With respect to your first question, I never comment on specific cases. I don't know if this matter is up for appeal or what the sentence was.
The job that we have as legislators, members of the House of Commons and Senate, is to give guidance on the seriousness with which we view certain kinds of conduct. In this particular piece of legislation, we're talking about fraud in excess of a million dollars. Generally, when there is fraud in excess of a million dollars, we are talking about a sophisticated operation that has gone about the business of fleecing individuals or communities and making victims of innocent Canadians.
Are we giving the appropriate guidance to the courts? I have no doubt that we are living up to our responsibilities. For this kind of activity, we now have the most serious maximum penalty, short of life, under the Criminal Code. I think we're sending out the right message. We're saying that we'll start with two years imprisonment for people who are committing millions of dollars worth of fraud and fleecing individuals, making victims of poor innocent Canadians. They can build from there.
I'm also pleased about the aggravating factors that will be taken into consideration. For instance, we will now be looking at the impact on the community. Sometimes it's not just one individual but a group, an organization, that finds itself victimized. I'm glad this is being recognized. With respect to the changes in accelerated parole, I don't have direct responsibility for this matter. My colleague the Minister of Public Safety has that responsibility.
I disagree completely with your comments that the former Conservative government under Mr. Mulroney moved away from being tough on crime. That government passed the very first law to make it a crime to possess child pornography. The mere possession of it became a crime. You'd find it interesting to read the debates of the day. There was a lot of squealing by the naysayers and nervous nellies that were challenging us about bringing this forward. I said it then, and I'll say it again today: this was an important step in the protection of children.
There have been many changes over the years, Mr. Murphy. I think I was on 35 legislative committees looking at changes to the Criminal Code, updating it to catch up with the technology changes that have taken place. We've been sending out the correct message these last four years. Victims and law-abiding Canadians know they can count on this government to stand up for them. I'm proud to be a part of the government that helped to push that agenda.