Thank you.
Mr. Minister, thank you very much for coming here today and expressing yourself in such an articulate manner.
Just by way of a preliminary, I want to say that I have no doubt, Mr. Minister, that Canadians all across the country and Quebeckers know very well that when we're speaking about fraud, simple easy sentences can sometimes just be the cost of doing business. So I think they will support the idea of a mandatory minimum, which will be much more effective than just the cost of doing business.
Mr. Minister, I also want to say that when you were speaking to Mr. Petit earlier, you were commending him on his concern for victims, and over and over at this committee we have seen your special concern to address the needs of victims of crime. I think you articulate that very well, and people all across Canada thank you for that.
Now, once a fraudster is convicted and before he or she is sentenced, of course, the judge always takes into consideration aggravating and mitigating factors. I have victims in mind too. I'm thinking of a client I had once. She was widowed in middle age. She had to finish raising her children on her own, and within a few years of her husband's death she was cheated out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, in effect her life savings. She had to go back to work and can't enjoy the retirement she was looking forward to. We've also heard evidence at this committee and other proceedings on the problems title fraud creates.
Mr. Minister, I know one of the provisions in Bill C-52 will add certain aggravating factors for fraud offences, and I would be grateful to hear from you how these new provisions regarding aggravating factors will help victims of fraud like those.