Justice committee  Indeed, there is the initial issue of cost, which is a major issue for my Public Safety colleague. I think that the implementation of this Bill will lead to a surge in prison sentences. I listened to what the Canadian Police Association representative had to say. I have to s

Justice committee  I cannot say that we have been consulted in the same way this Committee has. I wrote to Minister Nicholson in December 2010. Others before me, including Minister Weil, also wrote to him on the issue. It is not a new file. I told him that I wished to meet. A meeting took place

Justice committee  We will provide you with all the information you require. Tell us precisely what you need and we will provide as much as we can. We have 40 years of studies, statistics and scientific papers that we can provide you. We can make them available to you and the Federal Government.

Justice committee  Over the past hundred or so years, we have striven to avoid a system based on objective justice where the only factor considered in sentencing offenders is the type of crime committed. Quite the opposite is true. The person, motives and circumstances all have to be taken into acc

Justice committee  First of all, I believe you have heard other presentations on these provisions, including one by the Quebec Bar. As far as the wording of the provision on minimum sentences is concerned, Ms. Murphy of our Criminal Prosecution Service—which is the Government entity responsible f

Justice committee  That is a very interesting question, especially the way you put it. I believe—and this is the way the justice system works—that each individual case must be decided by the relevant authority and certainly not by national legislation. The justice system provides for cases to be

Justice committee  They have the authority to study each case. I would warn against using certain terms. A judge is assigned to each case and they are the ones that have to develop a ruling and a sentence specific to that case. Terms like sustained, long-term and short-term have completely diff

Justice committee  I would quite simply suggest you answer my question as to why the concept of long-term public protection is being removed. What is the point of striking out the reference to “long-term“? I feel the same way you do about the events reported in the newspapers. However, neither yo

Justice committee  Like all other witnesses that have appeared before the Committee to address problems with C-10, we certainly do not condone sex-related crimes. However, I would not make a distinction between that type of offense and any other. No-one here is pro crime. We are quite simply here t

Justice committee  Any expert in the area will tell you that, over the past hundred years, we have developed a case-by-case sentencing system in our justice system. Under this system, sentencing is based on facts and evidence presented in court. We are neither judges nor a court of law here. We hav

Justice committee  I will let the Federal Minister of Justice speak for himself. My letters, specifically the ones dated March 14 and September 30, are public knowledge. Quebec’s position is no secret. My predecessor, Ms. Kathleen Weil, also shared the same position. This is not a new Bill. It exis

Justice committee  I have listened to the opinion of the police officers around me. There has been reference to revolving doors and the potential for parole. I cannot deny that there are issues. However, even if you accept the argument that offenders should serve the longest sentences possible with

Justice committee  Perhaps you already know what I am referring to. We will have opportunities to discuss theses issues. However, it is clear that this Bill fails to provide the financial support for its implementation and Quebec refuses to pick up the tab. I would like to conclude by saying that

Justice committee  Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, I have the honour of appearing before this Committee to present Quebec’s position on Bill C-10. Although there are precedents, only exceptionally does the Quebec government appear before a parliamentary committee stud