Thank you, Mr. Chair.
To begin, Ms. Jennings, you would indeed think that in any incident involving violence along the lines of what you referred to in your preamble, the judge would take these facts into consideration and keep the accused in prison. But, this is not the case. One of the most striking examples of this was the slaying of one of our colleagues in Brossard. Everybody was astounded by the decision. In any event, there are procedures which are followed. But this is a flagrant example of someone killing an individual and yet being released while awaiting trial, while a claim of self-defence was already made. So let's leave it up to the courts to make these determinations, shall we? What is more violent than murder? That's just one example, but there are others which are not as well known because a police officer was not involved. There are other cases.
The other issue you raised is in relation to responsibility. The onus is on the individual who committed a violent crime to demonstrate that he or she should be released. That's why we've said that this bill makes sense and that it sends out a clear message: if you want to play at this kind of game and jeopardize Canadians' safety, well then you will suffer the consequences.
We have been calling for years for an overhaul of the Canadian corrections, parole, and sentencing systems. Last week, Minister Stockwell Day announced a review of the correctional system and struck a committee called the blue-ribbon panel. The blue-ribbon panel will have a mandate.
We'll be very active, and we'll make our voice heard, that's for sure. I think a whole cross-section of policies needs to be reviewed, and not only the Criminal Code and its statutes. The Canadian prison system's internal policies also need to be reviewed because there are a lot of things wrong with the way these institutions treat their inmates.
Quebeckers will always remember what happened with Conrad Brassard. How do you treat a psychopath whose diagnosis indicates a 100% chance of repeat offending and who, on three occasions, committed crimes which included sexually assaulting and killing his poor victims? There is something wrong with that. How is it possible that an individual considered to be dangerous and who was imprisoned in a maximum security penitentiary was able to get transferred in the space of a few months to a medium-security prison, and then end up in a half-way house? This individual did not even serve a third of his sentence and didn't even take part in a rehabilitation program.
That is also part of the tool kit. I get a kick out of saying that I need a tool kit. People that know me know that I'm not much of a handyman, but I need a well-stocked tool kit to deal with criminals. That's what we need.