Luc Berthold

Madam Speaker, Thanks · 22 wordsI too would like to acknowledge the strength of my colleague from the riding whose name is too long to mention tonight.Thanks Aside · 7 wordsEveryone knows who I am talking about.Aside Thanks · 53 wordsHe is recovering from the cardiac issues he had this morning. The entire House stands behind him. I have received numerous messages from all parties, and I want to let him know that. He is a good person who deserves all our respect. I think we absolutely must send him positive vibes tonight.Thanks Anecdote · 47 wordsI saw him just two weeks ago, working out with my colleague from Montmorency—Charlevoix. He had been going strong for 20 minutes. He is usually bursting with energy, but one never knows. No one ever knows what is going on inside, when things might take a turn.Anecdote Reasoning · 20 wordsI urge all men to be careful and to pay attention to the warning signs of these terrible heart diseases. Thanks · 94 wordsI would also like to take the opportunity to thank all of my colleges who reached out to me over the past few days about the matter I discussed with the media, a personal matter that happened back in 2025. Without repeating it here tonight, I simply want to thank all my colleagues from all the parties. I want to thank everyone who is going to support Bill C‑231 for David’s friends. I also want to thank all the people in their homes who agreed to tell me how things are for them now.Thanks Aside · 13 wordsWe do not talk about it enough, or talk about it a lot.Aside Promise · 23 wordsIf I was able to bring certain people a little peace of mind by talking about it, then I will keep doing so. Claims · 22 wordsMembers of the House certainly share the same desire to help and to do something for people in these kinds of situations, Reasoning · 24 wordswhere drug use far exceeds our capacity as parents, or our capacity as young people, to cope with all the problems it can cause.Off point Procedure · 6 wordsThat brings me to Bill C-16, ProcedurePositioning · 19 wordswhich is a bill that we could have almost introduced ourselves. However, I want to stress the word “almost”.Positioning Claims · 76 wordsThis bill aligns with many of the Conservative Party’s objectives, including protecting victims and putting criminals behind bars. It seeks to ensure that victims are properly recognized by the courts. It seeks to prohibit things that did not exist before but that came to be because of new technologies, including the much-discussed deepfakes. This week, we saw in Quebec newspapers that it takes only 10 minutes to create a deepfake nude image of a young girl.¹ Positioning · 4 wordsThat is absolutely appalling.Positioning Reasoning · 24 wordsWe have to put an end to these new technologies and, more importantly, stop those who are misusing them to cause harm to others. Claims · 43 wordsThe ban on deepfakes, particularly when they target intimate partners, seeks to protect Canadians, particularly women, from the creation and distribution of non-consensual intimate images. It is very serious to create or distribute these kinds of photos of young girls without their consent. Procedure · 5 wordsI hope people understand that.Procedure Claims · 89 wordsWe are also pleased that the government picked up the proposal by my Conservative colleague contained in Bill C‑216. Some of that bill’s provisions seeking to introduce mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse material were also incorporated into Bill C‑16, ²which will help better protect our children from the most heinous crimes. So far, all of my colleagues agree with these measures. We are also delighted that the calls of our justice critic to automatically have the murder of an intimate partner deemed a first-degree murder have been heard.³ Procedure · 3 wordsThis is important.Procedure Claims · 46 wordsThis bill has made progress. We have succeeded in getting essential measures included in it. Finally, of course, we had a discussions and not all of the Conservatives’ proposals were picked up, even despite the government’s tendency to legislate on Conservative policy ideas since taking office, Aside · 16 wordsbut that is another story that I will leave for the Liberals to debate among themselves.AsidePartly on point Claims · 71 wordsAlthough the government unfortunately rejected the proposal to impose a mandatory minimum sentence of three years for all types of extortion, the inclusion of an aggravating factor in sextortion cases is a step in the right direction, albeit insufficient.⁴ For the benefit of people watching at home, “sextortion” consists of using intimate images or intimate knowledge of a person to blackmail them, make them talk or make them do anything else. Reasoning · 8 wordsWe absolutely must put a stop to it, Claims · 6 wordsand Bill C‑16 does just that. Positioning · 6 wordsUnfortunately, the Liberals are the Liberals.Positioning Claims · 18 wordsThere had to be something in the bill to prevent us from passing it unanimously in the House. Positioning · 5 wordsWhat is it this time?PositioningPartly on point Claims · 25 wordsIt is clause 63. Clause 63 allows judges to avoid imposing minimum sentences and to exercise their discretion in cases of violent and serious crimes.⁵ Positioning · 10 wordsThis runs completely counter to everything I have just said.Positioning Claims · 49 wordsJudges will now be able to decide, based on their own discretion, experience or the circumstances, that a minimum sentence of five years, for example, will be reduced to just two or three years. As a result, certain people who should remain in prison will be released more quickly. The ask · 9 wordsI urge my Liberal colleagues to think about that. Claims · 47 wordsI think that we are very close to an agreement and that we could get something done that is good, together. We could pass Bill C‑16 if the Liberals got rid of that section. We would all agree. We all agree on the measures in Bill C‑16, Positioning · 31 wordsbut we do not want the Liberals to do what they have been doing for 11 years, that is, making life easier for criminals and making these crimes even more common.⁶Positioning Claims · 26 wordsIt is not that there are more criminals; it is that criminals are committing an increasing number of crimes because they are increasingly unafraid of justice. Procedure · 39 wordsThat is a fact.Unearned certainty To give the Liberals time to reflect on this issue, to give them time to think about it and perhaps come back tomorrow with a clear proposal, I move: That the House do now adjourn.⁷Procedure