Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2024-05-29 19:15:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)",
        "fr": "Mme Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, PCC)"
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"8429140\" data-originallang=\"en\">Madam Speaker, all the comments over the course of the bill's presentation deserve more than five minutes, and I am glad that I will be able to do that at committee.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429141\" data-originallang=\"en\">It is unfortunate that the member for <a data-HoCid=\"278191\" href=\"/politicians/rob-oliphant/\" title=\"Rob Oliphant\">Don Valley West</a> did not read the bill or simply did not understand it, because none of those arguments are actually in the bill. Therefore, I will not bother with that.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429142\" data-originallang=\"en\"> I want to clarify that the bill was put forward not as a critique of the government or its existing policies but as a next step forward in the natural evolutionary development of laws that are necessary in the terrifying new reality of this world. This is something we are going to face, and the bill would sharpen existing mechanisms to meet the moment in our own country. In many cases, laws evolve from generalized existing provisions, which often fall short in contending with the evolution of the problem, to become more targeted. That is exactly what the bill would do.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429143\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Sometimes, our laws have been a product of motions or other declaratory statements that, to be effective, eventually had to find their way into specific laws. As a case in point, prior to 2001, there was no crime related to terrorist activity in our Criminal Code. However, in 2001, Canada passed the ATA, which recognized a whole new series of provisions related to terrorism, which would become one of the greatest challenges in our lifetime. Similarly, international law had only developed its own specialized terrorism provisions over the last decades, which it did for the same reasons: Terrorism had evolved, and the existing frameworks needed to be specifically recalibrated to address the enormity of the threat.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429144\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Oftentimes, when these newly targeted provisions are introduced, the question inevitably arises of whether they are really needed. The question came up here a couple of times. However, the House has often adopted a targeted approach to current problems as a first step in a long process of legislative development. In my opinion, it has done so correctly. This is actually what we do here. Therefore, whether we are dealing with terrorism, sexual assault, minority rights or drunk driving, our system has only benefited from more targeted legislation, which ensures that there is better prevention, deterrence and punishment.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429145\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Bill <a data-HoCid=\"12566709\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-353/\" title=\"An Act to provide for the imposition of restrictive measures against foreign hostage takers and those who practice arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations and to make related amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act\">C-353</a> is actually premised on new hostage-related initiatives that are currently being undertaken by our government in an effort to improve Canada's capacity for dealing with the ravages of hostage diplomacy. This has, frankly, upended the international world order, specifically in the last number of months. It was the current government that actually took the step in launching the declaration. The bill before us would strengthen that and sharpen those tools. It would give the senior official for hostage affairs, a lead in consular services who is now concerned with this, more tools in order to do her job, or maybe his job in the future. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429146\" data-originallang=\"en\">The bill would go a step further. It would legislate and impose consequences for perpetrators, create mechanisms for bringing our hostages home and provide better assistance for the families caught in these nightmare scenarios. There is certainly recognition, both by government and our allies that developed a robust legislative response to hostage-taking, that there is a new threat on the horizon, which needs to be addressed concretely. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429147\" data-originallang=\"en\">Some in this chamber have asked whether the legislation would have prevented the hostage-taking of the two Michaels. I am not sure. No bill is a silver bullet that would cover the plethora of contingencies or different kinds of cases. I will say, as was correctly noted by the senior official who was appointed in the Department of Foreign Affairs, or Global Affairs Canada, Julie Sunday, that no two hostage cases are the same. However, undoubtedly, in a multitude of scenarios, Bill <a data-HoCid=\"12566709\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-353/\" title=\"An Act to provide for the imposition of restrictive measures against foreign hostage takers and those who practice arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations and to make related amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act\">C-353</a> would provide better tools to respond to a wide swath of possibilities. Obviously, they would do so in concert with other tools available to the government. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429148\" data-originallang=\"en\">I look forward to seeing the bill go to the next stage at committee. I thank my colleagues in the Bloc and the NDP for actually reading it.</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"8429140\" data-originallang=\"en\">Madame la Pr\u00e9sidente, toutes les observations formul\u00e9es au cours de la pr\u00e9sentation du projet de loi m\u00e9ritent plus de cinq minutes, et je serai heureuse d'en parler plus longuement devant le comit\u00e9. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429141\" data-originallang=\"en\">Il est regrettable que le d\u00e9put\u00e9 de <a data-HoCid=\"278191\" href=\"/politicians/rob-oliphant/\" title=\"Rob Oliphant\">Don Valley\u2011Ouest</a> n'ait pas lu le projet de loi ou ne l'ait tout simplement pas compris, car ses arguments concernent des \u00e9l\u00e9ments qui n'y figurent pas. Pour cette raison, je ne m'y attarderai pas.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429142\" data-originallang=\"en\">Je tiens \u00e0 pr\u00e9ciser que le projet de loi a \u00e9t\u00e9 pr\u00e9sent\u00e9 non pas comme une critique du gouvernement ou de ses politiques actuelles, mais comme une nouvelle \u00e9tape dans l'\u00e9volution naturelle de l'\u00e9laboration des lois, une n\u00e9cessit\u00e9 dans la nouvelle r\u00e9alit\u00e9 terrifiante du monde dans lequel nous vivons. C'est une r\u00e9alit\u00e9 \u00e0 laquelle nous allons faire face, et le projet de loi permettrait d'affiner les m\u00e9canismes existants pour que nous soyons \u00e0 la hauteur de la situation dans notre pays. Bien souvent, les lois \u00e9voluent \u00e0 partir de dispositions g\u00e9n\u00e9rales existantes, qui sont souvent insuffisantes pour r\u00e9pondre au probl\u00e8me quand il \u00e9volue et qui ne peuvent pas le cibler ad\u00e9quatement. C'est exactement le but de ce projet de loi.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429143\" data-originallang=\"en\">Parfois, nos lois ont \u00e9t\u00e9 le produit de motions ou d'autres \u00e9nonc\u00e9s d\u00e9claratoires qui, pour entrer en vigueur, ont finalement d\u00fb \u00eatre transpos\u00e9s dans des lois pr\u00e9cises. \u00c0 titre d'exemple, avant 2001, il n'y avait pas de crime li\u00e9 aux activit\u00e9s terroristes dans le Code criminel. Cependant, en 2001, le Canada a adopt\u00e9 la Loi antiterroriste. Celle-ci comportait toute une s\u00e9rie de nouvelles dispositions en rapport avec le terrorisme, qui allait devenir l'un des plus grands d\u00e9fis de notre \u00e9poque. De m\u00eame, le droit international n'a \u00e9labor\u00e9 ses propres dispositions sp\u00e9cialis\u00e9es en mati\u00e8re de terrorisme qu'au cours des derni\u00e8res d\u00e9cennies, et il l'a fait pour les m\u00eames raisons: le terrorisme avait \u00e9volu\u00e9, et les cadres existants devaient \u00eatre revus pr\u00e9cis\u00e9ment pour faire face \u00e0 l'\u00e9normit\u00e9 de la menace.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429144\" data-originallang=\"en\">Souvent, quand on pr\u00e9sente de nouvelles dispositions cibl\u00e9es, on se demande in\u00e9vitablement si elles sont vraiment n\u00e9cessaires. C'est arriv\u00e9 ici deux ou trois fois. Toutefois, la Chambre adopte souvent une approche cibl\u00e9e \u00e0 l'\u00e9gard des probl\u00e8mes du jour avant d'entamer un long processus d'\u00e9laboration de mesures l\u00e9gislatives. \u00c0 mon avis, elle a eu raison de proc\u00e9der ainsi. C'est ce que nous faisons ici. Par cons\u00e9quent, qu'il s'agisse du terrorisme, des agressions sexuelles, des droits des minorit\u00e9s ou de la conduite en \u00e9tat d'\u00e9bri\u00e9t\u00e9, notre syst\u00e8me n'a tir\u00e9 que des avantages des mesures l\u00e9gislatives plus cibl\u00e9es, qui assurent une meilleure pr\u00e9vention, une meilleure dissuasion et de meilleures sanctions.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429145\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Le projet de loi <a data-HoCid=\"12566709\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-353/\" title=\"An Act to provide for the imposition of restrictive measures against foreign hostage takers and those who practice arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations and to make related amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act\">C\u2011353</a> est fond\u00e9 sur de nouvelles initiatives prises par le gouvernement concernant les otages dans le but d'am\u00e9liorer la capacit\u00e9 du Canada \u00e0 r\u00e9agir \u00e0 la diplomatie des otages. Ce genre de situations a, honn\u00eatement, chamboul\u00e9 l'ordre mondial, en particulier dans les derniers mois. C'est le gouvernement actuel qui a d\u00e9cid\u00e9 de lancer la d\u00e9claration. Le projet de loi \u00e0 l'\u00e9tude renforcerait cette d\u00e9claration et rendrait ces outils plus efficaces. Il donnerait \u00e0 la haute fonctionnaire pour les affaires d'otages, une dirigeante des services consulaires charg\u00e9e de ces dossiers, ou \u00e0 ses \u00e9ventuels successeurs, plus d'outils pour faire son travail. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429146\" data-originallang=\"en\">Le projet de loi irait encore plus loin. Il consignerait dans la loi des cons\u00e9quences pour ceux qui prennent des gens en otage, cr\u00e9erait des m\u00e9canismes pour rapatrier les otages et pr\u00e9voirait un meilleur soutien pour les familles qui sont prises dans ces sc\u00e9narios catastrophiques. Autant le gouvernement que les alli\u00e9s du Canada qui se sont dot\u00e9s de mesures l\u00e9gislatives robustes face \u00e0 la prise d'otages reconnaissent la nouvelle menace qui se pointe \u00e0 l'horizon et \u00e0 laquelle il faut r\u00e9pondre de mani\u00e8re concr\u00e8te. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429147\" data-originallang=\"en\">Certains d\u00e9put\u00e9s ont demand\u00e9 si le projet de loi aurait emp\u00each\u00e9 la prise en otage des deux Michael. Je n'en suis pas certaine. Aucun projet de loi n'est une solution miracle qui tient compte de tous les impond\u00e9rables et de toutes les situations. Julie Sunday, la haute fonctionnaire nomm\u00e9e au minist\u00e8re des Affaires \u00e9trang\u00e8res, ou Affaires mondiales Canada, a fait remarquer, \u00e0 juste titre, qu'il n'y a pas deux cas de prise d'otage identiques. Cependant, il ne fait aucun doute que, dans bien des situations, le projet de loi <a data-HoCid=\"12566709\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-353/\" title=\"An Act to provide for the imposition of restrictive measures against foreign hostage takers and those who practice arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations and to make related amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act\">C\u2011353</a> fournirait de meilleurs outils pour faire face \u00e0 un large \u00e9ventail d'\u00e9ventualit\u00e9s. \u00c9videmment, ces mesures seraient mises en \u0153uvre de concert avec d'autres moyens \u00e0 la disposition du gouvernement.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8429148\" data-originallang=\"en\">J'esp\u00e8re que le projet de loi se rendra \u00e0 l'\u00e9tape suivante, soit l'\u00e9tude en comit\u00e9. Je remercie mes coll\u00e8gues du Bloc et du NPD de s'\u00eatre donn\u00e9 la peine de le lire.</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2024/5/29/melissa-lantsman-1/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/melissa-lantsman/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/4604/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "12772317",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Private Members' Business",
        "fr": "Affaires \u00e9manant des d\u00e9put\u00e9s"
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Foreign Hostage Takers Accountability Act",
        "fr": "Loi sur la responsabilit\u00e9 des auteurs de prises d'otage \u00e9trangers"
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2024/5/29/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2024%2F5%2F29%2F"
    }
}