Thank you, Chair.
I want to thank each of you for being here with us today and for sharing your grief and your courage. You have challenged us to bring safety back to our communities. That is a task that I believe every member of this committee takes seriously. Hearing from you and hearing your challenge to us does motivate us in that direction.
I met Mr. Brown and Mrs. Mohan about a year ago in my office. Tragically, things have gotten worse instead of better. Many of the recent shootings started in Langley, in the Walnut Grove area. My immediate response was to phone my family to see if they were okay.
I heard from parents who were out shopping at the local grocery store, and they were experiencing things that we never imagined: hitting the floor; being beside a car that had its windows blown out, with somebody killed in it; and people running for their lives.
I talked to a parent a week ago. They have a six-year-old and a two-year-old. They have taught their child what to do: don't talk to strangers, what to do in emergencies--stop, drop, and roll--and all the different things you teach a child. They've now taught this child what to do if the child hears gunfire. The six-year-old is to hit the floor--jump out of his car seat, get on the floor of the car, and take his little brother out of his car seat and pull him down to the floor too. This is how people are living, and we have to do something.
We introduced, and it came into force in May of last year, the Tackling Violent Crime Act. In that new legislation, there was a change to reverse onus for bail release. Mr. Brown, you brought up three main things: the two-for-one remand, bail for serious offences, and conditional sentencing. Two of those were in the Tackling Violent Crime Act. Conditional sentencing for serious offences is not to be permitted, and there is a reverse onus for bail for serious crimes.
I believe you were at a recent rally in Surrey. In your case, I believe, there's been no one charged and no conviction. In your case, we don't know who committed those murders or if it was one person or a number of people. There is nobody. When we do catch somebody, they're charged and they're released on bail. How does that happen? Having a background in loss prevention and writing up fatality reports for the provincial corporation, ICBC, you look at the causes. What caused that situation, and what are the solutions to try to keep that from ever happening again?
All of you have eloquently highlighted your perspectives on some of the causes. Could you elaborate on solutions?