Thank you. I appreciate that.
I just want to say something so there is no misunderstanding.
Again, I want to welcome the witnesses. I think your personal experience as a backdrop to the legislation is important and compelling, and we appreciate that. That's why I appreciate what you said, Mr. Tilson, and the witnesses, about the importance of the symbolism and the specificity of this particular piece of legislation.
Now I can say, as a law professor, as a lawmaker, that this type of offence can come under an offence re cultural property, but again, I share, as I say, both the need for the specificity of this offence and the symbolism and resonance of it. So that's why, when we debated this in the House, I supported it in principle, and I should say I've discussed this particular offence with the veterans in my riding. We have a large number of veterans in my riding. We had a forum. I discussed it with them. They support the legislation.
My concern is not with the mandatory minimums per se. Let me just give you some examples, because I understand your approach. When you say you're concerned only with the question of war memorials and cenotaphs, etc., I'm concerned with that as well. You might say I may not be as concerned as you are, but as lawmakers we have to be also concerned about consistency in law-making. If you have a situation where a person urinates on a mosque or a church or a synagogue, there is no mandatory minimum. There is in this legislation with regard to a cenotaph.
You might say, well, I don't care about the other thing; I'm talking about this. I'm just saying that as lawmakers we have to speak about and concern ourselves both with consistency in law-making for the same type of offence and what I would call the equality of protection amongst the victims. Somebody may regard the desecration of a cemetery or a swastika drawing as being no less significant than that which is done on a cenotaph, and I'm saying they're all of concern. I understand the specificity of the legislation. I'm saying there is an issue. Why are there no mandatory minimums for the others and there is for this? You might say, okay, then have it for the others as well. That is something we have to bear in mind in terms of consistency of law-making and equality of protection.
Then, in this regard, you may say that the mandatory minimums are modest, and in fact that is true; they are modest mandatory minimums. But I think you have to take into account the unintended consequences of a mandatory minimum. Experience has shown that you end up not getting what you want, which is exactly that kind of symbolic resonance for the specificity of this particular offence, simply because the mischief charge may be dropped, as it was with regard to the urination experience you mentioned, or it's plea bargained away, and therefore you don't get that particular specificity.
I'm just saying that I support this in principle. I think we have to think about the question of consistency with other kinds of similar situations involving urinating on religious property or desecration and vandalism of cemeteries and the like, and we have to think about the unintended consequences. How does it work in practice in the criminal justice system? My sense is we've got a problem with law enforcement to begin with, and this is something we have to bear in mind, and we have a problem with the plea bargaining in the case of mandatory minimums.
So these things have to be borne in mind.