QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Justice
Update on Criminal Investigations
October 5, 2022
Thank you, minister, for being here. Minister, there have been a number of criminal investigations initiated over the last few years. One was over the coastal pipeline that suffered damages costing multi-millions of dollars. Another was about the burning of a dozen or more Catholic churches out West. Where do these investigations stand in the file? Are there still ongoing investigations, and can you give us an update on how they are proceeding?
Thank you, senator. With all respect, in Canada, the way we have divided up our system — and I congratulate the previous Conservative government for having done this, as I thought Minister Nicholson did a great job with it — is that the investigative function is undertaken by the place of jurisdiction, whether it be the RCMP or another police force. So those investigations would be undertaken independently by the police force of jurisdiction.
The prosecutorial function is then independently done by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada if it’s covered by the federal prosecution or — in most cases of criminal offences — by provincial prosecution services. Again, those are independent — and I think they should be independent — of the office of the Attorney General.
So I’m not in a position to comment on any of those questions, nor should I be, given the way our system has evolved. I quite frankly think the system as it currently stands is working reasonably well.
