Liberals to pass major projects bill this week with Conservative support
OTTAWA — Conservatives will be supporting the Liberal government's internal trade and major projects bill that is expected to be passed before Canada Day, revealed Leo Housakos, the leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
Housakos confirmed the news as he was questioning Minister of Transport and Internal Trade Chrystia Freeland during a pre-study of the bill on Monday afternoon.
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Toronto Sun
8 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
LILLEY: Conservatives call for end to two-tier immigration justice
Lower court judges are giving out light sentences based on immigration status that the Supreme Court never intended for in 2013 decision. Get the latest from Brian Lilley straight to your inbox The Superior Court of Justice in Windsor is shown on March 31, 2025. Photo by Dan Janisse / Windsor Star The Conservative Party is proposing a policy that every Canadian should be able to rally around. Stop giving lighter sentences to immigrants who aren't citizens just so they won't be deported or denied citizenship. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account No one has a right to come to Canada and become a citizen; you are granted that privilege and certain things are expected of you, like not breaking our laws. Lately though, we've seen cases were judges have handed out lower sentences to people who had broken serious laws. The entire reason for that was to protect the possibility that convicts could still stay in Canada and be granted citizenship. It's a ridiculous practice that abuses a Supreme Court decision from 2013 and needs to come to an end. Conservative Immigration Critic Michelle Rempel-Garner says her party will seek to do just that when Parliament returns in September. 'Conservatives will introduce legislation to amend the Criminal Code and restore the value of Canadian citizenship by ending the practice of judges considering a non citizen's immigration status in sentencing,' Rempel-Garner said during a Wednesday news conference on Parliament Hill. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She noted cases that have raised concerns of late, cases that should concern anyone. Recommended video 'A permanent resident received a conditional sentence after being convicted of trying to purchase sexual services from a 15 year old as a stronger penalty would have hindered him and his wife from obtaining Canadian citizenship,' she said. 'Another non-citizen in Canada on a visitor's permit, was convicted twice of groping an 18-year-old woman's genitals at a bar, yet received a discharge to avoid a permanent criminal record and to allow for an appeal of their deportation.' These cases, well documented in the media, are outrageous, she pointed out. 'Anyone seeking residence or citizenship in Canada has responsibilities as well as rights. When it comes to sentencing non-citizens, Canada has essentially adopted a form of two-tier justice where judges can and have given lighter sentences to individuals who are non citizens,' she said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The entire practice stems from a 2013 Supreme Court ruling where a man named Hoang Anh Pham was given a two-year sentence in an Alberta court for trafficking in marijuana. Had he been given a sentence of two-years less a day his immigration status would not have been in jeopardy. The Supreme Court ruled that the trial and appeals judge erred by not considering this and noted that two-years less a day for such charges was not outside of the norm. They said factors such as this, what they called collateral consequences, should be considered — but not abused — in sentencing. 'These consequences must not be allowed to dominate the exercise or skew the process either in favour of or against deportation. Moreover, it must not lead to a separate sentencing scheme with a de facto if not a de jure special range of sentencing options where deportation is a risk,' the court ruled at the time. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It seems lower court judges saw that immigration status should be considered in sentencing but glossed over paragraph 16 of the ruling. Read More We can't have two-tiered sentencing in this country based on your citizenship status, that cuts both ways. I'm lucky, I was born here but my parents weren't nor were many family members. Would I be upset if they were facing deportation after being sentenced for a serious crime and not being citizens. Absolutely. However, I'd also understand that we have laws and standards and those must be upheld. The Supreme Court decision in 2013 was rather narrow in scope and quite reasonable. It's now being abused by defence lawyers who want to game the system and accepted by judges who haven't bothered to read the original decision or who don't understand it. If the courts won't fix this, legislation like what Rempel-Garner and the Conservatives are proposing will be needed. We can't have two-tiered justice in this country. Toronto Maple Leafs Editorial Cartoons World Columnists Celebrity
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Conservative MP calls on Ottawa to do more on wildfires, criticizes forest entry ban
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner says the federal government needs to do more to fight Canada's devastating forest fires. Speaking to reporters Wednesday in Ottawa, the Alberta MP accused Ottawa of 'inaction' on wildfires. She also blamed that lack of action for new measures restricting activities in the forests of two provinces — even though those bans were imposed by the provinces themselves. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last week banned hiking, fishing, camping and the use of vehicles in its forests in response to the heightened wildfire risk. Rempel Garner said that while she understands the fear Maritimers feel, restricting individuals' movements is 'not right.' 'Whenever there's a major crisis, what the Liberal government has done by their inaction has conditioned Canadians to expect that the only response they can see out of their federal government is to restrict their movement,' Rempel Garner told reporters. Story continues below advertisement 'We're calling on the federal government to actually get serious about this issue.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Conservative MP Marc Dalton presented a bill last year to stiffen penalties for wildfires caused by arson. It never made it past first reading and died when Parliament was dissolved ahead of this year's election. Rempel Garner said that's one area where the Liberals could have taken action on wildfires. She also called on the federal government to dedicate more resources to wildfire control. In its 2021 election platform, the Liberals promised to train 1,000 community-based firefighters to fight wildfires and to work with provinces and territories to get them more firefighting planes. Last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters that Alberta-based water bomber manufacturer De Havilland was facing a four-year backlog of orders. 'Four full wildfire seasons ago, the Liberals promised more water bombers, more firefighters,' Rempel Garner said. 'Where are they?' Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston brushed off the criticisms of the forest entry ban at a press conference later Wednesday. 'I find it remarkable, the interest in travelling in Nova Scotia woods by people who aren't in Nova Scotia and probably haven't been here much in their life,' Houston told reporters. 'We're only concerned with keeping people safe. We'll do what's necessary to protect lives, and that's what we're doing in this case.' Story continues below advertisement So far this season, the total area of the country burned by wildfires is nearly the size of the entire province of New Brunswick. — With files from Sarah Ritchie.
2 hours ago
Conservatives say the justice system favours non-citizens. Experts disagree
The Conservatives want to change the Criminal Code to eliminate what they say is a double standard in the justice system that allows non-citizens to get lighter sentences than Canadians who have been convicted of the same crime. When it comes to sentencing non-citizens, Canada has essentially adopted a form of two-tier justice, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said Wednesday in Ottawa. This offends all principles of fairness that should be foundational to our justice system. Deportations are automatically scheduled to allow time for appeal, but certain criminal sentences remove the right of the offender to challenge their removal. Removing non-citizens convicted of serious crimes is a no-brainer, Rempel Garner said. Becoming a Canadian is a privilege, not a right. But immigration experts say the Conservatives' characterization of Canada's justice system as being biased in favour of non-citizens is simply false. They say the law is designed to ensure the sentence fits the crime, regardless of the offender's status. WATCH | Conservatives want judges to stop considering immigration status in sentencing: Rempel Garner said her party will introduce a private member's bill when the House of Commons returns in September, promising the change will restore the value of Canadian citizenship. The bill will expressly outline that any potential impact of a sentence on the immigration status of a convicted non-citizen offender, or that of their family members, should not be taken into consideration, the Conservative Party says in a statement. Rempel Garner's suggestion that Canada has two-tier sentencing provisions is, she said, the direct result of a 2013 Supreme Court of Canada ruling (new window) that clarified sentencing guidelines. One of several factors to consider In the ruling, Canada's top court said that when sentencing a non-citizen, a judge can use an offender's immigration status as one of several factors when considering what sentence to impose. That's what judges do in sentencing. They take into account factors that are individual that are relevant; this is just one more of them, said Audrey Macklin, a law professor at the University of Toronto. Macklin said other factors commonly considered during sentencing are whether the offender has a substance abuse issue; whether they are a single parent and what will happen to their child; or the prospects that they can be rehabilitated. Sentencing always takes into account factors unique or specific to that individual, she said. It's a misrepresentation to suggest that this is two-tier justice. Macklin said the 2013 ruling also clarified that while immigration status can be considered, it could not be used to reduce the sentence below the standard minimum. Losing the right to appeal deportation Under the law in Canada, a person who has been ordered to be removed from the country cannot appeal their deportation order if: They were convicted of a crime in Canada and given a sentence of six months or more. They were convicted of a crime outside Canada punishable in Canada by a sentence of 10 years or more. They were involved in organized crime. They violated human or international rights law, by, for example, committing war crimes. Toronto immigration lawyer Pantea Jafari says she has argued similar cases. She told CBC News that the 2013 ruling was crafted to ensure the consequences of a sentence are proportional to what the judge intends. In a case where a judge may think someone has committed a minor offence and only deserves a slap on the wrist, Jafari said the judge may decide to give them a six-month sentence. For a Canadian citizen, the punishment would be six months in jail. But for a non-citizen, it could result in deportation without the ability to appeal. Jafari said the 2013 ruling simply gives the judge in her example the authority to lower the sentence to six months less a day so they can still appeal their deportation. She said this would ensure a citizen and non-citizen receive comparable sentences. When [a judge] is considering a sentence, they can't be blind to the fact that this person is not a naturalized Canadian, is still an immigrant and therefore will have additional consequences as a result of the sentence, Jafari said. To have [this provision] scrapped is really problematic and something that I would vigorously defend against. Peter Zimonjic (new window) · CBC News · Senior writer Peter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News who reports for digital, radio and television. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail, and in Canada for the Ottawa Citizen, Torstar and Sun Media. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7/7, published by Vintage.
