René Arseneault

[Business of Supply, January 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I was listening to what my two colleagues were saying, and I completely disagree, especially with the comments made by my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable who claims to have been a mayor. All of the mayors in my riding and all of the mayors listening this evening would say the exact opposite of what he said. All he needs to do is ask them.

Bilateral agreements were signed with the provinces. Our province, like all of the others, submits its priorities to the federal government, which has not happened. The municipalities are well aware of how infrastructure spending works. More specifically, what is happening is that some provinces do not submit any projects. That is the problem. All of the municipalities in my riding know this, contrary to what my colleagues claim.

[2019 General Election, June 19th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, in 2015, Canadians placed their trust in us to put an end to 10 years of austerity.

Four years later, our numbers do not lie. Our policies have lifted over 825,000 people out of poverty, including 100,000 seniors and more than 278,000 children. We now have the lowest level of poverty in Canadian history.

We have cut taxes for families and small businesses, one million jobs have been created since we were elected and we have the lowest unemployment figures in 50 years.

For rural regions, we doubled the gas tax fund by investing an extra $2.2 billion for municipal projects across Canada. We also announced over $164 million for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. Small communities in Canada need this infrastructure.

Our government has invested in Canadians and their communities. The results are plain to see, and now is not the time for a return to the harmful policies of the opposition.

[Liberal Party of Canada, June 4th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to govern, but Canadians have not forgotten their record from the last time.

Here are a few of the Conservatives' highlights. The previous Liberal government left them a $13-billion surplus, and the Conservatives turned it into the worst accumulation of debt in Canadian history: almost $150 billion in 10 years. With pipelines, there is nothing to highlight. On the environment, they did nothing on climate change, but they muzzled scientists.

As far as social programs are concerned, the Conservatives closed veterans services offices, eliminated the court challenges program, cut funding to women's rights organizations and abandoned our seniors, not to mention their contempt for first nations.

In four years, our government has supported the middle class, lowered taxes for small businesses and created one million jobs. The unemployment rate is at its lowest in 40 years, and we have a plan for fighting climate change.

Under the Liberals, poverty among children and seniors is declining. Under the Conservatives, it is Canada that declines.

[Criminal Records Act, May 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I will give just one real-world example.

In the past, when describing a sentence for drug possession, the type of drug involved was typically not specified. There may be a difference between possession of cannabis and possession of cocaine. Because of the way things were done, it can be hard to determine, just from reading a criminal record, whether an offence refers to a specific drug or to drugs in general.

When a person receives a pardon for simple possession of cannabis, they can firmly and compellingly argue that they were charged with this type of crime in the past and show their pardon. That is just a working example.

[Criminal Records Act, May 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, which is based on the premise that systemic discrimination might exist based on the background of the individual applying for a pardon.

My wife and I practised law together for 23 years. We had a small law office in a very rural region. We assisted on loads of pardon applications for people from all walks of life: white people, indigenous people, francophones, anglophones, the rich and the poor, and people on social assistance.

There were of course some difficult situations, but the only discrimination possible at that point was whether the individual could afford to pay for the pardon. Therefore the fact that this bill removes all costs associated with the pardon application makes it extremely accessible to everyone at any time. I cannot imagine how anyone, regardless of their background, could be discriminated against in that respect here in Canada.

[Criminal Records Act, May 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent question, to which there is a simple answer. The Canadian pardon system has a proven track record. I know all about that, having been a lawyer and helped clients get a pardon. The Canadian experience is a success story.

The United States, like every sovereign country, has their way of doing things. In Canada, the problem is that it is hard to find every conviction since you would have to go to the registries of every small town in every territory and every province, not to mention the various levels of justice.

When an individual travels abroad and is asked if they have ever consumed cannabis and if they have been accused of cannabis possession, they can answer yes, then provide written and tangible proof of the pardon. We believe that is much more effective than doing the reverse.

[Criminal Records Act, May 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to answer my colleague's question.

Before I answer, I would like to note that I have been involved in the justice system, since I am a lawyer by training. I did a lot of volunteer work in my community and I saw the damage caused by having a criminal record, even for simple possession of cannabis.

There are people who wanted to do volunteer work in their community or coach a sports team, but they were prohibited from doing so. Some people wanted to get a job, but could not. Many fields of employment require people to have a clean criminal record.

As far as the impact this could have on the public purse, there is no possible comparison between the government's finances and giving someone the opportunity to reintegrate into the working class, giving someone who wants to work the opportunity to rejoin the workforce.

No measure can compare to that. The positive impact of a free pardon that is available to everyone is a billion times better.

[Criminal Records Act, May 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to participate in the debate on Bill C-93 at second reading. This bill will make things fairer for Canadians and their families. There was an ineffective prohibition of cannabis for far too long and, as a result, many Canadians ended up with a criminal record after being convicted of simple possession of cannabis.

Criminal records can make it hard for people to get jobs, find housing or even volunteer in their communities. The associated stigma can create the impression that the individual will always be seen as a criminal.

Criminal records are obviously necessary in the context of public safety. However, they can run counter to their objective when they prevent people who do not represent a danger from actively participating in society. This is particularly true when the activity for which the individual was convicted is no longer illegal and when the members of certain communities are disproportionately affected.

This is why our government has introduced Bill C-93, which would streamline the process for getting a pardon, also known as a record suspension, by waiving the waiting period and the application fee.

Generally speaking, an individual convicted of simple possession of cannabis must wait five years for a pardon, although the waiting period can be as long as 10 years. With Bill C-93, applicants could apply as soon as they have finished serving their sentence. The application fee, which has been $631 since 2012, would be waived. On top of that, the usual criteria, like determining whether people have shown good behaviour and whether a pardon would bring them a measurable benefit, would also be waived.

The Parole Board of Canada is taking additional steps, such as simplifying application forms and doing community outreach, with the goal of allowing people with past convictions for cannabis possession to clear their records and move on with their lives as quickly and easily as possible.

This is one of the final chapters in the unfortunate story of cannabis prohibition in Canada, which goes back almost a century. Billions of dollars have been wasted enforcing an ineffective legal regime, not to mention the billions that lined the pockets of organized crime.

In spite of the prohibition, Canadian youth are among the heaviest users of cannabis in the world. Some of them, especially members of marginalized communities, were saddled with criminal records that limited their educational and economic opportunities.

Because of the many different courts and police services in urban and rural communities all across our country, each with its own archives of convictions that go back decades, we do not know the exact number of Canadians with simple possession charges on their records. However, we do know that a simplified pardon process with no waiting period or application fee would make it easier for people to get the pardons they need to finally turn the page.

During the last election, we committed to ending the ineffective and counterproductive prohibition of cannabis. The NDP, on the other hand, wanted to maintain the prohibition of cannabis, with a decriminalization system that would have seen police issuing fines to people in marginalized and low-income communities. As for the Conservatives, they still think that people who possess a small amount of cannabis for personal use should be thrown in jail.

Canadians gave us the opportunity to enact our proposal in October 2018, and we did exactly that. With the coming into force of Bill C-45, we put in place a system of legal, strictly regulated cannabis production and distribution, designed to keep cannabis out of the hands of Canadian youth and to keep profits out of the hands of criminals. At that time, the government announced that it intended to provide recourse for individuals who had been convicted of simple possession of cannabis only. Once again, we have delivered on our commitment.

A pardon with no waiting period and no fee is a very effective measure available to everyone in our society.

When a person is pardoned, their criminal record is sealed and sequestered. A criminal record check by a prospective employer or landlord would come up empty, and U.S. border services would not find anything in the Canadian police database either.

The criminal record could only be disclosed or reinstated in exceptional circumstances, for example, if a new criminal offence is committed.

The effect of a pardon is fully recognized and protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on a person's criminal record.

Many provinces and territories offer similar protection. Waiving the usual wait period and application fee are unprecedented measures. By doing so, we would be removing the major obstacles in the path of Canadians seeking to lift the stigma and burden of a criminal record for possession of cannabis, allowing them to participate fully in society and become responsible Canadians.

We cannot go back in time and give them back the opportunities they have lost, but we can give them a way of moving forward. When people fully reintegrate into Canadian society by going to school, getting jobs and generally participating in community life and Canadian society, we are all better off.

It was in our collective best interest to end the prohibition of cannabis, because a system governed by a rigorous legal framework is safer for us all than a black market operating without oversight of any kind. Now that we have a legal framework in place, it is in our collective best interest to enable Canadians who have previous convictions for possession of cannabis to clear the criminal records imposed on them under the old regime.

Bill C-93 is a step in that direction. I strongly support this bill, and I urge all my hon. colleagues to do the same.

[Canadian Heritage, May 3rd, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, today, May 3, is World Press Freedom Day. As we celebrate media independence, let us not forget that a free press is a cornerstone of our democracy. Let us pay tribute to the journalists who keep doing their excellent work and remember those who have given their lives for their profession.

Could the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism remind the House of the measures our government has taken to support the media and stand up for journalists and their independence?

[Interim Estimates, March 21st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, vote after vote, our colleagues opposite seem fixated on opposing measures meant to help Canadians and our communities. They are voting against funding for our veterans, for example, without reading the details. They were so fixated on making their point that they did not notice that I have been in my seat since 3:08 p.m., to be precise. I have not moved. I have voted at least twice, if not three times, since then. I invite the member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, who is looking at me, to go watch the video.