Lethbridge Herald: Soft on Crime Tough on Victims

The heartbreaking news of the Texas school shooting has devastated families around the world.

To respond appropriately at the legislative level in Canada would be to put policy in place that cracks down on the illegal acquisition and use of guns, organized crime groups, and cross-border weapons trafficking. Tough on Crime legislation should also be central to the actions of a government wanting to look out for the safety and security of Canadians.

Sadly, the current government is going in a different direction.

The NDP-Liberal government is once again demonstrating that it is more interested in political theatre than making a meaningful difference for Canadians. This time, the costs will be extremely devastating.

We have seen many politicians try to exploit tragedies in order to push through their agendas. I would suggest this is exactly what is taking place here in Canada right now. The Prime Minister is pulling on the heartstrings of Canadians and promising a reduction in gun violence.

What the Prime Minister is failing to communicate is that the measures he is taking will have the exact the opposite effect.

The NDP-Liberals have introduced two separate pieces of legislation, one that will let those who break the law off the hook, and another that will penalize those who abide by the law.

It’s as if they want to incentivise lawlessness.

Bill C-5, introduced as Bill C-22 in the last Parliament, would amend the Criminal Code to take away mandatory jail time for violent gun crime and allow those criminals to serve under house arrest in our communities. This would make our neighborhoods less safe and more at risk of future gun violence.

This is about politics, not gun safety, and it is at the expense of everyday Canadians who are being victimized in their own communities by rising gun violence committed by gangs and dangerous criminals.

Here are some of the offences the Liberals do not believe warrant mandatory prison time: weapons trafficking, discharging a firearm with intent, robbery with a firearm, and extortion with a firearm. This is both alarming and absurd.

This soft on crime approach is not only dangerous, but also a departure from reason. Letting serious criminal offenders serve time out in the communities they may have victimized is cruel and unusual punishment for victims. I cannot even imagine telling a victim of one of these crimes that their victimizer is being let back into the community to serve their time on house arrest.

Why is this government putting the desires of criminals above the well-being of victims and safety of our communities?

Conservatives have always stood for common sense gun safety and strong consequences for those who commit gun offenses. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. If we value human life, the principles of law and justice, and safety in this country, then we should work to strengthen the structures that uphold those principles, not tear them down under the guise of “compassion.”

It is obvious to anyone watching that the NDP-Liberals are not serious about stopping dangerous criminals from getting their hands on illegal guns and they are not serious about making our streets safer.

Since the Liberals were elected in 2015, gun crime has gone up steadily each year, despite their arbitrary bans and their complicated and expensive buy-back program. The facts do not lie. The soft-on-crime strategy does not help, nor does going after law-abiding firearm owners, and yet, the NDP-Liberals are doubling down on these failed strategies and hoping Canadians aren’t looking at the stats.

For years, my Conservative colleagues and I have been calling on the government to address gun smuggling and improve the ability of border agents to prevent the flow of illegal guns into Canada. We need to give border control agents targeted resources or a directed taskforce to detect smuggling.

Additionally, they have tabled Bill C-21 which proposes a national freeze on the importing, buying, selling or otherwise transferring of handguns. Instead of taking measures that would actually reduce gun violence in Canada, the NDP-Liberals are targeting our highly-vetted firearms owners who follow the law.

The reality is that the vast majority of gun crimes are committed with illegally obtained firearms. Measures like freezing the legal purchase of firearms does nothing to stop dangerous criminals and gangs who obtain their guns illegally.

If the NDP-Liberals were genuine in their desire to reduce gun crime in Canada and make our communities safer, they would focus resources on cutting off the illegal cross-border supply and they would keep violent criminals where they belong: behind bars.

This type of political theatre and virtue signaling is reckless, short-sighted, and out of step with a free and democratic society. It’s damaging for all. Canadians deserve much better.

Lethbridge Herald: Free Speech is Under Attack in Canada

“Freedom is a fragile thing and it's never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.”

There couldn’t be a more apt quote for this period of time than this one by President Ronald Reagan, particularly when it comes to the protection of free speech.

Perhaps the most fundamental right in a free and democratic society is the right to free speech. Without the liberty to speak freely, we cannot profess to be truly free.

It is through the use of speech that most of us share our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. It also provides us with a means to criticize, challenge, and correct those we believe to be in error. The exercising of free speech, especially in the public square, is what allows us to discover the truth and progress as a society. It is the very foundation of a democracy.

Given this fact, it is beyond alarming that our current government is intent on regulating and censoring speech. This is not a partisan quip. It is not a matter of interpretation. It is reality.

The Trudeau Liberals are planning to push through three separate pieces of legislation, all having to do with restricting freedom of expression.

Not only is there a concerted effort to restrict speech with which the government disagrees, but there is a less overt effort to place greater control in the hands of the government and grant less autonomy to individuals. This is the very opposite of a free and equal society.

Under the guise of fairness, equality, and safety, the Liberal government is attempting to regulate the content you see, hear, and post online. In a bizarre attempt to cover up the real impetus for one piece of legislation, Bill C-11, the Liberals are claiming their only aim is to “level the playing field” among traditional and non-traditional artists in Canada, while promoting Canadian culture.

They claim they will do this by putting a commission in place to evaluate content on YouTube or TikTok according to how “Canadian” it is. If it is deemed to be very Canadian, it will get forced in front of the eyeballs of Canadians, whether they want it or not. If it fails to pass the government’s definition of “Canadian,” it will be pushed down in the queue where it can’t be found.

Effectively, the government, through the commission, will pick which Canadian creators get to succeed and which ones don’t—what you get to watch and what you don’t. There’s no doubt about it, this is censorship at its finest.

Furthermore, digital first creators—those who function outside the box by working hard to generate an online audience, rather than depending on traditional broadcasters—will be forced to pay 30-percent of their revenue into an arts fund used to support conventional artists who produce material for which there is dwindling demand. Essentially, digital first creators will be forced to supplement the failure of traditional artists. Does that sound like “leveling the playing field” to you?

But I digress. The main point I wish to make today is how this legislation is a direct attack on our freedom to speak (and be heard).

This may not seem like a big deal at first glance, but it is. The government is trying to position itself as the arbiter of what speech you should be exposed to, as opposed to you making those selections for yourself. It’s wrong.

Bill C-18 mimics C-11 in that it gives more power to the government-appointed commission to determine which news outlets are approved to pursue monetary compensation for articles being shared on social media platforms and which media companies are plain out of luck.

In other words, the state will determine whether a news source is legitimate. Does this remind you of any other countries where the state dictates to the press?

This is another crafty way for the government to control what information is shared, and therefore what information you can freely see. Yikes!

The third, and perhaps most horrifying piece of censorship legislation, is one that will regulate “online harms.” This was presented as bill C-36 last spring, but it died when the election was called.

Currently, the new draft is at the proposal stage, and so far, the feedback is damning. In documents the government tried to hide, but were accessed through an Access to Information Request, we learned that many individuals, academics, and industry experts are concerned this bill would put ethnic minority groups at risk, violate freedom of expression, and even liken us to countries like North Korea, Iran, and China.

Under the pretext of safety and protection, the proposed legislation would move what is currently legal language into the category of hate speech, thereby criminalizing language that is “likely to” cause offense or harm. Also troubling is the possibility that someone could preemptively accuse someone else of hate speech because of what they fear is possible. In other words, a person will be punished for something that could happen, rather than what did happen. Have you seen the movie “Minority Report” with Tom Cruise? I recommend giving it a watch.

It’s undeniable the federal government has launched an attack on free speech.

We must take a stand against this infringement on our rights and defend freedom, not only for ourselves, but for generations to come. To take action, please write the Prime Minister: Justin.Trudeau@parl.gc.ca

Press Release: MP Thomas Responds to the NDP-Liberal Budget

OTTAWA, ON— Member of Parliament for Lethbridge, AB, Rachael Thomas, reacted to the federal government’s budget shortly after it was tabled by the Liberal Finance Minister in the House of Commons.

“The NDP-Liberal government has doubled down on their uncontrolled borrowing and higher taxes. The budget projects more than $56 billion in new spending. Sadly, this will offer short- term relief followed by long-term pain. The cost of living will continue to skyrocket due to inflation and those who are already struggling will bear the brunt of it.

“Think about what this means for Lethbridge. We currently have the highest level of child poverty in the province and foodbanks are already overwhelmed by the present demand. Imagine what will happen when more and more people are unable to afford to pay their bills and feed their families.

“To control inflation, you have to control spending. To put it simply, the government has failed. Mr. Trudeau is continuing his tax-and-spend agenda to satisfy the demands of the NDP made during their backroom negotiations.

"Today’s government spending becomes tomorrow’s taxes, but tomorrow has arrived. It has come in the form of inflation. We currently have an inflation rate of 5.7 percent, the highest in 30 years. Instead of reigning in the excessive spending, the NDP-Liberals are pouring gasoline on the fire.

“The Prime Minister promised to grow “the middle class,” but in reality, his policies are making it more and more difficult for Canadians to make ends meet, let alone make financial gains.

“Many have come into my office, heating bill in hand and tears in their eyes, because the cost of heating their homes is overwhelming—especially for someone like Charlie or Emma who are seniors on fixed incomes.

“It’s not hard to spend money—especially when its someone else’s. It seems the NDP-Liberal solution to everything is spend, spend, spend, but since when is the amount of money spent a credible metric for success? Never! Success is not measured based on how many government cheques are written. Success is measured based on what’s achieved by that spending.

“People are always better off when they are empowered to be masters of their own destiny, not slaves to an over-taxing government.

“It pains me to know that we are dead last among the OECD countries when it comes to economic growth. This is due to the government’s negative attitude toward business owners and entrepreneurs, along with their insistence on driving out investment.

“In this budget, there is no grand vision to restore Canada’s reputation on the world stage, nor is there a plan to harness the economic power of our natural resources and generate wealth for the country.

“The NDP-Liberals like to say they have Canadians’ backs, but all of this excessive spending is driving up the price of goods and crushing the value of hardworking Canadians’ dollars. This is the very opposite of care, compassion, and support.

“So, what is the solution? Less government and more Canada. It is not a leader, a political party, or the government that is going to restore economic prosperity and future success for this country—It is the Canadian people.

“Despite the misguided agenda of the federal government, I remain confident in our future because I remain confident in Canadians.”

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