Thank you, Mr. Ménard.
I'm not here asking to bring capital punishment back. You did make one point about the crime rate being down. I think categorically that's absolutely not true. I think violent crime is way up, and again--let me finish--I would encourage the committee to get the data that speaks specifically to firearms offences, which is similar to this data, the data over 40 years that shows the rise in the rate of violent crime. I think you'll find the same thing with firearms.
In addition, to repeat what I said in my presentation, the studies.... Interestingly enough, the Library of Parliament and Statistics Canada don't seem to have much time for the studies south of the border, but criminologists south of the border.... And I agree about the deterrent effect; I agree with Mr. Bryant and I agree with Chief Blair that there's a deterrent effect on some and not on others. This is about incapacitation, and what the studies tell us, in my estimation, is that where you identify, particularly if you get it right, that small number of offenders who commit a disproportionate number of serious crimes--and I would suggest that the people who put firearms in their hands, by and large, are those people--and incapacitate them for as long a period as possible, the end result will be a reduction in the crime rate. I think that's what happened in the main south of the border in terms of the precipitous drop in violent crime.