“The Liberals have been in power for 10 years, but they only tried to fix the military justice system after a public scandal. A report showed the system failed victims. Why did the government wait so long to act?”

“Mr. Speaker, Bill C-11 is a concrete example of the Liberal government’s lack of leadership. The Liberals have been in power for 10 years and, what is more, held a majority from 2015 to 2019. However, they waited for a public scandal before reforming the military justice system. Justice Arbour’s report showed that the system was failing to protect victims. I have a simple question for my colleague. Why did they wait for a public scandal before taking action?”

“The government is moving sexual offence cases from the military to civilian courts. But the civilian courts do not have enough judges. I want the government to appoint more judges and give the courts more resources.”

“Mr. Speaker, the government is transferring sexual offence cases to the civilian courts. They are being taken out of the military system. The problem is that the government is already incapable of making the justice system work, especially when it comes to appointing judges. Quebec is short five judges and Canada is short 27. Victims do not need a change in system. They need justice. For that to happen, the federal government must do its job: It must appoint judges. Does the government intend to appoint judges as quickly as possible and give the system the resources it needs, instead of just passing the buck?”

“The government rejected important changes that the defence committee made to this bill. Voters chose a minority government so parties would work together. I want the government to explain why it is ignoring the committee's work and refusing to work with other parties.”

“Mr. Speaker, the government is being rather arrogant, and I think we need to call it out. The Liberals have had several of the amendments from the Standing Committee on National Defence struck down. They were important amendments. After securing a majority thanks to the floor crossers, the government decided to completely sideline all of the committee’s work, even though the general election produced a minority government. For now, it is the floor crossers who are enabling the government to give itself all the power and override the will of the people, who entrusted it with a minority mandate so that it would collaborate. I do not understand why the government does not respect the idea that we must work together. It is not respecting the committee’s work. I have a simple question for the government. Can it explain why it is not respecting the work of the parliamentary committees and the elected parliamentarians who represent the public? It cannot claim to represent the full spectrum of views based on the floor crossers it used to secure a majority. Democracy thrives on a multiplicity of voices. Right now, the government is completely excluding those voices.”

• Little substance
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  Question or comment in debate

  Signal 37 of 100

  Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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“The government now has a majority and is ignoring our work. Good changes were made to this military justice bill in committee, but the Liberals removed them for no reason. I want the government to explain why it is ignoring the committee's work to make this bill better.”

“Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, there is officially a new dynamic at play, and the government is being rather arrogant, or blatantly arrogant, even. There is no longer any point in speaking in committee because we are not getting any answers. There is a new government that secured a majority with the help of defectors, including an NDP MP. Among other things, this MP was one of the lawmakers who worked on amendments to this bill. Some of these amendments were very constructive and improved the bill, but the Liberals removed some of them for no reason, simply because they have given themselves the right to do whatever they want now and to disregard the will of the people who elected us to represent them and work together. I would like the government to explain to me why it refuses to respect the will of the committee and all the concerted effort that went into producing a better bill for Canadians.”

“The government is using members who switched parties to shut down debate and undo committee work. The minister only reads from a script. I want him to answer without his notes and tell us if he truly thinks this is democratic.”

“Mr. Speaker, this government, which was elected as a minority government, bought itself a majority by getting members to cross the floor. It is taking the democratic work of a committee and undoing it. Today, it is using the majority it bought to impose a gag order, but that is not the worst part. We have here a minister who is simply repeating the same old lines and who cannot answer a single one of our questions without reading from a script prepared by his staff. I would like the minister to stand up, leave his notes on his desk and tell us honestly whether he believes that what the Liberals are doing today is democratic.”