Instead, I'm going to talk to you about what I'm criticizing about the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. It should be based on the certainty of being prosecuted and not on the severity of the penalties. There is no certainty of prosecution, and that's what needs to be improved. Research shows that the severity of penalties is a factor, but not the determining factor. In the U.S., the focus may be on the severity of sentences. However, criminological research shows that it's the certainty of being prosecuted, not the severity of sentences, that deters people from committing offences.
I believe that the problem isn't limited to the severity of the penalties and that a difference of millions, hundreds of millions or billions of dollars would not necessarily have changed the situation.
However, if there was certainty of prosecution, even if the fines were lower, the system would likely be better, and there would be fewer environmental offences.