QUESTION PERIOD — Justice
Criminal Justice System
December 2, 2025
Honourable colleagues, the lost Liberal decade strikes again. According to new data, almost 10,000 criminal cases are now being tossed because successive Liberal governments have allowed our justice system to slip into a culture of leniency and administrative chaos. We are talking about hundreds of sexual assault cases and homicide cases thrown out because courts can’t meet timelines that have been on the books since 2016.
The result, colleagues, is that victims are traumatized, public confidence is shattered and Canadians are left watching violent offenders walk free not because they were found innocent but because of this government’s incompetence.
Government leader, you will agree: Justice delayed is justice denied. Years of mismanagement have brought us to this situation. When the Canadian public loses confidence in our judicial system, what do we have left?
You should talk to your colleague Senator Carignan who was questioning a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada recently. When you want to support justice, you support the judgment of the court first and foremost.
The justice minister was here a few weeks ago, and he said the government is committed to tackling violent crime and bringing amendments to the Criminal Code. That’s what the government is doing. We are taking justice very seriously, and you know that.
What are you doing about the Canadians who need to be safe everywhere? You’re against the gun buyback program, which you are denouncing. We want Canadians to feel safe in their communities, and you are against that kind of program. Why are you questioning the position of the government on justice when you do not care about the safety of Canadians in their own communities?
Government leader, please — victims whose lives have been shattered and survivors of brutal violence, including women nearly killed by their ex-husbands in front of their own children, are now left in fear because of this system and this crisis.
This is not a system under strain. It is a system in total collapse, and the blame lies squarely on the government.
We’re talking not just about guns. We’re talking about criminals who are running free in our streets because they haven’t been brought to justice because your government hasn’t subsidized our system properly.
I beg to differ, Senator Housakos. The commitment of the justice minister was quite clear when he was here a few weeks ago.
We are acting on violence against women. We are acting on criminalizing coercive control. We are working on online harms. We are working toward implementing a gun buyback program. You are criticizing the amount that has been spent on such a program. What is the logic behind your question?
