Good morning to all members of Parliament.
First of all, let me thank you for inviting me today to speak to this important bill.
I am the mayor of a city that has a lot to be excited about: a fantastic new airport, increasing residential development in our downtown, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and the return of the Winnipeg Jets.
As optimistic as I am about our city's future, I need to be realistic as well.
I'm also the mayor of a city that has seen 34 murders this year. You may be shocked to face the grim reality that out of those 34 homicides, 11 youths--children--have been charged in these crimes.
As you know, violent crimes like homicide are the most difficult to predict and prevent, especially when we are dealing with matters involving alcohol and drug substances or young offenders.
We're living in a society right now where individuals believe they can get away with violent crime. What's worse, as a result of the laws currently in place, they technically are.
The safety of all citizens of Winnipeg will remain a priority for my council and me. We've worked diligently to invest in and provide tools to the Winnipeg Police Service to reduce crime in our city, but significant change requires more than simple police enforcement.
That is why I am encouraged by the bold steps in Bill C-10 to change the status quo and start taking real responsibility for our citizens' safety. The revolving doors of justice need to close, and we need to change the Youth Criminal Justice Act so repeat offenders stay behind bars instead of escalating the nature of their crimes out in society.
The rights of our citizens need to trump the rights of the criminals in our country. There is so much in this legislation that is vital to preserving the safety of our citizens.
Yes, violent and repeat young offenders need to be held accountable for their actions. The word “consequences” need not be seen as a dirty word. Yes, we need to end house arrest and conditional sentences for serious and violent crimes. Guess what? It doesn't work for rapists, murderers, and thieves.
Yes, we need to restore victims' rights so they can participate in parole hearings and address inmate accountability, responsibility, and management. The criminal justice system needs more focus on justice than on criminals.
Yes, we need to provide mandatory minimum penalties for serious drug offences when such offences are carried out for organized crime purposes and involve targeting our youth. As mentioned, Canadians and people everywhere are entitled to live their lives in peace, freedom, and security.
I understand the need to provide programming to our youth to deter them from a life of crime. We've invested in programming at every level of government to combat this problem, nut guess what? Actions minus consequences equal nothing.
This bill will assist in a multi-pronged approach to solve our crime problem. The naysayers will kick and scream but will be content to sit in silence and accept the status quo while more people die on our city streets.
Something has to change. As mayor of a city that is on the front lines in dealing with the effects of this broken system, I say that the time for change is now. I encourage all of you to pass this bill and take action now.
Thanks very much to all of you for your time.