Poilievre demands real action against all forms of discrimination to protect our people and ensure all Canadians are safe and free.
Canada is our common home. It is a place where people from all over the world have come to live and pursue their dreams. Canada is free, and freedom is its nationality. Conservatives defend these values. We must protect the freedom of all Canadians and stand for the values of freedom all around the world.
But too often in Canada now, we see disturbing acts of hatred and discrimination that threaten these values. These incidents include verbal abuse, vandalism, hate, intimidation and violent acts. These acts must never stand in our country.
In recent years, we have seen diaspora communities face intimidation and threats by nefarious foreign actors. We have seen Jewish schools shot at and synagogues firebombed. We have seen churches burned down. We have seen Sikhs face harassment and discrimination. We have seen innocent Muslims murdered by vile monsters. We have seen Hindu temples vandalized. These shameful acts have one goal – to terrorize Canadians.
This cannot be tolerated. All Canadians must be able to freely live their lives and follow their dreams without fear and intimidation.
Justin Trudeau must take action to stop this surge in hatred. He must ensure the safety of every Canadian, regardless of their faith or beliefs. That is why today, Conservatives are proposing the following common sense measures to protect our people:
1. Designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code and expel the estimated 700 Iranian agents operating in Canada.
Conservatives will also work to identify additional threats to Canada’s religious communities and list these threats as terrorist groups.
2. Establish a Foreign Influence Registry.
The Liberals have continued to break their promise that they would establish a registry. This would limit the influence that some foreign governments wield through intimidation within Canada’s diaspora communities.
3. Evaluate Canada’s threat assessment in light of UK travel advisory.
On November 3, the UK declared that “terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Canada.” We call on the Liberal government to evaluate the National Terrorism Threat Level and publish the results in the next CSIS public report.
4. Remove red tape and speed up access to the Security Infrastructure Program to protect communities at risk.
Conservatives will double the funding for the Security Infrastructure Program, simplify the application process and remove red tape to ensure timely access to the program. We will remove the need to demonstrate risk, which often means that an institution must experience a hate-motivated crime before being eligible for the program, and allow funding to be used for a broader list of expenses, such as paying security guards and training volunteers.
5. Create an Anti-Hate Crime Task Force to coordinate the protection of faith communities.
Conservatives will create Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams with the specific mandate to prevent hate crimes, protect those who are threatened by hate and prosecute offenders who commit such crimes against Canada’s faith communities.