Thank you very much.
First of all, I would prefer that you work with members of the committee rather than bureaucrats. You are the elected members, and I hope, after hearing the evidence, you can determine what you think is in the best interest of the Canadian people. I can tell you that my department is more than willing to work with you.
But I want to point out that there are many property offences that pose a great deal of concern to Canadians. For example, some of the attorneys general are concerned about auto thefts, about the skyrocketing auto thefts. In the city of Winnipeg alone there'd be 9,000 auto thefts in one year, often committed by the same individuals over and over again, with people still getting conditional offences. In terms of other property offences, the Vancouver police related to me that an individual convicted of 124 offences was still receiving conditional sentences.
So the issue of property offence is not something that we should simply dismiss, and say that they're not serious. In fact, the evidence is very clear that violent crimes often begin with property offences. One concern I have is about breaking and entering. What is the difference between a break and enter into a residence and a home invasion? The problem is that you'll see a person in that home invasion. So a break and enter has the potential of being a very serious offence.
I'm trying to meet all of your points here; they're good points, and I appreciate your willingness to work on this bill, because we do need your support in a minority government.
You mentioned the issue of appeal. I was just looking through a newspaper and saw that, for example, the Manitoba Court of Appeal routinely hands out conditional sentences for drug offenders. I'm talking about production of and trafficking in drugs. Quite frankly, I don't see that as appropriate, and yet the courts of appeal in this country are the last resort. There is no further appeal in matters to the Supreme Court other than on a matter of law. It is very rarely granted that a sentence of appeal could ever go to the Supreme Court. So we have inconsistencies right across the country in terms of what is an appropriate sentencing for trafficking.
With regard to your point on the costing, first of all, this costing will be discussed at the attorneys general and Minister of Justice meeting in October. I have been holding individual conversations with provincial attorneys general, who, I might add, are generally supportive of the reforms as set out in this bill. Provincial and territorial officials are developing a paper outlining their views on the cumulative impact on not only Bill C-9 but also Bill C-10, and mandatory minimum sentences for serious drug offences. This paper has not yet been finalized, but it will be discussed at that ministerial meeting.
The increase in operational correctional costs will depend on the proportion of ineligible offenders who will receive a jail sentence and the average length of those sentences. Our estimates indicate that there could be additional jail sentences amounting to 443 prison years, which equates to an annual national expenditure for these sentences of approximately $21.7 million. This represents 1.7% of the present annual operational expenditure by jurisdictions on adult corrections. I look forward to seeing the provincial estimates on that.