Bill C-299 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (kidnapping of young person)

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to prescribe a minimum punishment of five years when a kidnap victim is under sixteen years of age, unless the person who commits the offence is a parent, guardian or person having the lawful care or charge of the victim.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, Delta—Richmond East, BC]

Yes, I am.

We move that Bill C-299, in clause 1, be amended by replacing line 10 on page 1 with the following:

imprisonment for life and, unless the person who commits the offence is a parent, guardian or person having the lawful care or charge of the person referred to in that paragraph, to a minimum

Can I speak to it?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dave MacKenzie]

Thank you.

Mr. Cotler, Bill C-299 amends the Criminal Code to impose a mandatory minimum sentence on anyone convicted of kidnapping a person under 16 years of age. This amendment proposes to delete the mandatory minimum sentence. As House of Commons Procedure and Practice, second edition, states on page 766: An amendment to a bill that was referred to a committee after second reading is out of order if it is beyond the scope and principle of the bill.

In the opinion of the chair, the deletion of the key element is contrary to the principle of Bill C-299 and is therefore inadmissible.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dave MacKenzie]

I call to order meeting number 40 of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Pursuant to the order of reference of Wednesday, February 29, 2012, today we are considering Bill C-299, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (kidnapping of young person), clause by clause.

It is quite a large bill—there's one clause.

I think, Mr. Cotler, you have an amendment, LIB-1.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dave MacKenzie]

We'll call the meeting to order. This is meeting number 39 of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Pursuant to the order of reference of Wednesday, February 29, 2012, we are studying Bill C-299, an act to amend the Criminal code (kidnapping of young person).

Appearing as a witness before us today is Michael Spratt from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Sir, as usual, we have an opportunity for you, if you wish, to make an opening address, and then we'll begin our panel.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, Delta—Richmond East, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I wanted to talk to you, Mrs. Dunahee. My name is Kerry-Lynne Findlay. I am a member of Parliament from British Columbia, and I well remember that fateful day when your son Michael was taken and we all became aware.

I grew up on Vancouver Island, so I know the park you were at that day very well, and I visualized, now as the mother of four, but at the time with two young children.... There were many of us who were identifying with your pain at that time, and I really applaud you for what you've been trying to do for missing children's rights.

Our Conservative government continues to try to address the issue of missing children through a number of initiatives and that includes the RCMP's Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. We have also expressed our support via a website called missingkids.ca, recently launched by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

Nevertheless, of course we all know and the testimony of Chief Freeman here only underscores that there is so much more we could do for victims and victims of kidnapping, in particular and of course, for our most vulnerable members of society—our children.

Could you please tell our committee today how, in your opinion, Bill C-299, introduced by Mr. Wilks—also a B.C. resident—provides us with an opportunity to do that?

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Yes, thank you.

I'd like to thank the witnesses for being here.

Chief Rodney Freeman, we all followed that case. We all rejoiced, in a sense, at the verdict and at what sentence is coming in that horrible case. You were describing the event, and it just gives us chills.

On Tuesday, Mr. Wilks spoke to us about his work as a police officer before becoming an MP. He told us, justifiably, that unless you've been through it before, you cannot know what it's like to knock on a parent's or anyone's door and tell them that someone has died, sometimes under absolutely horrible and inhuman circumstances. You wonder how a human being can even do this kind of thing. I think we all feel that way. Kidnapping and confining a child under age 16 is terrible, as is any kind of confinement, in my opinion, especially when harmless people who have no way of defending themselves are involved. That's even more difficult.

The issue isn't really how horrible the crime is; it's knowing what to do with that type of crime. We need to ensure that Bill C-299 of our colleague Mr. Wilks will help us achieve the intended goal. This is what I take pains to say over and over again every time we study this type of bill.

There is a danger, you know. This is for the three witnesses. This week, the National Post hit the nail on the head. Some politicians stand up in Parliament and wave around the front page of a newspaper. Right away, we want to react, we want to do something, but without thinking about the long-term consequences.

Of course, when we hear a story like Victoria Stafford's, everyone wants to rewrite the Criminal Code in the hope that the worst punishments will be imposed on the guilty, but within a democratic and human society, we must make sure we proceed properly, given our charter.

I'll tell you what worries me about Bill C-299, and I would like to hear your comments about it. Section 279 of the Criminal Code already sets out a sentence of life imprisonment. We cannot be more severe than that, unless we reopen debate on the death penalty, which I hope we don't. This is the maximum sentence we can impose for any kind of crime.

Having said that, based on the analysis of people's files and the jurisprudence related to this section, people who have been found guilty…

[The Chair, Conservative, Dave MacKenzie]

I call the meeting to order, this being the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, meeting number 38. Pursuant to the order of reference of Wednesday, February 29, 2012, we're studying Bill C-299, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (kidnapping of young person).

We are awaiting the arrival of one other witness. We have two witnesses before the committee today. Ms. Dunahee is appearing by video conference from British Columbia.

Welcome. You can hear us?

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Justice, for making yourself available to answer our questions. I have to say I really liked the parallel you drew with the Income Tax Act. I found it to be very relevant. It showed the dangers of making the Criminal Code unnecessarily complex.

Mr. Justice, one aspect of law fascinates me, and it is that a law, as an instrument, must have a purpose. Bill C-299 must also have a purpose. I wasn't able to put the following question to my colleague Mr. Wilks, who presented this bill, because we ran out of time.

If we suppose that the purpose of imposing a minimum sentence is to deter people from committing a crime, can we hope that goal will be attained?

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Judge Major, it is an honour to be able to speak to you today.

As always, the Supreme Court catches us with our pants down, if you'll excuse the expression. I had my mouth full and I thought you would start by making your presentation.

I will get right to the heart of the matter. You know we are here to study Bill C-299, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (kidnapping of young person),

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

When you prepared Bill C-299, did you go through the Criminal Code to see the different provisions that apply in a case like the one you are trying to address through this bill? Are you familiar with, for example, all the principles of sentencing? I am thinking of section 718 and the following ones, among others, of the Criminal Code.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Wilks. You are very passionate, and we understand why it's important to you. However, it is also our role, as legislators, to ensure that what you are seeking will become a reality with the amendment.

Of the cases you dealt with during your career as an RCMP officer, was it the case of Kienan Hebert in particular that pushed you to table Bill C-299? Was that the catalyst?

[David Wilks, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank the committee for having me here today as discussion begins on my private member's bill, Bill C-299, which would invoke a minimum mandatory penalty for the kidnapping of a child under the age of 16 by a stranger.

I would like to call the committee's attention to paragraph 279(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, which says:

(1) Every person commits an offence who kidnaps a person with intent (a) to cause the person to be confined or imprisoned against the person’s will;

Further, paragraph 279(1.1)(a) says:

(1.1) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable (a) if a restricted firearm or prohibited firearm is used in the commission of the offence or if any firearm is used in the commission of the offence and the offence is committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, a criminal organization, to imprisonment for life and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of (i) in the case of a first offence, five years, and (ii) in the case of a second or subsequent offence, seven years;

The committee should know that most kidnappings involving children do not involve a firearm, nor do they involve a criminal organization. The child is either lured or physically manhandled. Unfortunately, the act of kidnapping is the forgotten crime under normal circumstances.

Kidnapping of a child in Canada is a rare occurrence; however, each incident tends to shock the nation. When a child is kidnapped and it is reported by the media, it is usually a report of the most severe kind—a child is taken from their home, yard, or bed and kept for ransom and/or sexual exploitation, and sometimes murder.

As most of the committee will know, I am retired from the RCMP and served between the years 1980 and 2000. During that time, I can speak to two child kidnappings, and a third while a member of Parliament.

Michael Dunahee, who was born on May 12, 1986, disappeared from the Blanshard Street playground in Victoria, British Columbia, on March 24, 1991. He was four years old. He has never been found. His parents were mere metres away when Michael was taken. His mother, Crystal, was instrumental in getting the amber alert program implemented in British Columbia. She also serves as the president of Child Find for British Columbia.

Police officers from across Canada were kept on alert for months and years after Michael's disappearance. It moved so many people from across Canada to volunteer their time to search for Michael. I can still close my eyes today and see the posters of young Michael Dunahee.

Mindy Tran was kidnapped and murdered in Kelowna in 1994. As a member of the RCMP stationed in Penticton at the time, I was part of an enormous search team assembled to search for her. The fear that gripped the city of Kelowna was very noticeable. For a young child at the tender age of eight years old to be riding her bike on her street and to vanish without a trace is something that no parent should be subject to. Mindy was found six weeks later, not far from her home, in a shallow grave.

The third and final child I would like to speak of is Kienan Hebert. Taken from his home in Sparwood, British Columbia, Kienan was three years old. It was the middle of the night, and he was taken from his bedroom while the rest of his family slept. For four days, the people of the Elk Valley, the country, and international community were focused on the safe return of Kienan to his parents and family. Through the efforts of so many—and, may I add, some very good police work—Kienan was returned and his alleged kidnapper arrested.

You may wonder why this is so passionate to me. In my 20 years as a police officer, I have dealt with over 200 deaths. I have done four next-of-kin notifications, and two of them were for young children. Unless you have done one, you have no idea what it is like to tell a parent their child is dead. I would not wish that responsibility on anyone in this room.

We as politicians have the obligation to ensure that we protect our children at all costs and to ensure that a crime involving a child, in this case kidnapping, reflects the severity of the crime.

Surely if we as politicians see fit to give a mandatory minimum sentence to a person who kidnaps another person with a firearm or is connected to a criminal organization, we ought to see that kidnapping a defenceless child is, in my opinion, far graver than the aforementioned.

Thank you for letting me speak this morning, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dave MacKenzie]

I'll call the meeting to order.

Due to the votes, obviously it's later than this meeting was scheduled to begin, this being meeting 37 of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Pursuant to the order of reference of Wednesday, February 29, 2012, we are considering Bill C-299, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (kidnapping of young person).

We had scheduled Mr. Wilks, sponsor of the bill, for 11 o'clock. Due to the time, it's agreed that we will have forty minutes for each session as opposed to one hour.

Mr. Wilks, if you have an opening address, go ahead and give it to us. I think in general it's five to seven minutes. We'll let you know when you're getting close to the end of the time.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dave MacKenzie]

We'll see if we can get the clock corrected for our next meeting.

We have a meeting scheduled for Tuesday of next week. We're not certain that we'll have a witness—we may or may not—so the plan is to do clause-by-clause on Tuesday.

I've got nothing from anyone, so we'll go to Bill C-299 on Thursday.

The meeting is adjourned.

Justice

[David Wilks, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about crime, which is why they gave our government a strong mandate to keep our streets and communities safe.

Residents in my riding of Kootenay—Columbia were particularly concerned when a young four-year-old boy was kidnapped from his home. This is one reason why I introduced Bill C-299, which proposes a tougher penalty for those who kidnap a young person under the age of 16. Unfortunately, every opposition MP voted against the tougher penalty for kidnappers of children.

Can the minister please inform this House about the importance of my legislation and why the opposition should reconsider their position?