Sean Fraser

This bill, very importantly, was not designed behind closed doors on Parliament Hill. Its strength is really from the source of collaboration we’ve had from different partners from across the country,

I’m highly confident that we will find a highly skilled jurist that will fill the vacancy that Justice Martin leaves.

We’re going to take the time to digest the report.

I have no reservations about the quality of candidates who are going to come through the process.

I expect that this appointment will be made imminently… we’ll be moving as quick as we possibly can.

I would be careful not to paint all provinces and territories with a single brush because they’re in unique sets of circumstances that don’t necessarily reflect the experience of one province in a neighbouring province.

The law is designed to target some of the most frequent causes of concern we hear in our engagement with communities across Canada.

My mind certainly doesn't go to that place as a first option. I want to have an opportunity to actually understand the recommendation, to review some of the testimony, to engage with stakeholders across Canada to some degree on my own…

This isn’t easy work, which is why I’m going to take the time necessary to fully understand the recommendations of the committee and the evidence that underpins those recommendations.

We expect, by the end of the week, we could see the Combating Hate Act, which is being debated in Parliament behind me at this very moment, and the Protecting Victims Act, which is at the final stages of the Senate, to potentially become…

If I’m satisfied the committee has had an opportunity to reach thoughtful conclusions based on the advice of those who are most knowledgeable, most experienced with the issues, then there’s a good chance we may align with the…

It has a unique focus, of course, on both bail and sentencing, with specific measures that are designed to target some of the most frequent causes of concern we hear in our engagement with communities across Canada.

The new law is central to the federal government's public safety strategy and was specifically crafted to keep the country and its people safer by addressing their concerns.

We've taken a major step forward but we also know that there's more to do.

By continuing the spirit of collaboration, we’re going to be able to build a safer country. We’ve taken a major step forward last night and the reason we were able to do it is because we’ve done it together.

You don't have to give up your freedoms in order to ensure people can live safe in a society.

Ensure that we are being responsible when it comes to protecting kids in particular.

We live in a complex world where people need to be able to freely express themselves, but we also recognize that there’s a unique responsibility to ensure that there are harms that we are aware of, that we’re hearing about from teachers…

I don’t necessarily view safety and free speech to be at odds with one another.

I think it’s incumbent upon governments to recognize, as society changes, as technological adoption increases, that we are respectful of people’s rights, but at the same time that we can make moves to address modern challenges.

I’m not entertaining splitting this bill at this point in time, because I believe the impact of that decision would be felt not by politicians on Parliament Hill, but by victims of crime in communities.

They deserve an opportunity to make meaningful suggestions on how the bill can be strengthened.

It is a difficult pill to swallow, coming from somebody who belongs to the Conservative caucus, having watched their deliberate filibuster for months of the justice committee on the House side.

When the police are asking for it in the news, when judges are declaring the need for relief from the bench, it’s incumbent, in my view, upon parliament to take action, and to take action today.

I believe Canadians could benefit, but given what’s playing out in our communities every single day, we can’t afford a months long delay to have these protections benefit victims.