Madam Speaker, I would like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime.

During the election campaign, Canadians across the country asked us to take concrete measures to build a safer Canada. We have heard them, and we take the issues of protecting our borders and cracking down on crime very seriously. That is why, at the beginning of this new Parliament, we introduced Bill C‑2, the strong borders act.

I would like to congratulate my colleague, the Minister of Public Safety, who sponsored this bill, as well as all my other ministerial colleagues who contributed to it, for the quality of their work on this important issue for Canadians. Over the next few minutes, I will explain why I support this essential bill, which will enable us to advance our government's priorities of keeping Canadians safe by strengthening Canada's border, fighting transnational organized crime and improving the integrity of Canada's immigration system.

The first objective of this bill is to make our border more secure. This is an especially important issue for me as the member for Madawaska—Restigouche, a riding with five border crossings. I want to point out that Canada's borders are already strong and secure and that CBSA staff do remarkable work. I want to commend them for the work they do every day to protect our borders. During the election campaign, I had the opportunity to meet many of these border services officers at various community activities in my riding and discuss their important work with them. Through Bill C‑2, we will make our borders even stronger. We will do that by making it easier for border officers to examine goods destined for export that are crossing the border and to intercept more drugs, guns and stolen vehicles as they leave Canada. For example, border officers will have more power to inspect containers destined for export and prevent car theft rings from smuggling stolen vehicles out of the country. During the election campaign, I heard many stories about stolen vehicles, like that of a young entrepreneurial couple from my riding, who work hard to earn a living and who, upon returning from vacation, found that their truck had disappeared from their hotel's long-term parking lot. We need to increase the responsible authorities' capacity to fight this type of crime. It is also important to understand that the strong borders act complements our other measures to strengthen our borders. Once passed, this legislation will strengthen Canada's border plan, which involves funding of $1.3 billion, the largest investment in border security in Canadian history. When we talk about strengthening our country's security, it is not just talk. We are taking real action.

We are also taking important steps to preserve the integrity of our immigration system while honouring our humanitarian commitments. Canadians expect us to maintain a strong, effective immigration system well suited to present conditions. That is why we made changes to create two ineligibility measures in the asylum system. The goal is to reduce pressure on the system and deter those who may seek to abuse it. Let me reiterate, however, that we will do this while upholding our humanitarian traditions and ensuring that refugees who genuinely need protection can get it.

The second objective of Bill C‑2 is to combat transnational organized crime and fentanyl. We understand that a strong Canada requires strong crime prevention measures. That is why we are taking steps to prevent crime, give police the tools they need to fight it, and hold criminals accountable for their actions. Opioids are wreaking havoc across the country. Thousands of lives are being lost; not a day goes by without hearing heartbreaking stories of lives cut short. We cannot remain indifferent to this situation, and we must act. That is why we will continue our efforts to stop the flow of fentanyl. In particular, we will further empower law enforcement agencies in the fight against the production and trafficking of illicit drugs. We will allow law enforcement agencies to search goods crossing the border. We will facilitate the listing of precursor chemicals in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to prevent their importation and illegal use. We will also allow the police to search for, intercept and seize drugs and other prohibited items that are being shipped through the postal system. To that end, we will amend the Canada Post Corporation Act.

This bill will also strengthen our ability to prosecute transnational child sex offenders. To do this, we are amending the Sex Offender Information Registration Act to improve the RCMP's ability to share information with its national and international partners.

The third pillar of our bill is to stop illicit financing by strengthening our ability to fight money laundering and stop the flow of financial proceeds from organized crime to deprive it of its illegal profits.

Our government was elected on a platform of protecting and defending Canadians from foreign threats, which includes protecting our financial system. We will therefore impose tougher penalties for financial crimes. We will also facilitate the exchange of information between Canada's largest banks and law enforcement agencies responsible for combatting money laundering, so that banks can receive and use the information sent to them by the RCMP.

As such, Bill C-2 is an important step forward in implementing our plan to build a safer Canada. This bill strengthens law enforcement's ability to detect and investigate serious crimes, while respecting the rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the rule of law. It is important to stress that the amendments we are proposing have been carefully crafted to balance privacy interests with the tools law enforcement needs to fulfill their mandate.

By implementing these rigorous measures, the Government of Canada will strengthen security at our borders while increasing safety in our communities. These measures will also show our international partners that Canada takes seriously our shared responsibility to combat fentanyl, car theft, human trafficking and transnational organized crime.

In conclusion, protecting our borders and fighting crime and illicit financing are issues that transcend party lines. Canadians have high expectations of us. They expect us to work together with the seriousness that the issues we are addressing demand.

Like all my colleagues on the government side, I will support this important bill. I hope that all other members of the House will work with us constructively to pass this bill, which is essential to making Canada stronger, safer and more secure.

Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

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