Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member was going on his to eighth point. Three is the number of times the opposition has raised this for the late show this week.
I will point out again, as I did yesterday, that there was no mention of victims of crime. We prefer on this side of the House to have a balanced approach to our criminal justice system where we take into account the rights of victims. I have not heard a member all week mention the plight of victims of crime.
The Minister of Justice has repeatedly stated in the House, on the issue of the death penalty, that the government is not changing the law in that regard. It was in 1976 that Canada abolished the death penalty from the Criminal Code.
Our government acknowledges that the legal systems of foreign jurisdictions have differing views on this issue. Although the government does recognize the sovereign decision of each state to determine its own laws, the government continues to advocate for the full respect for international safeguards where the death penalty is still in use.
On November 15, the UN General Assembly voted on a resolution that calls for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. Canada supported this resolution and, in keeping with our support for the objective of the resolution, voted with the co-sponsors against efforts to undermine the resolution.
As the hon. member can plainly see, we are taking a stand internationally on this issue.
With respect to clemency, the hon. member's statement is quite incorrect. The minister has said that our government will deal with these issues on a case by case basis. Potentially, however, if another country will only grant clemency on the basis of the offender being repatriated to Canada, we could have a difficult situation inasmuch as an offender who committed murder abroad could be eligible for parole in Canada and subsequently be free to live in our communities.
As is evident from our ambitious justice agenda, our government's first priority is to protect Canadians. We would be abdicating that responsibility by the potential release of a multiple murderer. I am confident that Canadians do not want murderers free to roam our streets, especially if they have not served a sentence proportionate to the seriousness of their crime.
As the Minister of Justice has said in the House:
—this country and this government, in particular, has had an outstanding record with respect to human rights at home and abroad. I think it is a record for which all Canadians can be very proud.
We will continue to fight for Canadians. We will also fight to ensure that our families and our communities are safe.