves, even when restraint meant danger for everybody else.”
“It is about whether the justice system values the safety of our families or the comfort of repeat offenders. Let me tell members about something else that happened just down the road from my place in the heart of Langley. It was early morning, June 1, on the Fraser Highway. The sun had barely risen. A woman was standing by the curb, when out of nowhere she was shoved into the street. She fell really hard, and before she could even get her bearings, she was kicked and punched again and again. All of it was captured on video. This was not a scuffle. This was not a misunderstanding. It was a brutal, unprovoked attack. The man responsible, Hugh Mason, is no stranger to police. He is already known for violence and already known for breaching the law, yet he was there on our streets free to lash out at an innocent woman.”
“She was 30, an entrepreneur, a daughter and a friend, and she was brutally killed in her own home in Port Kells in 2024. Her murderer, Adam Mann, was already facing eight other charges, including aggravated assault, from just a week earlier. We do not need a law degree to see the pattern. The Liberals told the courts to restrain themselves, the courts complied, a dangerous man was back in the community, a young woman is dead and her family is left asking how a system could see the risk and choose release. (1200) This is not complicated. When Parliament says to err on the side of release, people like Tori carry the risk. This is not just about Tori, though. It is about every woman who wonders if she is safe walking home at night. It is about every parent who wonders if their daughter will make it home.”
“The banquet hall was not just a building; it was supposed to be a safe place for families while the law did not protect it. Then there is the tragic story of Tori Dunn. Tori is not just a name in the newspaper. She is a daughter, a friend. She is one of us, and she was attacked brutally by a man who never should have been free, a man with a record, a man known to police, a man who, under any system that valued the safety of women and the safety of families, would have been behind bars, but because of Liberal Bill C-75 , he was not. He was out on bail, and Tori paid the price. When I talk to people in my riding about Tori's story, they do not just shake their heads; they clench their fists and ask how this could happen and how our justice system could look at his record and set him free.”
“This is what organized extortion looks like: anonymous calls, threats against children or warning shots at the door if they do not pay. It is not just one victim. It chills a whole corridor of small businesses. Weddings get cancelled, bookings dry up and an entire community starts looking over its shoulder. Here is the core failure: a legal environment that emboldens criminals. When the consequence for violent intimidation is a quick release, the message that sends is to keep going. Liberal Bill C-75 's principle of restraint and Bill C-5 's repeal of mandatory jail time for serious gun crimes, including extortion with a firearm, have combined to lower the cost of terror for gangs and raised the cost of living for everybody else.”
“These are stories from my own backyard of businesses, families and seniors who have paid the price for Ottawa's dangerous experiment with catch-and-release justice. First, picture a wedding banquet. Families are gathered. Music is playing. Parents are dancing with their children. That is what a banquet hall is supposed to be: a place of joy and community. However, in Surrey, at the Reflections Banquet Hall, that joy was shattered. Instead of wedding bells, there were gunshots. Instead of safety, there was fear. The hall became a target of an extortion network that has been terrorizing South Asian businesses across the Fraser Valley. In early June, the owner, Satish Kumar, received a voice mail demanding $2 million and threatening his family. Within days, shots were fired at three businesses connected to him.”
“Mr. Speaker, the number one responsibility of government is to keep its citizens safe: safe in their homes, safe in their businesses and safe in their communities. It is not partisan and not optional; it is fundamental, but right now that promise has been broken. Under the Liberals' Bill C-75 , our bail system was rewritten. Judges were ordered to apply a so-called principle of restraint. That means repeat violent offenders, people who are known to police and who have a record of crime after crime, are put right back on our streets. It has left my community of Cloverdale—Langley City living in fear. Today, I want to share three stories, not from some faraway place and not from a textbook or report.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer just pulled the fire alarm. He called our finances “very alarming”, “stupefying”, “shocking” and “unsustainable”. He warned, “if [we] don’t change, this is done”. Something is going to break. We are standing at the cliff's edge, and for the younger generation especially, this is their future at risk. Every dollar the Prime Minister spends today comes out of Canadian pockets tomorrow in higher taxes and higher inflation. Will the Prime Minister keep marching Canadians toward a cliff of doubling deficits, or will he finally turn back before it is too late?”
“However, more than that, I was outraged on behalf of the women inside that facility, who may not have anyone else to speak for them and who are now being denied even that. In summary, the assistant warden of the Fraser Valley Institution, under direct instruction from the warden, obstructed and interfered with my ability to carry out my duty as a parliamentarian. That amounts to a breach of the established privilege to be free from obstruction, interference and intimidation. (1515) My colleague, who explained yesterday how this behaviour interfered with his parliamentary work in the House and at committee this autumn, has already proposed a motion to refer this to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. I add my voice to that call. Our duty as members of Parliament is clear. We do not turn a blind eye.”
“The correctional officers who accompanied us appeared shocked, and I do not blame them, because what occurred that day was an intentional act to prevent members of Parliament from doing their job. The message from Mr. Szafron, and by extension his superiors, was chillingly clear: “You are not welcome to conduct oversight here.” I left that day with deep concern not only for the staff and inmates, who may be subjected to this kind of culture of intimidation, but also for the integrity of our role as parliamentarians. When management closes ranks and bars elected officials from seeing behind those doors, the natural question is, what are they trying to hide? As a woman, I was particularly taken aback by the condescension and lack of respect shown to me throughout this encounter.”