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Protecting Victims Act

Bill C-16, Protecting Victims Act · Time allocation motion · now law Where it stands

The House debated a time allocation motion for Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, a bill that would amend criminal and correctional laws, including creating an offence of coercive control toward an intimate partner, expanding first-degree murder designations in cases of femicide, tightening rules around sexual offence trials and delay, and updating victims’ rights. The justice minister said the House had studied the bill sufficiently, that amendments from multiple parties were accepted, and that passing it quickly would protect victims, citing femicide rates and harms from AI-generated fake intimate images. Conservatives opposed cutting off debate, saying the Liberals once opposed time allocation themselves and that the government was limiting witnesses and debate at committee; some Conservatives also raised mandatory minimum sentences, the notwithstanding clause, Bailey’s law in the Senate, and terminology about child sexual abuse material. The Bloc Québécois also objected to the government’s repeated use of time allocation, while a Green member supported the bill but regretted her amendments on elder abuse were not accepted and asked for separate legislation on that issue. A portion of the exchange went to accusations between the parties over delaying tactics at committee.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

1 statement

Xavier Barsalou-Duval

Bloc Québécois
“The government is cutting off debate and shutting down committee meetings. I want the Minister of Justice to explain why they are not being open and letting people speak.”
Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, unfortunately, despite the fine words from the other side of the House after the Liberals secured their much-vaunted majority, the government is moving forward with one time allocation motion after another. At the end of the day, despite the promises to work together, we are seeing more and more committees being muzzled. I heard someone mention it is happening at the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. I could say the same thing about the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, which is still shut down. For over a month now, it has been impossible to get any public information about what is going on at this committee. As Minister of Justice, does my colleague not think it is important for there to be transparency in the decisions that are made in the House so that people have an opportunity to speak out on important issues? Right now, given everything this government is trying to do and despite their talk of collaboration, I get the feeling that, for them, collaboration is a one-way street. We have to do what the government says, and that is the end of it.

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