Costas Menegakis
Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, Ontario · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, last year we lost 5,630 Canadians to the opioid crisis. That is 15 lives lost every day. Emmy Liu, 14 years old, was one of the increasingly alarming number of young Canadians whose lives were stolen by the fentanyl traffickers.”
“Mr. Speaker, this bill seeks to criminalize anyone who dares to quote from scripture, a religious text, and that is crossing the line, as far as I am concerned and as far as a lot of Canadians are concerned. It is the difference between the state and religion, the state and faith.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister 's luxurious travel around the world has racked up a nearly $1-million catering bill. That is enough to feed a family for 55 years. While the Prime Minister eats five-star meals, Canadians are struggling.”
“Madam Speaker, the bill would basically strip away the right of a person to quote from their holy text. It would open the door to criminalizing people for uttering words that they are reading from their holy text.”
“Mr. Speaker, record-high youth unemployment in Canada is a direct result of the Liberal government's reckless immigration policies. By flooding the labour market with temporary foreign workers and residents, the current government has created a wage-suppressing crisis.”
“Now the Liberal government has launched an international campaign to recruit more foreign students to Canada who compete with Ethan and other young Canadians who are struggling to find work. The Liberal government should stop pandering to lobbyists and start putting Canadians first.”
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“Madam Speaker, the member speaks as if this is something that should take five, six or 10 years to complete. He is talking about 2030-31, as if we are supposed to be looking forward to really accomplishing something five or six years from now. I do not know that he can look seniors in the face in his own riding and say that we are going to get it straight and that they should come back around in about five or six years, and then we will see if we can get the cheque they need every month sorted out for them. The member also speaks about, and this is interesting, the standing committees of Parliament. He does not currently sit on a standing committee of Parliament, so I give him a bit of leeway.”
“I wish all my friends in Canada, Greece and across the world a happy independence day. [ Member spoke in Greek and provided the following translation: ] Long live liberty. Long live Greece. [ English ] Long live Canada.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand today in celebration of Greek Independence Day, a powerful symbol of bravery, courage, unity and the enduring human desire for freedom. On March 25, 1821, the people of Greece rose against centuries of Ottoman occupation, inspired by the Hellenic spirit, a deep love for their homeland and a belief in self-determination. Their struggle was not easy, but through resilience and sacrifice, they secured their independence and inspired movements of liberty around the world. Greek Independence Day is a celebration of history and a reminder of the values that define a nation: freedom, democracy, the rule of law and cultural pride. These ideals, born in ancient Greece, formed a foundation that continues to shape societies today. May their legacy continue to inspire generations to come.”
“Mr. Speaker, successive Liberal immigration ministers have destroyed our once-respected immigration system. Yesterday, the Auditor General revealed that the Liberals only reviewed 2.6% of 153,000 suspected cases of foreign student work permit fraud. The Liberals have allowed hundreds of IRGC agents into the country. Yesterday, the immigration minister practised the art of deflection. It seems that when it comes to the safety of Canadians, the Liberal ministers play a game of “Who, me? Yes, you! Not me! Then who?” Why are some of the most incompetent and destructive ministers in Canadian history still in cabinet?”
“Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of disastrous Liberal policies, the immigration crisis is worse now than ever before. The Auditor General's latest findings revealed widespread fraud and dangerous gaps in the Liberals' oversight of foreign student work permits. In spite of this, the Liberals are pushing ahead with hundreds of thousands of new foreign work permits with no plan to remove the millions of existing expired foreign visa holders who remain in Canada. The Liberal Prime Minister needs to take responsibility for promoting the ministers who created this chaos. Why are three of the most incompetent and destructive ministers in Canadian history still in his cabinet?”
“The Liberals need to get out of the way so Canadians can get back to work. If this is the Prime Minister 's version of economic success, Canadians truly cannot afford to see his version of failure.”
“Mr. Speaker, Canada has lost over 100,000 jobs in the first two months of this year. Canada is the only shrinking economy, and it has the second highest unemployment, the highest household debt and the highest food inflation in the G7. The Liberal Prime Minister cannot just blame global factors when the other members of the G7 are dealing with the same issues. These are problems the Liberals have created and that this Liberal Prime Minister has worsened. He is running the biggest deficit and the highest spending this country has ever seen outside of COVID, and the results are disappearing jobs and a shrinking economy. He failed to unlock growth by killing anti-energy laws and red tape. He failed to approve a single new pipeline or major project, and he failed to secure a trade deal by his promised date, July 2025.”
“That is why I wholeheartedly support and would urge every member in the House to support Bill C-220 , put forward by my colleague, the member of Parliament for Calgary Nose Hill .”
“Liberals need to stop prioritizing the immigration consequences of criminals and start prioritizing the safety of Canadian families. The vast majority of Canada's immigrants and temporary residents abide by the law. Removing non-citizens convicted of a serious crime is a no-brainer. I will end with this. There are two directions Canada can go in: the Liberal direction, which is high chaos on everything related to immigration and crime in our country, or the Conservative approach, which is to value Canadian citizenship, have that restored, deport non-citizen serious criminals, reward honest immigrants and restore our immigration system back to a system that Canadians can be proud of again.”
“They are making productive contributions to the economy and want to stay in Canada to build a better life, but they look at Canada's skyrocketing cost of living and nightmare immigration system and are deciding to move to the United States or back home. We are witnessing a brain drain of the talent we need. The Liberals' immigration policy seems to be making a trade-off. While they cover for non-citizen criminals to stay in Canada, law-abiding job creators, skilled workers and those humbly looking for a better life, which the vast majority of immigrants are, get left out in the cold. The current trajectory of the government is a betrayal of the Canadian promise to immigrants. Anyone seeking residence or citizenship in Canada has responsibilities as well as rights.”
“Non-citizens who rape, extort and murder should not be allowed to stay in our country, yet the current system is geared towards letting the criminals stay through endless appeals and lenient sentences. That is why this bill, put forward by my colleague, the member for Calgary Nose Hill , would specify in the Criminal Code that sentences should not depend on the potential impact on the immigration status of a convicted non-citizen offender or that of their family members. It is so desperately needed. Conservatives will always fight to protect Canadians, the value of our citizenship and the safety of every person who lives here. Becoming a Canadian is a privilege, not a right. Right now, we are losing economically productive immigrant entrepreneurs, job creators and highly skilled workers.”
“Under the Liberals, non-citizen criminals get a pass and victims get punished. If the Liberals spent as much time figuring out how to protect people as they do twisting themselves in knots to be kind to thugs, murderers and rapists, Canada would be safer, and our immigration system would be more respected. Canadian citizenship is one of the most coveted prizes in the world. Canada offers safety, freedom and opportunity, and in exchange, the newcomer pledges to uphold our laws. When a non-citizen commits a serious crime, they have violated that agreement, and they should be thrown out of our country. It is not fair to Canadians to consider immigration consequences when sentencing convicted criminals. Actions have consequences.”
“This is the safe Canada the Liberals have built, a country where foreign agents feel comfortable to intimidate people on our streets, because they know the government lacks the spine to kick them out. We are also seeing a surge in non-citizen criminals using the asylum system to avoid accountability. We see it in cases of extortion rings, where individuals, once caught, suddenly claim refugee status to freeze their removal. This is what the Liberal government has allowed. By filing last-minute, baseless claims, extortionists buy years of time in Canada in our backlogged asylum system. That is another Liberal immigration failure, where it is highly possible these non-citizen criminals receive better health care coverage than most Canadians receive at a time when many Canadians cannot find a family doctor. Here is the reality.”
“Many have been accused of intimidation, surveillance and harassment of our own citizens right here in Canada, in our communities. How many have actually been removed? Here is a newsflash: It is just one. One person has been removed from Canada from all these characters who are here, perpetrating havoc in our communities. There has been just one single deportation, while dozens of regime agents continue to treat Canada as a safe haven, because the Liberal government has allowed that to happen. The media reports for the last two weeks have been chilling. We have seen reports of IRGC-linked sleeper cells and acts of intimidation against the Iranian diaspora in our communities.”
“When crimes against humanity are met with a second chance to stay in Canada, our refugee system has lost its moral compass, as I believe the Liberals have. The Liberals' high tolerance for non-citizen criminals extends beyond the courtroom. They are more sympathetic to non-citizen criminals than to the victims who have been raped, murdered, extorted or assaulted. (1810) For years, Conservatives have sounded the alarm about the IRGC, a designated terrorist organization operating freely on Canadian soil. While the Liberals give speeches, the reality on the ground is a disgrace. The CBSA has identified at least 26 individuals currently in Canada who merit deportation due to their ties to this repressive regime. News outlets have reported there are more than 700 individuals in Canada with alleged links to the Iranian regime.”
“This level of depravity should meet the unyielding force of Canadian law. Instead, our system hit the pause button. The court granted this predator an adjournment, specifically to explore the effect his plea would have on his immigration status. That is mind-blowing. While the victim lived through an unimaginable nightmare, the judicial system allowed accommodation for the perpetrator so he could dodge deportation. There is also the case of Munir Ahmad Malhi, a former Pakistani cop linked to crimes against humanity. Despite his 37-year career with a force known for atrocities, a federal court judge recently gave him another shot at refugee status so he can stay here and terrorize Canadians.”
“It is an insult to every law-abiding immigrant who followed the rules, and it undermines the very foundation of equality under the law. The consequences of this failure are written in the headlines of our local papers. Take the case of Medhani Yohans in Guelph. A non-citizen, high-risk sex offender and frequent flyer in our courts, Yohans was arrested again and again on February 3, 2025, just hours after being released. This is a man who has proven time and time again that he has no regard for Canadian life or law. Why is a non-citizen with a track record still here to victimize our community? This is bewildering, not only to me but also to Canadians across our country. Even more disturbing is a case from Bradford. A 47-year-old man raped a young girl, resulting in pregnancy.”
“Judges are actively considering immigration status and are reducing sentences for serious criminals, specifically to keep them below the threshold that triggers automatic deportation. Here is another news flash for the Liberals: Canadians do not want non-citizen criminals in their communities. When we allow different sentencing standards based on immigration status, we send a message that the law is negotiable and that Canadian safety is secondary. Non-citizen criminals are celebrating this weakness. They are celebrating the Liberal laws that allow them to commit heinous crimes and receive reduced sentences to stay in the country where they can continue to terrorize our communities. The Liberals are creating a class of offenders who can commit crimes on Canadian soil without facing the price of losing the privilege to stay here.”
“Right now, due to hug-a-thug Liberal laws, judges can consider immigration status when deciding convicted criminals' sentences. Yes, that is right: If a Canadian and a non-Canadian commit a crime, the Canadian will go to prison, but the non-Canadian will get a bit of a break because they have an immigration status pending. I do not know how that makes sense. It makes absolutely no sense, as it did not make sense when the member for Davenport said that we would be taking these people away from their families. Here is a news flash for the member for Davenport and for all of the Liberals across the aisle: If someone is a criminal, they belong in jail and they are going to be away from their family anyway. Their family is not going to be in prison with the criminal.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to stand today to speak to Bill C-220 , a bill that has been very thoughtfully presented to Parliament by my outstanding colleague from Calgary Nose Hill . She has done an exceptional job, not only with this bill but also in pointing out the numerous ways that the Liberal government has taken an immigration system that was once the envy of the world and made it the laughingstock of all people who want to take advantage of Canadian generosity. The bill is of great importance, not only to my constituents of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill but indeed to all Canadians. Ten years of disastrous Liberal immigration and soft-on-crime policies has given birth to a two-tiered justice system that prioritizes the comfort and feelings of offenders over the safety of our communities.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to refer to what my colleague from Huron—Bruce said. He referred to the time when we had a Conservative government here, the Harper government. During that period of time, we signed 38 free trade agreements, alongside numerous foreign investment promotion and protection agreements. We know what that was worth and what the value was. My question for the member is simply this: Has he seen a number from the government, from the Prime Minister , for what the quantifiable number is or what the impact of these trade agreements he has embarked upon in relation to what the overall trade is with the United States?”
“Madam Chair, the brutality of the Iranian regime knows no bounds. The country will never return to the people of Iran until the regime is overthrown. A democratic government must be chosen by the Iranian people, and today that is not possible without intervention—”
“When they went to find the person, their loved one, he still had a pulse, but he was near death with a note on him that said, “If you dare take him to the hospital or dare call a doctor, we will not only kill him, but we will kill all of you as well.” I find it very difficult to sit here and talk about what will perhaps have an economic effect on Canada and, at the same time, say it does not matter what happens to people living in Iran because they are living there and we are living here. That is not human. I cannot participate in a discussion at that level.”
“Madam Chair, it is hard to put a dollar sign on this, monetize this, or speak in financial or economic terms when talking about people's lives. I will share with my hon. colleague the following story of a constituent of mine in Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill who came to me and told me their first cousin was taken from his bed, in his bedroom where he was with his parents. The young man was taken from there. He disappeared for three days, only for the family to be informed three days later to go pick up his body at a specific corner on two streets in Tehran.”
“They are not people who have de-escalation talks. Their way of resolving problems is by hanging people from cranes in Mashhad in the square.”
“Madam Chair, in fact, not only the community itself but friends of the community gathered together with hundreds of thousands of people gathering over roughly the past 10 days. There were 350,000 people who gathered in Richmond Hill with one voice, asking for the overthrow of the regime, asking for support of the American and Israeli effort to overthrow the Iranian government. People are fed up. They are fed up because they are living in fear. They are fed up because of what is happening to their families back home. Their loved ones are being taken out of their homes, beaten to death because they dared to say, “We want to have a voice in how we are governed”. That is what we are dealing with. It is a brutal regime. With people that behave like that, we cannot have diplomacy. We cannot have de-escalation talks.”
“It is the responsibility of the Prime Minister and the government to ensure that we unequivocally support the overthrow of the brutal Iranian regime and return the beautiful country of Iran back to its people.”
“Today, I gave notice of a motion at the citizenship and immigration committee that would, amongst other things, do a few things to address the abysmal record of the immigration file of the Liberal government's seven ministers in the last 10 years. In a nutshell, in the interest of time, I asked to expedite the deportation of non-citizens known to be IRGC operatives and to release the name of the individual reported on February 6, 2026, who asked and obtained the right for his name not to be revealed, who is known to be an IRGC operative. The names of all IRGC operatives and all people threatening people in our communities in Canada must be disclosed expeditiously so people in Canada can live safely. Iranian Canadians and Canadians across our nation deserve to live in safe communities. Canadians have a right to live in safety.”
“He has not stood in his place, he has not addressed Parliament and he has not voiced any opinion except when someone puts a microphone in his face wherever he is travelling around the world doing his own things. Four different times, he has changed his mind on how he sees the effort of the United States and Israel and the incursion into Iran. What they are doing is trying to help the Iranian people get their country back and to have their own voice. It is a very inconsistent and incoherent message coming from the Prime Minister of Canada. It is unfair to Iranians. It certainly is unfair to all Canadians, especially Canadians in a very vibrant, dynamic Iranian community. Flip-flopping on issues like this is not advisable at any time, but especially in this particular instance.”
“This is who we are talking about when we are talking about de-escalation and diplomacy. We cannot have diplomacy with people who behave like this. These are not normal human beings. Here in Canada, Iranian communities are living in fear that someone is in our community who is going to squeal on them and something is going to happen to their families back home or they will live in danger in their own homes in the communities that we represent. I represent an area of the York region that is the heart of the Iranian Canadian community in Canada. Repeatedly, we have seen these things, yet we see a Prime Minister who has decided to be radio silent in Parliament on this issue.”
“Not only did the Iranian regime murder him, but hanged him from a crane in Mashhad so that anybody driving by could see that, if they dared speak one word against the regime, they would hang there dead for their fellow citizens to see. Mahsa Amini was a 22-year-old young lady who was wearing a hijab, but it was not to the liking of a particular IRGC monster who wanted it lowered to her eyebrows. When she questioned why, she was brutally murdered. Many members stood up and made statements in the House about Mahsa Amini, I want to remind the hon. members in the House. Another atrocious monster programmed the machine, pushed the button and fired not one, but two missiles into a civilian plane, flight PS752, murdering 55 Canadians, 30 permanent Canadian residents and a total of 176 people, including children.”
“Madam Chair, I would like to begin by reminding members from the governing party what it is we are actually speaking about today. We are talking about the oppressive and brutal Iranian regime, the very regime that for 47 years has perpetrated atrocities on its own people and supported and wreaked havoc throughout the whole Middle East region and other places around the world. Let me bring up a couple of examples. Justice 88 is a group that commemorates, on an annual basis, what happened in 1988, when this very brutal Iranian regime decided to arbitrarily murder 30,000 people it claimed to be political prisoners in its prisons in one shot. Majid Reza Rahnavard was a very vibrant young man who dared to speak truth to power and wanted democracy in his own country.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have successively failed to address the fact that we have terrorists on our streets, and there has been zero enforcement of the laws that are already in place. This is happening because the seven Liberal immigration ministers in the last 10 years have failed to protect our borders, and now hundreds of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps agents safely reside in Canada, many in my community in Richmond Hill. This is because Liberal public safety minister after Liberal public safety minister has failed to deport them. When will the Liberal government finally start to—”
“Madam Speaker, the member makes a valid point. There are definitely long lineups of people waiting. The lists just keep growing and growing. It is fact. A CBSA official who was a witness at the citizenship and immigration committee told us in his testimony that there are over 30,000 asylum seekers in Canada right now who should not be here and who they cannot find to deport from the country.”
“Madam Speaker, we are all parliamentarians. We are all elected to represent our communities and to represent Canadians. We are here to make Parliament work. We want to work with all parties, including the Liberal government, the Liberal Party, to make things better, to make legislation better. It is sad that when we try to do that, they put their hands up. They have used the word “obstruction” in the House this week probably about 150 times, if not more. They get very emboldened when the polls change and they start talking about elections. I hear the government whip over there chirping that we need an election. That is not what it is about. We are all sitting in borrowed chairs here. These chairs do not belong to us. They belong to the people who gave us the right to sit in them.”
“They put a piece of legislation together that is flawed, and they expect it to pass without respecting the will of other parliamentarians.”
“Madam Speaker, it is a little rich for the member opposite to be speaking about who should be shameful. After 10 years of allowing criminals, with the Liberals' catch-and-release policies, to be on our streets and attacking our communities, they have the audacity to stand up and talk about who should be shameful. I will add this for the hon. member's education. He would know and, if not, he ought to know that all of the bills he mentioned go to committee and we make recommendations. I listed a very extensive list of amendments that we made specifically to Bill C-12 . Every single one of them was rejected by the Liberals. That is who is obstructing Parliament from working. The obstruction here is happening by the Liberal Party and the Liberal government. They do not want Parliament to work.”
“It does not make sense to Canadians, it does not make sense to anybody, that the immigration status of somebody should be considered when making a determination as to whether they should be sentenced as fairly and as equally as everybody else committing the same crime. Ending this practice ensures that our judges focus on justice and public safety. These measures make sense because they protect the integrity of the immigration system that so many of us value. I invite my Liberal colleagues to stand with Conservatives and send a clear message. Canada is a land of opportunity for those who follow the law, but there is no place here for those who seek to destroy our peace. In closing, let us put the safety of Canadians first, restore the rule of law and end this era of Liberal leniency once and for all.”
“By barring non-citizens convicted of serious crimes from making refugee claims, we are actually protecting Canadians. That is our job. The primary responsibility of any government, of any Parliament, is to protect citizens, our citizens. We must end the practice of leniency, in order to avoid deportation, for non-citizens convicted of serious crimes. A crime is a crime. It does not matter who commits it. We cannot look at one group of people differently than another group of people when they are, in fact, executing the exact same crime. That is not what a judicial system is. Our judicial system is one based on democracy. It should be one based on fairness. The government has allowed the opposite to happen. The punishment should fit the offence, not the immigration status of the offender.”
“They also rejected modernizing the IRB appointment process to better consider the provinces and include more merit-based candidates, particularly those with law enforcement experience. Our opposition motion today would make our streets safer. It would restore order and increase fairness in our judicial system. By barring non-citizens with active judicial proceedings related to serious crimes from making refugee claims, we would send a clear message that our asylum system is not a get-out-of-jail-free card for organized crime and for those who want to unscrupulously use it. This closes the loophole through which a criminal can delay their deportation by filing a claim the moment they are caught. They are here, they get caught and, all of a sudden, they are claiming asylum.”
“They rejected placing the onus on a claimant to prove they made their claim in a timely manner, not the government. They rejected requiring asylum claimants arriving in Canada to immediately provide, on the record, their full grounds for seeking protection, preventing the later use of unscrupulous lawyers to game the system. They rejected modernizing the appeals and judicial review processes associated with the asylum system. In fact, they also rejected creating a new transparent and clear reporting requirement for the government to disclose the amount of federal benefits received by asylum claimants. They rejected modernizing the content of the annual report to Parliament.”
“In fact, they rejected removing the ability of migrants with failed asylum claims to claim any federal social benefits beyond emergency health care. The Liberals rejected disallowing asylum claims to be made by nationals of, or by those arriving in Canada having transited through, a G7 or an EU country. They rejected modernizing screening requirements. They rejected requiring educational institutions who accept foreign students to share the cost of any bogus asylum claims made by the foreign students they welcomed to Canada. The Liberals rejected requiring that claims made by migrants who return to their home country while their claim is pending be abandoned. They rejected rejecting claims made after a claimant is found to have lied to an officer.”
“It is crazy that individuals who come to our country and proceed to terrorize our citizens would be allowed to stay here. Canada is a country built on immigrants, my own family included, who came here to work hard, play by the rules and contribute to the peace and prosperity of this great nation. When we allow violent extortionists to claim refugee status to avoid being sent back to their home countries, we are making a mockery of the genuine refugees who are fleeing actual persecution. It is a slap in the face to every law-abiding immigrant who waited years, followed every rule and respected all of our laws. (1145) Conservatives proposed an amendment that would have updated the immigration protection act to bar asylum claims from being made by those who have been convicted of serious crimes in Canada. The Liberals rejected it.”
“It makes sense: When a judge considers a criminal's immigration status as a mitigating factor in sentencing, they are essentially saying that a non-citizen deserves lighter punishment for the same crime than if it had been committed by a Canadian citizen. This is the definition of a two-tier justice system. We cannot have a safe society if the right to stay in Canada is placed over the right to be safe for those already here. Conservatives have repeatedly raised concerns about how our immigration system is being gamed. We have seen cases where individuals accused of violent crimes use our asylum system as a shield to protect themselves. NDP Premier David Eby called this out as “ludicrous”. I do not agree much with David Eby, but I agree with him on this.”
“Here are some real criminal cases in which judges have considered immigration status in sentencing: A man, Aswin V Sajeevan, spied on a woman in a bathroom, where he made video recordings; another man raped a 13-year-old girl; Rajbir Singh sexually assaulted a young woman in Calgary. My question to the Liberals is this: Is it really the position of the government that we should give rapists, peepers and those who sexually assault women in Canada a second chance to stay here? If it is not, they should vote with the Conservatives to end the practice of leniency to non-citizens convicted of serious crimes to avoid deportation.”
“This failure is compounded by a loophole within our judicial and immigration systems. We are witnessing a pattern whereby judges are granting reduced sentences specifically to ensure that a non-citizen's immigration status remains unaffected. Under current law, a sentence of six months or more triggers a serious criminality designation, making a non-citizen inadmissible and eligible for deportation. Instead of applying the law, we see sentences of five months and 29 days handed out to bypass this threshold. Even NDP Premier David Eby has called for these laws to be changed, describing these loopholes as “corrosive” to public confidence.”
“Criminal organizations have seen the signals coming from the government, and they have concluded that the risk of consequence justifies their actions. Families in Surrey, Brampton and right across the GTA, including in my riding, are waking up to threats, firebombings and bullets through their windows. Small business owners, many of whom came to Canada to build a better life for their families, are being told to pay protection money or face the consequences. This is the Canada the Liberals have created, one where thugs feel emboldened and citizens feel abandoned. When we gut our judicial system and then tell the judges to use the principle of restraint for repeat violent offenders, we are not just being lenient; we are fanning the flames of the crime wave that follows.”
“Madam Speaker, the safety of our communities is of utmost importance. For 10 years, we have seen the soft-on-crime Liberal government prioritize the interests of criminals over the safety of law-abiding Canadians. Just a few months ago in my riding, Amir Shafei, an innocent man, a quiet man, walked outside in front of his house and was accosted by a repeat violent offender who was out on bail. Amir would be alive today if this heinous killer had been in jail. Since the Liberals took power in 2015, extortion has skyrocketed by a staggering 330%. This, along with many other types of crime, is the direct, predictable result of the government's soft-on-crime agenda. Its record on crime, defined by Bill C-75 and Bill C-5 , has replaced a culture of accountability with a catch-and-release revolving door.”
“Mr. Speaker, the member references the laws being changed, the consultations and so forth. That is not the motion before us today. If the member opposite in the Liberal Party really believes that an injustice was done in the past, the motion before us today is to simply say sorry and apologize. That means not just the government but all of us parliamentarians here. It is to bring an apology forth that will bring closure to the people of Mirabel, the people of the region and the people of Quebec, indeed of all of Canada. It is not directly related to consultations and discussions and the merits of building the high-speed rail; it is an apology that is required to bring closure.”
“Mr. Speaker, this is a very important issue for the people of Mirabel . We are talking about families that farmed their land for generations and generations and passed it on down. It is important for Mirabel, important for Quebec and important for Canada. I cannot think of a reason why the government would not want to simply give the good people of Mirabel an apology so they could have final closure on this. It was two Canadian Conservative prime ministers, Stephen Harper and Brian Mulroney, who returned that land back to the people of Mirabel. Why will the government not give some closure and apologize to the people of Mirabel and the people of Quebec?”