QUESTION PERIOD — Justice
Public Confidence
April 16, 2026
Government leader, an Ontario judge has warned that the Canadian justice system is at an inflection point, citing cases where vulnerable Canadians are left unprotected, while offenders, often with no legal status in Canada, receive lenient treatment and repeated chances. This comes amid a growing pattern of inconsistent sentencing, breached court orders and weak immigration enforcement that continue to undermine public confidence in the rule of law.
How can your government justify a system that so often appears to prioritize offenders over the safety and rights of law‑abiding Canadians?
Well, Senator Martin, this is a very delicate matter. I believe quite strongly — and I hope that every lawyer in this chamber shares this idea — in the independence of the judiciary. When a sentence is given by a court of law, if we do not agree with the sentence, there are appeal mechanisms. There must be a total separation between politics and the judicial system. This is something that I intend to defend until I die, because that is how democracy should work.
Whenever a sentence or a judgment of a court is undermined by politics, the direct result is to undermine the confidence of the public in the justice system. That is why we should always stand strong behind the independence of the judiciary.
I’m not undermining the judiciary, but what Canadians want is a justice system that is firm, fair and consistent. Yet, your government takes no accountability over its decade-long failure on immigration and has no plan to get the system under control. So, leader, Canadians are asking a simple question: Whose side are the justice and immigration systems on?
There is a difference between the independence of the judiciary and implementing strong laws. That is exactly what the government is committed to doing with Bill C-9, Bill C-14 and Bill C-16. I think that the government is in the right place in the political area and not interfering with court decisions.
