Bill C-12

Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act

An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of Canada's borders and the integrity of the Canadian immigration system and respecting other related security measures

Part 1 amends the Customs Act to provide the Canada Border Services Agency with facilities free of charge for carrying out any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of that Act and other Acts of Parliament and to provide officers of that Agency with access at certain locations to goods destined for export. It also includes transitional provisions.
Part 2 amends the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to create a new temporary accelerated scheduling pathway that allows the Minister of Health to add precursor chemicals to Schedule V to that Act. It also makes related amendments to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Police Enforcement) Regulations and the Precursor Control Regulations .
Part 3 amends the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Cannabis Act to confirm that the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, make regulations exempting members of law enforcement from the application of any provision of the Criminal Code that creates drug-related inchoate offences when they are undertaking lawful investigations.
Part 4 amends the Oceans Act to provide that coast guard services include activities related to security and to authorize the responsible minister to collect, analyze and disclose information and intelligence.
Part 5 amends the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act to authorize the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to disclose, for certain purposes and subject to any regulations, personal information under the control of the Department within the Department and to certain other federal and provincial government entities.
It also amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to authorize the making of regulations relating to the disclosure of information collected for the purposes of that Act to federal departments and agencies.
Part 6 amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to, among other things,
(a) eliminate the designated countries of origin regime;
(b) authorize the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to specify the information and documents that are required in support of a claim for refugee protection;
(c) authorize the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board to determine that claims for refugee protection that have not yet been referred to the Refugee Protection Division have been abandoned in certain circumstances;
(d) provide the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration with the power to determine that claims for refugee protection that have not yet been referred to the Refugee Protection Division have been withdrawn in certain circumstances;
(e) require the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeal Division to suspend certain proceedings respecting a claim for refugee protection if the claimant is not present in Canada;
(f) clarify that decisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board must be rendered, and reasons for those decisions must be given, in the manner specified by its Chairperson; and
(g) authorize regulations to be made setting out the circumstances in which the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness must designate, in relation to certain proceedings or applications, a representative for persons who are under 18 years of age or who are unable to appreciate the nature of the proceeding or application.
It also includes transitional provisions.
Part 7 amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to, among other things,
(a) authorize the Governor in Council to make an order specifying that certain applications made under that Act are not to be accepted for processing, or that the processing of those applications is to be suspended or terminated, when the Governor in Council is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to do so;
(b) authorize the Governor in Council to make an order to cancel, suspend or vary certain documents issued under that Act, or to impose or vary conditions, when the Governor in Council is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to do so;
(c) for the application of an order referred to in paragraph (b), require a person to appear for an examination, answer questions truthfully and produce all relevant documents or evidence that an officer requires; and
(d) authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations prescribing circumstances in which a document issued under that Act can be cancelled, suspended or varied, and in which officers may terminate the processing of certain applications made under that Act.
Part 8 amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to add two new grounds of ineligibility for claims for refugee protection as well as powers to make regulations respecting exceptions to those new grounds. It also includes a transitional provision respecting the retroactive application of those new grounds.
Part 9 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to, among other things,
(a) increase the maximum administrative monetary penalties that may be imposed for certain violations and the maximum punishments that may be imposed for certain criminal offences under that Act;
(b) replace the existing optional compliance agreement regime with a new mandatory compliance agreement regime that, among other things,
(i) requires every person or entity that receives an administrative monetary penalty for a prescribed violation to enter into a compliance agreement with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (the Centre),
(ii) requires the Director of the Centre to make a compliance order if the person or entity refuses to enter into a compliance agreement or fails to comply with such an agreement, and
(iii) designates the contravention of a compliance order as a new violation under that Act;
(c) require persons or entities referred to in section 5 of that Act, other than those already required to register, to enroll with the Centre; and
(d) authorize the Centre to disclose certain information to the Commissioner of Canada Elections, subject to certain conditions.
It also makes consequential and related amendments to the Retail Payment Activities Act and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations and includes transitional provisions.
Part 10 amends the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act to make the Director of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada a member of the committee established under subsection 18(1) of that Act. It also amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to enable the Director to exchange information with the other members of that committee.
Part 11 amends the Sex Offender Information Registration Act to, among other things,
(a) make certain changes to a sex offender’s reporting obligations, including the circumstances in which they are required to report, the information that must be provided and the time within which it is to be provided;
(b) provide that any of a sex offender’s physical characteristics that may assist in their identification may be recorded when they report to a registration centre;
(c) clarify what may constitute a reasonable excuse for a sex offender’s non-compliance with the requirement to give at least 14 days’ notice prior to a departure from their residence for seven or more consecutive days;
(d) authorize the Canada Border Services Agency to disclose certain information relating to a sex offender’s arrival in and departure from Canada to law enforcement agencies for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of that Act;
(e) authorize, in certain circumstances, the disclosure of information collected under that Act if there are reasonable grounds to believe that it will assist in the prevention or investigation of a crime of a sexual nature; and
(f) clarify that a person who discloses information under section 16 of that Act with the belief that they are acting in accordance with that section is not guilty of an offence under section 17 of that Act.
It also makes a related amendment to the Customs Act .

Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague makes a very important point. We are not hearing the Liberals debate this bill, and that would be a very important question to ask them. It is really unfortunate that they do not want to talk about the legislation that is before us today.

I think that it is really necessary to address these issues in committee, and I hope that we will have the opportunity to hear from witnesses and experts on the subject in order to analyze the provisions of the bill and ensure that the rights and freedoms of Canadians are respected.

[Andrew Lawton, Conservative, Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it has been rather enjoyable sitting in the chamber today. If we did not hear one of the Liberal member's questions, we can be assured they will ask it again five minutes later, maybe changing a word here or there. I enjoy how the member for Winnipeg North, in particular, continues to talk about the RCMP.

I want to ask my colleague from northern Alberta if she agrees with the president of the RCMP union, Brian Sauvé, who said the Liberal government's gun grab will be “ineffective” at reducing gun violence. Would she agree with the RCMP, which has been very vocal in criticizing the government's approach to firearms regulations?

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague raised a very important point. We are blessed to have amazing RCMP members, who serve us from coast to coast to coast. They serve me in my riding of Fort McMurray—Cold Lake. They are the police of jurisdiction in my home community.

The police union has, and rightly so, called out that the Liberal gun grab will not actually have an impact. That is concerning. It is a boondoggle. It is $742 million, at a very conservative estimate, and is not going to improve public safety. That is not okay.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I always take pleasure rising in this House to talk about government legislation, or any matter for that matter, and I would like to take some time today, in the context of the bill we are debating, Bill C-12, to talk about some of the stuff I have heard.

I have been involved in the debate a couple of times this week, and I must say that some of the stuff I have been hearing coming from the Conservatives in particular is quite alarming.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, they are laughing, so maybe I will put that into context by providing some of what I heard.

To the member for Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, who just asked a question, yes, we have been talking about the RCMP and asking questions about the RCMP, and I apologize if that makes the member uncomfortable, but the reality is that there are questions to be answered on this topic. There are questions to be answered when it comes to the manner in which we are seeing the Leader of the Opposition and, throughout this debate, other members of the Conservative Party, which I would like to get to, talk about the RCMP.

They are saying things that I think are quite problematic and are emblematic of what we are seeing happen in the States. I know some members in this House take pride in that, probably some of the members I will reference in a couple of moments when I note what I have heard them say here, but I want to start with what I heard moments ago from the member for Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee. This was actually in a question he posed, so he initiated the question on it. He said that the Leader of the Opposition's comments in the podcast he was on were “taken out of context”.

Let me set the context by telling everybody exactly what the Leader of the Opposition said. He said, “Many of the scandals of the Trudeau era should have involved jail time.... If the RCMP had been doing its job and not covering up for him”—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

I have to interrupt the chief government whip.

I have a point of order from the member for Elgin—St. Thomas—London South.

[Andrew Lawton, Conservative, Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I believe it is Bill C-12, government legislation, that is supposed to be debated. The chief government whip may be mistaking the chamber for his Twitter account, but I am not sure—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

That is a matter of debate. There is wide latitude for members to share their thoughts.

I invite the chief government whip to resume.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I know this is difficult for the member from Elgin to listen to, and I know he is new here, but I am talking about what was said in the House during this debate. If he is somehow suggesting that I should not be able to respond to some of the things I have heard in this debate, that would be an infringement upon my privilege, quite frankly.

For the member's benefit, I will start from the beginning. This is what the Leader of the Opposition said:

Many of the scandals of the Trudeau era should have involved jail time.... If the RCMP had been doing its job and not covering up for him, then he would have been criminally charged.... These would normally have led to criminal charges, but of course the RCMP covered it all up, and the leadership of the RCMP is frankly—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

I have to interrupt the chief government whip one more time.

I have a point of order from the member for Peace River—Westlock.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I recognize that our hon. colleague wants to talk about this, but the debate today is about Bill C-12, and I wish he would bring it back to relevance. I note that it is the Liberals who—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

I have to interrupt the member.

Members have wide latitude in debating any piece of legislation, and I am sure the chief government whip knows the rules of what is germane to debate.

I will let the chief government whip resume.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on the subject noted by the member for Peace River—Westlock, I will tell members what he said in this debate. The member, who just stood on a point of order, said, “The actions of the leadership of the RCMP...are indefensible in many instances.” He said that in this debate on the issue of Bill C-12, so for him to stand—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

I have another point of order, from the member for Souris—Moose Mountain.