Well, one person's reduction of discretion is another person's clarification. The purpose of this is for Parliament to say, as it does with other Criminal Code offences, “Here is what Parliament believes ought to be the mandatory minimum.” I would argue an amendment ought to be made so that it would be clarified that it's not the maximum.
As to specific provisions, sexual assault with a firearm moves from four years to five years for the first offence. Is that proportionate? Well, certainly I assume the Department of Justice has said it is consistent with the charter. I would say that moving from four years to five years is proportionate.
So I think, to be fair to the committee, it's going to depend on the offence. It's difficult for me to generalize on every single provision of the bill. There will be debate around some provisions. That's one of the reasons why committee work is tough work, and I thank you for doing it.