Thank you very much.
I am surprised the honourable member would say that this bill is a waste of time because the costs are only incremental, that there are not huge costs associated with that. The bill goes beyond just the sentencing provisions. It makes it much more user friendly for the victims. I appreciate that there's not much discussion here about the impact on victims, but this is of great concern to the government.
One of the things you will see in that bill, Mr. Chairman, is that it requires the courts to take into consideration those individuals who have been fleeced, who have been robbed by these individuals. In fact, one of the things you will see that is new to the Criminal Code is an actual form that victims can fill out. Again, I appreciate that there's not some huge cost to the federal government, but we know that victims of white collar crime suffer a great deal. Much of what this bill does is it makes it a little easier to direct the court's attention to those individuals, because those individuals who have been the victims of white collar crime told me at the introduction of these bills that it was as bad as getting beaten up in an alley.
I completely disagree with the position as enunciated by the NDP that somehow this is a waste because there isn't a lot of money being expended. I couldn't disagree more. I just wanted to have that on the record.