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Adjournment Proceedings

2026-05-04 Sitting 116 Showing 1–4 of 4

A bill to reform bail and sentencing, with a focus on violent offenses, motor vehicle theft, and offenses against first responders. During debate, the Conservatives emphasized the need for meaningful consequences and raised concerns about safety in their communities, while the Liberals claimed to be working with law enforcement and police associations to address evolving crime.

Official Hansard ↗

Tamara Jansen

Conservative 6:45 p.m.

“I want the government to be tougher on crime. Surrey is becoming dangerous. Gangs are out of control. Police need to focus on stopping them. We can't let criminals think they can get away with anything. Mandatory minimums should come back. Don't let criminals off easy.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, a country that cannot keep its streets safe is a country that is totally losing control of its future. What is happening in my community of Surrey and Cloverdale should be a warning to every member of the House. Quiet neighbourhoods are being hit by gunfire. Families are wondering whether they are safe in their own homes, and businesses are being threatened. The rule of law is being challenged in broad daylight. This is not inevitable, but if we do not act with seriousness and resolve, organized crime will continue to test the limits of our justice system and intimidate law-abiding Canadians in their own communities. Let us begin with what happened just last week. In the residential neighbourhood of Sullivan, shots were fired into a vehicle. One 25-year-old man was killed and another was seriously injured. Investigators have confirmed that it was a targeted act tied to the ongoing B.C. gang conflict. This is a neighbourhood where I door knock regularly. It is the second gang execution there in a month. What is most troubling is not the violence itself, but the facts around it. In late April, Surrey police confirmed that officers from the gang unit had been reassigned to deal with a surge in extortion. When organized crime required focused and sustained pressure, specialized resources were being pulled in another direction. That should concern everyone. When enforcement is stretched too thin, criminals look for openings. When pressure is not sustained, organized crime adapts. When police are forced to shift limited resources from one serious threat to another, innocent Canadians are the ones left in the crosshairs. What happened last week was not some isolated gangland shooting in a back alley. It happened in a quiet neighbourhood filled with families, people who had nothing to do with this violence and are now left wondering what could happen next. We need to be clear about what we are dealing with. This is a web of rival gangs and sophisticated organized crime networks increasingly tied to extortion. The violence is not contained between criminals. It is spilling into our neighbourhoods, our businesses and our streets. When a multi-agency task force was empowered to go after these criminals, there were signs of progress, with more than 30 active investigations, close to 100 judicial authorizations and coordinated action across agencies. Over 100 individuals were being examined for immigration violations linked to those networks. That is what it looks like when the full weight of the system is applied, but that pressure has to be constant. Organized crime does not disappear because of one announcement or one operation. It has to be confronted every day with sustained enforcement, specialized policing and real consequences. At the same time, we cannot ignore the pattern of leniency in the system itself. Individuals with serious criminal histories remain in this country when they should have been removed. Offenders breach conditions, reoffend and continue to benefit from delays, reduced sentences or rulings that allow them to stay. Judges have warned of a two-tier justice system, where penalties are softened to avoid deportation while Canadians face the full weight of the law. Even people under deportation orders who are facing serious allegations have been able to exploit the gaps and disappear from oversight or avoid consequences. That is not right. It sends a dangerous message to criminals that the rules are negotiable and the consequences are minimal. If we want to turn this around, we need sustained support for law enforcement. That means specialized units that remain focused, officers on the ground who are not pulled away at the first shift in priorities, and tools, such as air support, that help police monitor suspects, coordinate responses and stop offenders from operating freely. Will the government finally stop with the rhetoric, restore mandatory minimums, repeal its catch-and-release laws and ensure that criminals face real consequences?

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Ryan Turnbull

Liberal 6:50 p.m.

“Organized crime is a problem. We need to do something. I want to brag about the bills we introduced. Conservatives are stopping our bills. They pretend they are tough on crime, but really they are obstructing. I hope you will tell Conservatives in the Senate to pass our bills. Talk is cheap. Pass our bills if you really care about crime.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to rise today to speak about an issue that Canadians are no longer willing to tolerate: the surge of extortion that is targeting our communities, our businesses and our families. Crime has evolved, and frankly, our laws did not keep pace quickly enough. That is a reality, but unlike the members opposite, we are not interested in pointing fingers and walking away. We are taking responsibility and fixing the issue. This is why we introduced Bill C-14, the bail and sentencing reform act, and Bill C-16, the protecting victims act, two of the most consequential proposed reforms to the Criminal Code in a generation. Bill C-14 would give tools to provincial judges and police officers to put repeat and violent extortionists in jail, where they belong. It would mandate strict bail conditions for people accused of extortion and organized crime, including weapons prohibitions and geographic restrictions. It would introduce a reverse onus for extortion involving violence, shifting the burden so that the people accused must justify their release instead of the Crown having to justify their detention, and it would ensure that sentences for extortion and arson are served consecutively, because escalating violence deserves escalating consequences, period. Bill C-16 would go even further by addressing how criminal networks operate. It would create a new stand-alone offence to target people who recruit young people into committing crimes like extortion. These criminals are not just breaking the law; they are grooming young people to do their work for them. We are shutting that pipeline down before more lives are pulled into it. Here is something Canadians must know. These bills were introduced last fall, last year. Canadians expected urgency, but what they got from the Conservatives is delay, obstruction and political gamesmanship, all while they stood in the House pretending to be tough on crime. Now the same pattern is repeating itself in the Senate, where a Conservative senator has recently claimed there is no timeline to pass Bill C-14 and bring it back to the House for final stage. This is despite overwhelming support from all 10 premiers, from police chiefs across the country, from frontline officers I have talked to and from business leaders across this country who are dealing with extortion in real time. Let us be clear: The only thing standing between Canadians and stronger protections right now is Conservative delay. If the member opposite truly cared about victims of extortion, she would use her rhetoric and her actual influence inside her party to make sure these bills get passed. Tonight when she goes home, we hope she will pick up the phone and tell her Conservative colleagues in the Senate to stop blocking these bills, which she has been doing, and urge them to pass Bill C-14 both at committee and at third reading, before this Friday, or she will continue to say one thing here while her colleagues ensure that nothing actually gets done. The legislation is here. The solution is here. The only question is whether the members opposite will finally stop their obstruction and start standing with Canadians and the victims of extortion.

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Tamara Jansen

Conservative 6:55 p.m.

“If the government wants to protect Canadians from crime, it needs to go after criminals harder. We should give tough sentences to deter crime. The government's gun bill won't do anything. Criminals already know shooting is a crime. We need to fix bail and close loopholes that let criminals stay in Canada. We need to work with police, provinces, and communities to take down crime networks. Why don't the Liberals take crime seriously?”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, if the government is serious about restoring safety for Canadians, it has to act with clarity and resolve. This begins with consequences. Serious repeat offenders, particularly those engaged in extortion and organized crime, must face meaningful jail time, not symbolic penalties but sentences that deter and protect. The new Liberal legislation, which would make it criminal to shoot a gun from a moving car, is completely unserious. These criminals already know they are committing a crime. We also need bail rules that put public safety first, not last, and we need to close the loopholes that allow non-citizens involved in serious criminal activity to manipulate the refugee system and remain in this country when they should not. We need to end the leniency that allows people convicted of serious crimes to avoid removal. We desperately need, at the same time, to work with police, provinces and communities, providing sustainable support to dismantle those networks properly and to restore confidence where it has been lost. What is the reason the Liberal government does not take this issue seriously?

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Ryan Turnbull

Liberal 6:55 p.m.

“I'm saying we worked with police and women's groups to pass these bills. People want them. Why do you keep saying we don't care when you're the ones blocking it in the Senate? Stop delaying and help us pass this.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we have been doing: working with law enforcement and with police associations across the country. We have had tons of testimonials over and over again for these two bills. I have talked to my police association; to my father, who is an ex-homicide detective; and to many other police across this country who have been asking to pass these two bills. In addition, the women's organizations in my region have been asking us to pass the protecting victims act, and they support the work of the government. Why does the member opposite continue to claim false things in the House, saying we do not care, when we have put the solutions on paper, have done the work in committee and have passed the bills through the House? Conservative senators have been blocking the legislation and trying to slow it down. They have been slowing it down for way too long. Let them get out of the cheap seats and actually do something to help Canadians.

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