CPAC - Thursday, May 23, 2024 - 08:30 p.m. (ET) - Segment #2

seriousness of the offence. With respect to the question about the bill, I welcome this question. Keeping kids safe is everyone's response ability in this chamber. This legislation would require a takedown within 24 hours of any material that constitutes child sex exploitative material and would require a risk analysis and a risk reduction material that induces a child to self-harm or bullies or intimidates a child. That is doing right by people like Amanda Todd's mother and so many other children that are being extorted and exploited online. >> The Speaker: The honourable member? >> Thank you very much Madam President. I would like the minister to even speak a little bit more on this specific topic. As parents and grandparents, I actually receive a number and my constituencies from parents and grandparents who are very concerned about their children and the fact that they are so preoccupied these days with online platforms. And, in fact,, the justice minister, my recollection was at one of our standing committees, injustice and he himself had said that the most dangerous toys that Canadian families have are the screens that their children use. I wanted to explain metal a bit further and speak a little bit more about the measures in the bill because I fundamentally think that is a very important topic but it is one that is alarming to many in my constituencies. And across the country. >> The Speaker: Honourable Minister? >> Thank you Madam chair. Said it before and I'll say it again, a Lego in my basement is subject to more restrictions than the screens my children are on, that has to change. We need to change the invent centre by his agent on social media companies from the monetary one to a safety one. That is what this legislation will do. It creates a duty to protect children, a duty to remove content. Also makes the prosecution and I'm hoping the opposition is listening, the prosecution will be facilitated in terms of child sex predators. How? By making changes to the mandatory reporting act such that the evidence must be preserved for one year. You have up a five to lay a charge. All included social media companies must report and must report to a central clearing facility and it is critical to facilitating and that is what law enforcement has asked us for, that's what mothers and fathers affected by things like extortion in this this country have asked us for. That is what will help keep kids from being induced to self-harm which includes, sadly and tragically suicide in the case of Carson and Penticton BC and so many other children around this country. But we understand from the centre first child protection is that the 70 times per week, they get notifications of extortion. And that is only the children that are coming forward. It is critical to address this issue and address it with haste. We need to pass this bill to second reading and get it to committee to hear from experts about the pressing need for this bill. >> The Speaker: The honourable member? >> Thank you very much back Madam President. Hate is on the rise in Canada. And fact, at our committee right now, we are studying anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. We can study anti- anything these days. I believe that there is so much going on in the world that people just want to express their anger and there is a lot happening. It is alarming and it is distressing to hear numerous accounts of hatred against people in our public forum. I firmly believe hatred should have no place in Canada. But we do know that it exists. So all people should feel -- and must feel, safe to express themselves online and off-line. We know that is not the case. I want to ask the Minister of Justice to please discuss and elaborate a bit further on what can we do to keep people safe from hatred? >> The Speaker: The honourable Minister? >> I would say we can start by moving with haste on bill's 63. What it talks about is that hate crimes over the last five years or 10030% in this country. We know that hatred that people are exposed to online has real-world consequences. Look no further than the trials of the individuals who were killed at the Québec city Mosque and the trials of the family that was killed in London Ontario. How do we cure this? We take a Supreme Court definition of hatred, we entrench it in law. That is something that law-enforcement has asked us for. Again, I hope members opposite or listening. Law enforcement and police officers have asked us for these changes because they want to facilitate the work of any crime units and identify what is happening in late charges for what's happening. And by enhanced penalties under

the criminal code by entrenching the definition of hatred in the Canadian human rights act to facilitate discrimination complaints for online hate speech and by ensuring that we are having this content addressed on social media platforms, we can address this at multiple angles. It is critical towards keeping people safe now more than ever, when hatred is on the rise weather it is anti-Semitism, the member I just spoke about, the Islamophobia we have seen with such fatal consequences or attacks towards the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Weather it is attacks against indigenous people in the prairies. This is rife right now, the time to act is now, not at some future date but now, to keep Canadians safe. This has got to be a priority for every Parliament here. Does this mean we have the perfect bill? Absolutely it does not mean that. We need to get this bill to the justice community so we can hear from experts about how a good bill can strengthen things further. >> The Speaker: The member for Peterborough-Kawartha? >> Thank you Madam Speaker. Can I ask through you, the minister, on what date did he say it is empirically unlikely that Canada is less safe? >> The Speaker: Honourable Minister? >> The safety of Canadians of my fundamental priority and what I indicated is that I had been briefed on the matter and I understand that violent crime is up in Canada. >> The Speaker: Honourable member? >> Thank you Madame speaker. I should also sale be splitting my time with the member from Durham, I will take 10 minutes. Again, I will ask one more time, on what date did he say publicly that it is empirically unlikely that Canada is less safe? >> The Speaker: Minister? >> Safety is a priority for me and I hope is a priority for the members opposite. When I'm troubled by is that they are opposition to basic premises such as this bill which is about reducing the number of handguns in Canadian society and keeping women like them ever opposite. >> The Speaker: Member? >> Just for fun, one more time. On what date did the Minister of Justice publicly say that it is empirically unlikely that Canada is less safe? These are his words. On what day did he say it? >> The Speaker: Minister? >> Keeping Canadian safe is a party for mine, that's why we're addressing things like gun violence. I was a bit shocked during the supplement three estimates about when that member voted against $83 million of funding which would have helped with guns and gangs. >> The Speaker: Honourable member? >> Justice for Canada folks, and he actually said that and that was on July 31st, 2023. Next question. Minister, for you Madam chair, how many Ontario municipalities have declared intimate partner violence and epidemic? >> The Speaker: Honourable Minister? >> I have declared the intimate partner violence and epidemic and it was quite clear in doing so in response to the Renfrew County inquest. >> The Speaker: Member? >> How many have declared and spent partner violence and epidemic? >> The Speaker: Honourable Minister? >> It is a critical crisis situation and an epidemic not just in Ontario but around the country, that is why we are targeting it through measures that relate -- >> The Speaker: En about member? >> Isn't it interesting that the Minister says that and yet he also said that it is empirically unlikely that Canada is less safe. 94 municipalities, Madame speaker. Manage speaker through you, in Ontario, how many women were killed in a 30 week window between 2022 and 2023? >> The Speaker: Honourable Minister? >> I'm encouraged by the members passion for addressing to mystic violence, it has to be a passion priory for all of us. When I'm discouraged by is that when we introduced legislation that would have things like a red flag law to take a gun away from an abusive spouse, she voted against it. >> The Speaker: Honourable member? >> Very interesting he brings up guns and does not want to answer the question. There was a man who killed a woman in front of a Calgary elementary school who was under a no contact order. What did he murder her with, manage speaker? >> The Speaker: Honourable member? >> The weapons that are being used in terms of violence against women include guns, that is what we have heard it committee, that is what we implanted legislation to freeze handgun sales and to regulate the fact that red flag laws -- >> The Speaker: Honourable member? >> This man who took this woman's life in front of her children on an elementary school yard was -- I will ask again, who was previously charged with domestic violence defences, released under a no contact order and had active warrants against him. This Minister wants to bring up guns, I ask again, how was this woman murdered by a repeat offender who was out on warrants? >> The Speaker: Honourable Minister? >> I would say, again, this is an issue that needs to be addressed. Guns and gangs relate to keeping people safe. When that member and her party votes against funding for guns and gangs, they are not keeping Canadians safe, or Canadian women. >> The Speaker: En of them ever? >> Charge for that to mystic violence offence in 2023 was released on bail and a condition to have no contact with his estranged wife. He was charged with violating that release in September and again in November. He stabbed her. This is appalling to hear from the Minister of Justice when

Copyright protected and owned by broadcaster. Your licence is limited to private, internal, non-commercial use. All reproduction, broadcast, transmission or other use of this work is strictly prohibited.

Transcripts