This is a single
speech (house debate) resource
from the openparliament.ca API. If you’re new here, you might want to look at the documentation. If API and JSON are gibberish to you, you’re better off at our main site.
This is a single
speech (house debate) resource
from the openparliament.ca API. If you’re new here, you might want to look at the documentation. If API and JSON are gibberish to you, you’re better off at our main site.
{
"time": "2026-01-26 15:45:00",
"attribution": {
"en": "Lisa Hepfner (Hamilton Mountain, Lib.)",
"fr": "Lisa Hepfner (Hamilton Mountain, Lib.)"
},
"content": {
"en": "<p data-HoCid=\"9119730\" data-originallang=\"en\">Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I do not really understand where my colleague's opposition to this bill is coming from. Bill <a data-HoCid=\"13813664\" href=\"/bills/45-1/C-16/\" title=\"An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to criminal and correctional matters (child protection, gender-based violence, delays and other measures)\">C-16</a> restores mandatory minimum penalties, which is something he is advocating for. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"9119731\" data-originallang=\"en\">We know that every time the government has tried to impose a mandatory minimum sentence in Canada it gets thrown out by the Supreme Court because, in some cases, it can violate a person's rights in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Bill <a data-HoCid=\"13813664\" href=\"/bills/45-1/C-16/\" title=\"An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to criminal and correctional matters (child protection, gender-based violence, delays and other measures)\">C-16</a> gives us exactly what the Supreme Court has been asking for in those very rare cases. For example, if a 17-year-old shares an intimate photo of a 16-year-old girlfriend with his friend, does he go to prison for 25 years? It is definitely a bad thing he has done. The bill addresses all of the issues the member has just raised.</p>",
"fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"9119730\" data-originallang=\"en\">Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, je dois dire que je ne comprends pas vraiment pourquoi mon coll\u00e8gue s'oppose \u00e0 ce projet de loi. Le projet de loi <a data-HoCid=\"13813664\" href=\"/bills/45-1/C-16/\" title=\"An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to criminal and correctional matters (child protection, gender-based violence, delays and other measures)\">C\u201116</a> r\u00e9tablit des peines minimales obligatoires, ce qu'il pr\u00e9conise lui-m\u00eame.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"9119731\" data-originallang=\"en\">Nous savons que chaque fois que le gouvernement tente d'imposer une peine minimale obligatoire au Canada, celle-ci est invalid\u00e9e par la Cour supr\u00eame, car dans certains cas, elle peut violer les droits garantis par la Charte des droits et libert\u00e9s. Le projet de loi <a data-HoCid=\"13813664\" href=\"/bills/45-1/C-16/\" title=\"An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to criminal and correctional matters (child protection, gender-based violence, delays and other measures)\">C\u201116</a> pr\u00e9voit exactement ce que la Cour supr\u00eame exige dans ces cas tr\u00e8s rares. Par exemple, si un jeune de 17 ans partage avec un ami une photo intime de sa petite amie de 16 ans, va-t-il \u00eatre condamn\u00e9 \u00e0 25 ans de prison? Il a certainement commis un acte r\u00e9pr\u00e9hensible. Le projet de loi r\u00e9pond \u00e0 toutes les pr\u00e9occupations que le d\u00e9put\u00e9 vient de soulever.</p>"
},
"url": "/debates/2026/1/26/lisa-hepfner-1/",
"politician_url": "/politicians/lisa-hepfner/",
"politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/4646/",
"procedural": false,
"source_id": "13314267",
"h1": {
"en": "Government Orders",
"fr": "Ordres \u00e9manant du gouvernement"
},
"h2": {
"en": "Protecting Victims Act",
"fr": "Loi visant \u00e0 prot\u00e9ger les victimes"
},
"document_url": "/debates/2026/1/26/",
"related": {
"document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2026%2F1%2F26%2F"
}
}