Arif Virani

[Public Safety, October 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for asking this question. It gives me the opportunity to highlight what we have done. As far as firearms are concerned, we have invested about $400 million to fight guns and gangs. The Conservatives and the member opposite voted against these measures.

In terms of the administration of justice, yes, there is a problem with the bail system. When we look at the bail system, we have to check whether enough Crown prosecutors are challenging bail applications and whether enough space is available in detention centres. That would be a good question to ask Premier Legault.

[Innovation, Science and Industry, October 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I want to start by noting the events in Vancouver yesterday at a protest. We unequivocally condemn those events and those actions. It is absolutely unacceptable to burn the Canadian flag and to chant “death to Canada”. It is also unacceptable to deny and celebrate the events of October 7 and to champion the acts of a terrorist group.

[Foreign Affairs, October 7th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I will agree with one thing the independent member just said: “The safety of our citizens is the only priority.” That is why we have a national action plan to combat hatred. That is why there is a bill on the legislature floor right now, Bill C-63, that would target online radicalization that leads to anti-Semitism.

How does somebody get to the point where they are targeting a Jewish day school, a Jewish day care or a Jewish synagogue? They are radicalized online. The same bill has augmentation of penalties for willful promotion of anti-Semitism, public incitement of hatred and advocating genocide. It is a bill that not every party in the chamber supports, and it is what we need to get behind.

[Innovation, Science and Industry, October 7th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, there is a qualitative difference between providing documents for the purposes of Parliament and providing documents for the purposes of prosecution. The second we cross that line, we need to impose the protections that the charter provides. That is what that document represents. Most Canadians get behind that document, save for my Conservative colleagues.

The reason why the safeguards are important is because they protect things like privacy and our freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, again, fundamental precepts that the member knows full well because he used to practise in this area. I just wish he could educate his colleagues about why we need to safeguard important charter rights.

[Innovation, Science and Industry, October 7th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to appeal to the member. As a former Crown prosecutor, he knows something about the independence of our institutions.

When the police take action, they do so without political direction or manipulation. The police make decisions. They then go to a court and ask for a search warrant. It is judicially authorized because it has charter protections.

That is something with which the member used to be familiar. I just wish he would educate some of his colleagues about the importance of these safeguards and why they exist in democracies.

[Innovation, Science and Industry, October 7th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear about two things. In terms of a criminal prosecution, the way it normally unfolds is that the police seek a search warrant from a judge and the judge evaluates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the charter interests at stake in getting documents, something about which that party cares not. Second, we have a fundamental premise called police independence. We safeguard it in Canada. Who does not safeguard it? It is authoritarian regimes. I guess the Leader of the Opposition and his minions are sharing their blatant favouritism toward authoritarian tactics in this House.

[Foreign Affairs, October 7th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, one year ago in the Middle East, peace was broken by a violent terrorist attack by Hamas. On this side of the ocean, we have to do better in how we articulate protests. They need to be peaceful. What that means is that one does not go out on the streets to target a day care, does not go out on the streets to target a community centre and does not go out on the streets to target a synagogue.

Our resolve to fight anti-Semitism is strong. It has been strong since this Parliament started, when we outlawed the wilful promotion of anti-Semitism. It is even stronger now as we are advocating for more strict penalties, which that party opposes.

[Foreign Affairs, October 7th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, today is October 7, the anniversary of a horrific attack on Jews, with 1,200 people killed and over 200 people taken hostage. Our solidarity is with Jews in Israel and with Jewish people in Canada and right around the world.

What we stand up against, absolutely, is the amount of hatred that we have seen in this country and countries around the world. People have targeted Jewish Canadian schools, day cares and synagogues for acts that they have a problem with on another side of the world. We are better than that in this country. We need to stand up against that kind of hatred in support of Jewish people and for all people who defend their ability to worship how and whom they choose.

[Justice, October 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, my thoughts are with Clarence Woodhouse and the suffering he has endured unjustly for decades, and I want to recognize the suffering of all of those people who have endured an injustice.

The bill that the member is referencing, David and Joyce Milgaard's law, would create real change. It would create an independent commission to review potential miscarriages of justice. It would revolutionize access to justice in Canada.

For all innocent people who have been wrongfully convicted and are still awaiting justice, help is on the way. I am sorry for all of Clarence's suffering. His story proves why we need to work harder for a better, fairer and more equitable justice system for all.

[Public Safety, October 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, when the men and women in uniform in my city of Toronto or right across the country are harmed in the course of their work, they deserve our absolute respect and solidarity, which we always provide to them.

In terms of decisions made about bail, these are important considerations and considerations where we have made amendments to the bail regime. What happens after amendments are made at the federal Parliament is the ball turns over to the provinces.

We need to ask genuine questions about who is making decisions about granting or denying bail, about provincially appointed JPs, about provincial Crowns who are making decisions about whether to review bail and what kinds of conditions to impose. Those are questions that need to be asked, because we—