I'm sorry to have missed your presentations. But, today in the House of Commons, there was a debate on re-opening the same sex marriage issue, and I had to make a speech.
I am very pleased to meet Mr. Doob. I have been hearing about you for years now, and I am a strong admirer of what you have produced. I read the study that the Clerk forwarded to us, in which you identify everything that has been written about the deterrence factor associated with minimum mandatory sentences, and you suggest that in that respect, there is absolutely no evidence that they do. But that is not exactly what I would like to discuss with you today.
I believe it has been proven that minimum mandatory sentences do not serve the objectives for which people claim that they are needed and that there is no connection between minimum mandatory sentences and deterrence. I also believe that the government is motivated by ideology alone and that there is no scientific rigour in Bill C-10. Finally, the best thing that could happen would be for Bill C-10 to be defeated by the Committee, right here.
In addition, I would like to know how we can tackle the problem of violence perpetrated by certain street gangs and to what extent we know what the effect of legislation passed to tackle gangsterism has been effective. As you may recall, we passed sections 466, 467 and 468 of the Criminal Code, which now refers to gangsterism.
Does any one of you have suggestions to make with respect to the whole question of guns and gangsterism, smuggling and street gangs? Are you able to share any information with us that could help us refocus the debate on more effective, more inspired actions?