The parliamentary secretary will agree that this bill has been changed significantly. The preamble states:
whereas Canadians are entitled to live their lives in peace, freedom and security; whereas acts of violence involving the use of firearms, including ones by street gangs, are increasingly threatening the safety of Canadians in their community; whereas the Parliament of Canada is committed to taking the measures to protect Canadians from this threat while continuing to respect and promote the values reflected in, and the rights and freedoms guaranteed by, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
We can live with that, but we do have problems with what follows. It states:
and whereas these measures include legislation to impose higher minimum penalties [...]
If the government truly wants to have a preamble, because of its interpretive value, we are prepared to accept the first three points, which begin with the word “whereas”. What follows, however, is no longer relevant. Of course, with the consent of the Senate—All references to minimum penalties must be removed because the bill no longer has this configuration.