Ottawa, ON – Melissa Lantsman, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada released the following statement on the crime and chaos facing Peel Region:
“After eleven years of Liberal catch-and-release policies, crime has exploded across Peel Region. Last week, StatsCan revealed that violent crime has more than doubled in Peel since 2015, while extortion is up almost 500 per cent, sexual assaults nearly 79 per cent and motor vehicle theft 189 per cent over the same period.
“Communities where Canadians once felt safe raising a family, taking their kids to school, or starting a business have become unrecognizable. While the Liberals continue targeting law-abiding firearm owners, illegal gun crime remains rampant on our streets.
“Brampton and Mississauga have seen an astounding 103 shootings in the first six months this year, compared to 58 shootings during the same period last year. Firearms crime is up 830 per cent since 2015 region-wide, and Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich of the Peel Regional Police said it is not uncommon for officers to recover multiple illegal firearms in a single weekend, many from the United States.
“Meanwhile, Liberal soft-on-crime legislation such as Bill C-75, Bill C-5 and their so-called ‘Principle of Restraint’ have made it easier for repeat offenders to get easy bail and terrorize once-safe neighbourhoods.
“Canadians are seeing the consequences of these and other reckless policies. Communities across the GTA are witnessing attacks on their schools, community centres and places of worship.
“Hate crimes are up 245 per cent nationally since 2015, with a 342 per cent increase in antisemitic hate crimes alone. This alarming trend can be seen in attacks on local businesses, including the recent shootings of a beloved Jewish-owned bakery chain in Toronto. Meanwhile, the Liberal government could not answer how many agents of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps they had deported.
“In the last decade of this Liberal government, Canada has become a place where repeat violent offenders are released back onto our streets, where hate crimes have become normalized, and where drug trafficking, extortion and gun violence run rampant. Families across Peel region are paying the price for a justice system that puts the interests of criminals ahead of the safety of law-abiding Canadians.
“Enough is enough. Conservatives will fight for a Canada that is safe and secure by reversing reckless soft-on-crime legislation, scrapping Liberal bail and the ‘Principle of Restraint’ and ensuring criminals face real consequences for their actions so that we can restore safe streets.”