Ottawa, ON — Raquel Dancho, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Safety, the Hon. Rob Moore, Conservative Shadow Minister for Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Pierre Paul-Hus, Québec Lieutenant, released the following statement in response to updated crime data from Statistics Canada:
“After eight years of Justin Trudeau, crime and chaos are common on our streets. We are experiencing the worst crime wave we have seen in recent memory. Since 2015, violent crime has risen by 39%. Gang murders have more than doubled, and violent gun crime has increased for the eighth year in a row.
“This is Justin Trudeau’s Canada – and Canadians are suffering the consequences in our streets every single day. The national murder rate is the highest it has been in more than 30 years, with murders increasing in Toronto by 66%, in Montreal by 38% and Vancouver by 55%, all since this government came into office.
“As Statistics Canada points out, crimes in Canada are also getting more and more severe. This cannot be explained away as petty crime or by empty talk from new Liberal Ministers. The crimes that we are seeing surge are the worst kinds, and they are affecting everyday Canadians who are simply trying to go about their lives. These crimes aren’t limited to certain regions – they are happening every day, at every time of day and in every city, town and community across our country.
“But we know the cause of this crime wave, and we know how to fix it. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has passed a series of laws, such as bills C-75 and C-5, that let dangerous repeat violent offenders out onto the streets and back into our communities instead of keeping them behind bars where they belong. This cannot continue. We need change so that dangerous repeat violent offenders get jail, not bail, and the most serious criminals receive sentences that keep them in prison and the public safe.
“Common Sense Conservatives will keep the small number of dangerous criminals in our country behind bars and end Justin Trudeau’s catch-and-release policies to bring home safe streets and keep Canadians safe.”