Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing us to speak.
As you know, all parliamentarians are keen on having as much information as possible when it comes to making laws. All opposition parties would prefer the following option. Minimum mandatory penalties have been applied for the past ten years in the case of criminal offences committed with firearms, but we have not seen any probative or conclusive studies on the consequences of applying these penalties.
We would like the government to agree to defer the adoption of this bill anywhere from several months to one year. I think we could form a better opinion of this issue if a nation-wide longitudinal study were done to determine who has been convicted and if minimum penalties really had any deterrent effect. We would then have probative, conclusive facts on which to base our position. We have a responsibility to do this and it would be our preferred option. I will now turn the floor over to Ms. Jennings, who can suggest other options, in the event the government decides against this course of action.
We remain hopeful, however, and I believe this would be the wisest solution, from a parliamentary as well as from a procedural standpoint.