To my recollection, when it was introduced in 1976 it was introduced in the context of the government deciding to withdraw the death penalty from the books. In the discussions that occurred in the House of Commons in those days, there was a compromise that with the withdrawal of the death penalty, there was the inclusion of the 25-year minimum, which was considered in some cases to be maybe too much. In other words, there may be some cases where a person could be considered eligible before 25 years without representing a risk. It was also a question of offering these people who are sentenced for 25 years with a certain hope that they could come out, and that hope would help in maintaining--how would you say.... I'm better in French on this. Sorry.
The idea was that this would give them hope and might result in better conduct during those years. It was to act as an incentive, if you will, to good behaviour.
If that hope is removed, that could create an even more dangerous situation in terms of inmate behaviour inside the institution.
Furthermore, the concept of rehabilitation and the idea that a person can change are very much a part of our Criminal Code and our laws.