In this episode of The Blueprints, Conservative MP Larry Brock joins us to discuss the rising crime rate across the country, and the lack of legislation to address it. In this episode, we discuss the rise in violent crime across Canada, and what we can do to stem the tide.
00:00:00.000Hello and welcome once again to The Blueprints. This is Canada's Conservative Podcast. I'm your
00:00:10.360host, Jamie Schmael, Member of Parliament, Halliburton Corps, the likes Brock with new
00:00:13.820content for you every single Tuesday, 1.30 p.m. Eastern Time. We ask that you like, comment,
00:00:18.500subscribe, share this program. Today's show is going to be something amazing for you. We want
00:00:24.120the eyes and ears to see and listen to it. You can also download it and listen to it on platforms
00:00:28.540like CastBox, iTunes, Google Play and Spotify. You name it, it is out there. I think a lot
00:00:33.800of us have been concerned about what we're going to talk about later today. It is the
00:00:37.480rising crime rate. 32% is the increase since Justin Trudeau took power in violent crimes.
00:00:44.120This is something that is surging across the country. To talk about that, we have the one
00:00:47.720and only Larry Brock, Member of Parliament, Bradford. Brad, thanks for coming back on the
00:00:52.060show. Thank you so much, Jamie. It's always a pleasure to attend. We talk about this a lot
00:00:56.360and it's very sad that I have to keep bringing you on to talk about the rising violent crime
00:01:01.140rate in this city. It just seems like we're out of control. Probably two of the most recent
00:01:06.820ones that I think hit home for a lot of people was the knife attack in which a 16-year-old
00:01:11.680boy was killed in the Kill Street subway in Toronto. The next being that awful stabbing in Vancouver
00:01:19.160in front of the Starbucks or in the Starbucks where a gentleman with his family asked a person
00:01:26.880not to vape near his child and next thing you know he's got a knife in his stomach. What do you say
00:01:34.540to that? What the hell is going on? It's a disturbing trend and what we are seeing right across this
00:01:42.620country ripped from the headlines is a disturbing pattern that I personally have not seen for
00:01:52.220a significant period of time. There was a point in time, Jamie, where murders, I'm talking decades
00:02:00.400ago, used to be confined to gang-laying shootings. You have maybe some domestic homicides. They tended to be
00:02:10.040more targeted and what I find happening right now which should be concerning to every Canadian and I
00:02:15.860know it certainly is is the randomness of these killings for no apparent reason whatsoever. As you've
00:02:25.580indicated the father of a young child literally on a Sunday afternoon in a good part of Vancouver
00:02:33.600simply asking permission, probably politely, sir do you mind not vaping near my child and don't know
00:02:43.200what was going on in the mind of the killer but we have seen some images. I've seen the the arrival
00:02:51.840of the police on some some video on social media and it would appear that the killer himself showed
00:02:59.760absolutely zero remorse for what he had done. He just kind of found his phone. Yes, didn't run away.
00:03:06.720No, didn't. Wasn't concerned about being detected or being caught or being filmed. He saw people
00:03:12.180yeah with their their cameras out and their phones out. He knew he was being captured and freely gave
00:03:17.940himself up to the police. Now I don't know what the background was of this individual. I'm sure that
00:03:23.220in time we'll probably learn more but it's it displays a growing concern that every Canadian
00:03:30.340should have that no matter who you are or where you may find yourself to be anywhere in this country
00:03:40.180you run the risk of being a random victim of a serious violent offense or possibly a homicide victim.
00:03:50.260That's how concerning it is in Toronto and it's not just large no it's not just Toronto it's not
00:03:57.460Montreal it's not Vancouver it's right across this country. Well look at the police officer the OPP
00:04:03.780officer just went to help someone who went into the ditch before Christmas and next thing you know
00:04:08.980he's shot and killed yeah right like it's that was rural Ontario. This is this is rural Ontario this is
00:04:15.140literally on my doorstep in the riding of Brantford Brant. It was just outside of Brantford Brant.
00:04:22.740Again middle of the day a police officer doing what police officers are expected to do to come to the
00:04:30.660aid of what appears to be a motorist in distress and for his kind generosity and his service to the
00:04:39.940community he ends ends up being shot dead. So it is it's a disturbing trend the lack of respect for human
00:04:49.860life the lack of respect for the dignity of human lives is a disturbing trend that unfortunately the
00:04:59.540the Liberal government doesn't seem to care enough to introduce the legislation to address this growing
00:05:07.300problem and quite frankly in my view Jamie this is not a partisan viewpoint. It should not be. I have
00:05:17.060been advocating for criminal justice reform pretty much my entire professional life there was only so
00:05:24.740much I could do as a representative of the Ministry of the Attorney General. I was looking to make more of
00:05:31.700an imprint on the national stage one of the reasons why I chose to leave that profession become a politician
00:05:38.580was the avenues available to me to to advocate but more importantly to introduce private members bills
00:05:46.820to address the shortcomings in our criminal justice system. You know there's a concept that prosecutors and
00:05:53.460judges often use and that's the whole concept of of general and specific deterrence so a function of a
00:06:03.220sentence is to not only send a message to the offender that these are the consequences to you should you
00:06:12.340continue along your criminal path but a general message to the community that there are going to be
00:06:18.900significant consequences to you should you find yourself in conflict. Unfortunately what we are
00:06:26.340seeing in this country what we are reading about in terms of the sentences what we are seeing by our own
00:06:34.500Liberal government softening its approach to criminal justice it's sending the wrong message to the
00:06:42.420community in my view sending a message that there are no longer significant life-changing consequences to
00:06:50.660criminal behavior when you see serious repeat violent offenders being arrested being released often in the same
00:07:00.980day promising to abide by conditions the paper that they sign is only worth essentially the paper itself the whole
00:07:10.020concept of trust and promises are failing and when they fail it's putting our communities and it's putting
00:07:18.660victims at risk. Do you think that is kind of the reason why we're seeing this randomness like even
00:07:24.580when you think back to the swarming of those those teenage girls to that homeless person again someone
00:07:29.300probably minding his own business and all of a sudden he's a murder victim is is that why you think like
00:07:35.300we're getting these these these uh it just seems an increase while 32 percent violent crime is up since
00:07:40.900Trudeau took office but is do you think that plays a part in it? It is Jamie but I think you need to take
00:07:47.220a look at some of the other external factors and and this is something I've seen personally in my own life
00:07:53.460the the impact of isolation during the pandemic I think has had a significant impact on the psyche
00:08:02.020of young people in this country I personally saw it with my own children I saw depression that I had never
00:08:09.220seen before I saw concerns and and just hopelessness on behalf of my children they couldn't continue with
00:08:18.020their favorite sport their competitive swimmers they couldn't hang out at the mall they couldn't do
00:08:23.540sleepovers with their friends and it was very concerning and the only sort of recourse they had
00:08:30.180was the cyber space occupying by social media and we all know the dangers of social media
00:08:37.860you can be a social media warrior and essentially say whatever you want behind the protection of your
00:08:44.420home and there are no consequences so I think that there is an element of of having people just simply
00:08:53.300being desensitized right to the whole concept of violence and harm there we're we're being
00:09:01.540embarded by violent images on social media violence in video games an increase in violence in the in
00:09:14.660Hollywood in terms of our movies etc all designed originally to be entertainment but when you when you take
00:09:22.580isolation and you absorb yourself with these violent issues and forces I think it alters your perception
00:09:31.300of reality in what particular universe would it ever be acceptable that a group of random teenage girls
00:09:41.540and this is the the example that you've given me about the swarming in Toronto these were not lifelong
00:09:48.260friends these were a bunch of individuals that found each other on social media and whatever that
00:09:55.940particular group was called I don't know but they thought it was completely acceptable to engage
00:10:02.980in this swarming bullying atmosphere to a complete stranger to the point of arming themselves with
00:10:11.540knives and using violence and showing no concern no remorse in fact I read a report in the Toronto Sun
00:10:22.420probably about three or four weeks after their arrest and a number of them were still in custody at that
00:10:28.740point going through the bail process and the reporter who was watching it remarked that they were actually
00:10:35.540laughing inside the prisoner's dock these are teenage girls who should have been socialized to appreciate
00:10:44.820what is right what is wrong I presume came from you know responsible backgrounds and had responsible parents
00:10:52.900parents but completely showed the opposite of what we would expect human beings to display in these
00:11:01.540circumstances these girls are facing the potential of up to seven years of secure custody and as a teenager
00:11:11.780that is a substantial amount of time okay to be stolen from you and so it's just in my view the whole
00:11:21.780concept of responsibility and consequences mean nothing in today's society and we got to change that
00:11:29.060and I know conservatives have a plan to change that where the government is failing where I say this is not
00:11:37.060a partisan issue was the in my moment that the galvanizing crystallization of this rallying cry across
00:11:47.620the nation where you had police chiefs of all different backgrounds you had municipal leaders of all
00:11:54.500different backgrounds you had police associations but more importantly you had every premier of all our
00:12:02.740provinces and territories which as you know Jamie represent the full spectrum on the political ideology
00:12:11.220scale all galvanizing together saying something must be done this was the line that was crossed that we will
00:12:20.900not tolerate this anymore and one would have thought that the liberal government with their large mass of
00:12:30.980public service employees particularly in the department of justice would have taken immediate steps
00:12:38.260to address those recommendations in that premier's letter they did nothing they telegraphed that they
00:12:46.020would consult again with the premiers they would consult again with the provincial and territorial
00:12:52.980ministers of justice to come up with a working plan now we're getting the slow little drip from minister
00:12:59.460lamedi that changes are coming that we are listening and we can we think that we can improve community safety and
00:13:07.380holding these offenders responsible but here we are several months removed from that unfortunate death of
00:13:15.460constable proshella that opp officer and nothing is done so you contrast that the government which should be
00:13:23.860doing something their number one responsibility is to keep us safe absolutely okay they are failing every single day they are
00:13:32.740failing in their number one responsibility but what are we doing as conservatives we have we have our leader
00:13:40.420going across this nation every single weekend essentially getting the blessing of his family to be away from his young
00:13:51.220family two young children to make sure that he is listening to as many interest groups that he can
00:13:58.820look talking to police chiefs talking to other interested groups right across this country offering a vision as to when he becomes prime minister
00:14:11.060what he will do most recently in the house he issued a press release i believe it was this week jamie
00:14:18.980where he indicated that a polyev government will take immediate steps to undo the damaging impacts to bill c5 and i know i've spoken at great length about bill c5
00:14:32.980which essentially eliminated all the mandatory minimum penalties for our most serious offenses given these the offenders the luxury of serving their sentences
00:14:44.980in the comfort of their own homes he's going to tackle that he's going to address the consequences of bill c75 which instituted in our view this catch and
00:14:56.980release mentality this principle of restraint now as a lawyer i still have to be mindful jamie and i don't want your uh our listeners to get the wrong impression as a lawyer i still have to be mindful jamie and i don't want your uh our uh our uh listeners to get the wrong impression
00:15:12.980impression as a lawyer i strongly and will defend with every breath our our constitutional rights the charter rights that we have that apply to every single canadian regardless of whatever criminal charge that you find yourself involved in you have that presumption of innocence
00:15:34.980you have the presumption that you can receive reasonable bail but the charter does not guarantee bail and while some individuals even charged with first degree murder do get released on bail there is a process and that process in my view was significantly weakened by bill 75 and i like to think of the criminal justice
00:16:04.960the system as a system as a pendulum that pendulum in my view should be squarely in the middle at all times where you have the respect for the charter and the respect for the constitutional rights of the accused but you also balance that you don't belittle it and you don't give a greater emphasis to community safety and the safety of victims
00:16:30.960unfortunately bill 75 moved that pendulum towards the accused at the expense of the community
00:16:39.200and i've been advocating for a balanced approach to our criminal justice system ever since i became a politician
00:16:46.940and that's what a poly of majority government a new majority government in this country will strive to do
00:16:55.580so in addition to that pronouncement by our leader pierre pauliev we have two of our colleagues as well
00:17:02.340who are trying to make meaningful changes most recently this week we had our uh our colleague pierre pauluse
00:17:09.500introduce bill c323 which is designed to claw back the impacts of bill c5
00:17:20.060i don't anticipate we're going to get that passed but at least it telegraphs to canadians that we as his majesty's loyal opposition are not going to sit idly by
00:17:34.880waiting whenever the government deems it appropriate to make the adjustment to our laws to keep our community safe
00:17:43.900so he has done something our colleague frank caputo another former crown attorney through bill c313
00:17:51.040is also addressing some significant changes to the bail regime dealing with repeat serial offenders particularly with prohibited weapons
00:18:01.360so i want the the readership the listeners to to truly appreciate that we as conservatives
00:18:08.260have always believed in good government law and order and we will always follow that edict and we are taking concrete steps to deal with that
00:18:19.400absolutely i couldn't agree with you more no i i don't i don't know i don't want you to get too far into the head of a liberal
00:18:27.400but at the same time i know the calls and emails i'm getting in my office i can only imagine what you're getting
00:18:34.120i have no doubt liberal mps are getting the same concerns being raised to them
00:18:41.920what do you think their their thinking is why do you think they are so slow to react what is kind of their
00:18:49.800motive on all of this i wish i had the answer to that because i would well imagine and and let's let's face
00:18:57.580it not we're here we're here because a majority of individuals in our respective ridings chose us as the representative
00:19:08.920i never forget for one minute that i represent all of my riding just as you do absolutely those who voted for us
00:19:18.300those who didn't vote for us in fact i try even as a politician to work harder for those individuals
00:19:25.340who actually come out and say you know what i didn't vote for you but what are you going to do
00:19:31.080about this issue what are you going to do about that issue and sometimes i get you know individual
00:19:35.820concerns that my constituents is constituency office can deal with but also national concerns so i try to
00:19:42.760engage in conversations to show to them that we have a different approach we differ substantially from
00:19:51.120the liberals so to your point what is happening in those liberally liberal held ridings i am hearing
00:19:58.180because both of us jamie through this particular medium we've developed quite a following yeah we
00:20:04.480have absolutely and i love the fact that a lot of people love this blueprint uh podcast and are
00:20:11.000sharing it and they encourage you and they tolerate me well i think you know you and i we work well
00:20:16.040together yes we really do we're both passionate individuals and we're talking the language that a
00:20:21.780lot of people want us to talk about but i think what it does is it i'm now hearing from members of
00:20:29.840liberal held ridings who unfortunately are sharing with me very distressing information that they are
00:20:39.280raising these issues with their liberal mps and are not getting a call back are not getting a response
00:20:47.660back to emails are being denied the opportunity of visiting and sitting down and talking with their mps
00:20:55.060it's almost as if they don't matter and i find that disturbing as a politician who should represent
00:21:03.580all not everyone's going to agree with us hopefully most of them will but i accept the fact that i can't
00:21:11.440convince everyone that my position on certain issues is the only appropriate position we have we have that
00:21:19.820ability in this democracy to share differing views but i think it comes down to a level of service
00:21:25.900that we as conservatives do differently than liberal members and in my view it's the cult of trudeau
00:21:32.800it's the it's the mentality that these are our position these are our talking points and you must
00:21:40.580defend it at all costs and i think it's it's really doing a disservice to those individuals in their
00:21:47.440writings who are as concerned as we are as i said at the top this is not a partisan issue it should never
00:21:55.380be a partisan issue just like the other headline that's dominating the news right now this whole
00:22:02.340concept of foreign election interference should never be a partisan issue we should all stand united as
00:22:10.440canadians to defend our democracy just as we should all stand as canadians and demand safer streets
00:22:19.640and accountability in our criminal justice system and i will continue to fight every day for that
00:22:24.840i don't know what what more to say after that but as you know the guests always get the last word i
00:22:29.160don't know if you want to use that as your last word i think i just gave you my last i think that was
00:22:33.260pretty good that was pretty good larry brock brantford brant is the riding he's the member of parliament
00:22:37.740for that great community and we do appreciate your time we give you the show out of awareness so you
00:22:41.920know what's going on and we ask because of that that you like comment subscribe and share
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00:22:55.860new content for you every single tuesday 1 30 p.m eastern time thank you larry thank you to you
00:23:01.800watching and listening until next week low taxes less government more freedom that's the blueprint