Good morning, everyone. It's an honour to be here at the RCMP Toronto Airport Detachment, and I want to begin by thanking Commissioner Duheme, Mike, for having us here today, the members of the women and men of the RCMP represented behind me for hosting us today, but for protecting Canadians every day. It's hard to overstate the contribution that the RCMP makes to the safety of our country and I want to thank you on behalf of all Canadians. It is a pleasure to be joined by the Secretary of State for Labour John Zerucelli, from caucus colleagues, from the Peel Region and Toronto. What a fine group there, and the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime, Ruby Sahota. In three weeks, Canada's new government will table our first budget, and that's our plan to build Canada's economy, to empower Canadians with new opportunities and to protect our communities and our very way of life. Our plan for Canada Strong.

The world is becoming increasingly dangerous and divided. The United States, our most important international partner, is transforming all its trade relationships. This is causing significant economic uncertainty, slowing investment, and disrupting supply chains. This is not a transition, it’s a breaking point.

Throughout this period of upheaval, Canadians have taken three important lessons. The first is that we must focus on what we can control. In a rapidly changing world, that means building our strength here at home, building an economy that's no longer reliant on a single trade partner, but resilient to global shocks. And to that end, we're fast-tracking major infrastructure projects. We're eliminating barriers to inter-provincial trade, and we're building millions of homes across the country.

We cannot rely on another country to create our own prosperity. We are building an economy for and by Canadians.

The second lesson that this past year has taught us is that we have to look out for ourselves. To build a stronger country, we must protect our communities, our borders, our country, our way of life.

To build a stronger Canada, we must protect our sovereignty, our communities, our borders, and our way of life. There is no prosperity without safety.

Safe, resilient communities attract people and families. Families who want to put down roots, get a home, build a rewarding career, send their kids to a good school. Safe communities, attract new investment, new jobs and new businesses. The conditions are there that help you feel safe, secure, in control of your life, and empowered to know that if you work hard, you will get ahead. You should be able to rely on that safety because you do all the right things. You work hard. Maybe you buy a car to get your kid to a job, yourself to school. You buy your first home, perhaps in a neighborhood a little further from work than you had wanted. But you're starting out in what seems to be an affordable, safe community where you can raise a young family. But then you hear about a car, just like yours, that was stolen in your neighborhood, or a home in your city that was broken into, or a neighbour whose grandparent was scammed out of their hard-earned retirement savings because they open the wrong e-mail, and it's even worse when you hear that the person who stole that car broke into that home or defrauded a loved one has done it many times before and just got released on bail. Canadians deserve to feel safe in their community, to know that their homes are secure, to know that their money that they've earned is safe in their own bank account. In this spring's election, we earned a mandate from Canadians to deliver change, to secure our country and protect our communities just like this one, and we will do our part.

Before I outline some details that Ruby referenced, I want to be clear, we're here in Toronto where the Toronto Police Service secures the city, not far from here, as do the real… the Peel Regional Police. They're the ones who respond to 911 calls and show up at your door during times of crisis. They take the criminals off the street, they bring them into custody, and the Ontario Provincial Police serves the province. They handle cross-province crimes and investigations. The federal government's job is to protect our borders and to deal with terrorism, white-collar crime, financial fraud, and crucially, the Criminal Code. So, today, I'm announcing how the federal government is strengthening the Criminal Code to better protect all Canadians. And tomorrow, I'll make an important announcement on border security. This is how the federal government can help municipalities and provinces get criminals off the streets, disrupt and dismantle criminal networks, reinforce the justice system with tough and comprehensive bail reform, and build a stronger, safer, more secure Canada. Keeping Canadians safe is one of our new government's core missions, one we have focused relentlessly on from day one. Just three weeks after the election, when Parliament opened, we immediately introduced the strongest legislation in Canadian history to secure our borders and crack down on gun trafficking and illegal drugs such as fentanyl. We want to put radar out of work. In September, when Parliament returned, we introduced new legislation to combat the horrifying rise in hate and violent intimidation, including to protect against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

Our bill, the Combatting Hate Act, would make it illegal to obstruct religious spaces and would establish separate criminal offenses for intimidation or interference at places of worship and other community centres. And tomorrow, we will announce new measures to protect our border. We are in Canada. In our country, you should be able to wake up in the morning, get in your car, go to work, to church or temple, return home, and sleep peacefully at night. When our laws repeatedly fail to protect these fundamental rights, we need new ones. We need change. And that’s precisely why we are here today.

Today, I'm announcing two major new measures that Canada's new government is taking to build safer communities for you and your loved ones. First, we're strengthening the Criminal Code to get tough on bail and sentencing, keeping violent criminals and repeat offenders off our streets and out of our communities. And second, we are investing in frontline law enforcement, hiring 1000 new RCMP personnel to keep our country and communities safe. To start, you can… we can… to start, the Minister of Justice will be tabling legislation within the next week with strong reforms on bail and sentencing. We're getting violent criminals and repeat offenders off the streets, full stop. Right now, in most bail hearings, the starting point is to release, and the Crown must prove why someone should not be released on bail, making it too easy for repeated, violent offenders to quickly get back on the street, sometimes back into the same communities that they just committed crimes in. Our new law will flip that script by creating new reverse-onus bail provisions for violent and organized crime-related offences. We're making bail stricter to keep you safe. With so-called reverse-onus bail, it will no longer be up to the Crown to prove why someone should stay behind bars. It will be up to the accused to prove to the court why they can be trusted to be released. Their risk of reoffending and their history of past 10 years will be considered.

These strong new reverse-onus bail provisions will apply to violent auto theft, to break and enter, to human trafficking and smuggling, to assault, to sexual assault, and to extortion involving violence or violent threats. Simply put, these changes will keep violent repeat offenders of these crimes off our streets and out of our communities. Canada's new government will also toughen sentences for repeat offenders of auto theft, of organized crime and of home invasion, so that criminals who have repeatedly victimized your community do not have the chance to do so again. We are delivering the change to keep violent repeat offenders off our streets. We'll also allow for consecutive sentencing for violent and repeat offenders so that a seven-year sentence and a five-year sentence can mean 12 years behind bars, not just seven. This change will keep dangerous criminals off our streets for longer. And to protect workers and businesses, we will implement harsher sentencing for organized retail theft. No worker in a neighbourhood convenience store should have to worry about being robbed by gangs or feeling that no one can intervene and no one will face justice. In addition, we will reverse laws from previous governments that are simply not working, and the first of those is conditional sentences for sexual assault. Right now, someone convicted of sexual assault can be eligible for a conditional sentence, meaning they may be able to serve their sentence at home in the very community where their victim lives. That is not justice. Our legislation will put an end to this. If you commit sexual assault, you will serve your sentence in a correctional facility.

Sexual violence is a serious crime that has major and lasting impacts on the lives of victims. Victims of sexual assault should never have to encounter their attacker in their daily lives –whether at the grocery store, on their way to work, or elsewhere in their community. That is why our government ensures that sexual offenders serve their sentence in a facility where their victims are safe from harm.

The second major change I’m announcing today is that we are delivering on our election commitment to hire 1000 new RCMP personnel across Canada because tougher laws are only one part of safer communities. We also need the people and the resources to enforce those laws. With this significant investment, the RCMP will have the investigative and technical capabilities required to work actively with municipal and provincial police services, such as on critical national security issues, including foreign interference, violent extremism, cybercrime, organized crime and online child sexual exploitation. This funding will also include hiring 150 RCMP personnel specifically dedicated to investigating financial crimes, targeting money laundering networks, organized crime, online fraud and the recovery of illicit assets. Financial crimes take many forms and they are rising with devastating impacts on millions of Canadians. Retired Canadians who spent a lifetime saving carefully are losing thousands of dollars in seconds, sometimes just for answering a call from the wrong person.

More resources for the RCMP, more protection for Canadians.

These new measures will keep violent criminals and repeat offenders off our streets. They will protect the people we love and they will deliver the justice that Canadians deserve. Earlier, I spoke about the two lessons that Canadians have learned from the past year. First, that we must focus on what we control. And second, that we have to look out for ourselves. There is a third lesson. We have to take care of each other, and that means empowering everyone in our country to have opportunities to get ahead. It also means taking care of each other, and that means making our communities truly safe by tackling the root causes of crime.

Through investments in mental health, addiction treatment, affordable housing, and programs for at-risk youth. This kind of investment helps break the cycle of violence and supports people in finding their way.

We are building communities across Canada, communities with homes that people can actually afford, providing services people need to help break the cycles of poverty and violence and the support for those who need it the most. Earlier this week, not far from here, we announced the first project within the GTA of our new federal housing entity, Build Canada Homes, in Downsview. This development will start by delivering 540 factory-built housing units, with at least 40% of those being deeply affordable. And ultimately, it will catalyze the construction of over 63,000 new homes in the Downsview area.

Right now in Kananaskis, Alberta, the Attorney General of Canada and the ministers of Justice and Public Safety are meeting to build on this momentum and chart the path forward. This work will be done in partnership with provinces, territories, municipalities, and local law enforcement – because to be effective, our solutions must reflect the realities of the communities we serve.

So, let me conclude. The world is more dangerous and is divided. It's changing rapidly. We can't control those forces outside our borders, but in Canada, we decide what happens here, and we're choosing to build stronger communities where Canadians can feel safe in their homes, safe in their neighbourhoods, and in control of their futures. We're fixing ineffective policies from the past and building a stronger, safer future with tough new laws, big new resources and practical solutions. We will bring in tougher sentences for violent and repeat offenders and invest in thousands of frontline officers to combat crime in all of its forms. We’ll secure our border and protect our sovereignty. We will protect our communities and our way of life. We'll protect your safety and the people you love, and we will build Canada strong.