Madam Chair, this government has had five years to introduce legislation to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences, one of the key factors in the systemic racism that has produced a corrections system in which 30% of those imprisoned are indigenous. Now repeated instances of violence against indigenous and Black Canadians have resulted in rightful outrage across Canada, and a call from the Parliamentary Black Caucus for action to transform policing and reform the justice system, including eliminating mandatory minimums.
Here's where the story takes a strange turn. Apparently, 26 out of 36 cabinet ministers signed on to the Black Caucus letter. That's two-thirds of the cabinet, including the deputy prime minister and the justice minister, all of them signing as if they haven't been the government for the last five years and have no responsibility for the failure to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences.
Instead of just another expression of good intentions, why aren't we seeing legislation being introduced in this House today to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences?