I will be quick, Mr. Chair.
What I find peculiar in this bill is the false message that we are sending to our veterans, in my opinion. I am thinking, among others, about the witnesses who were here on Tuesday. I have a great deal of sympathy and respect for what they represent.
That said, we are leading them to believe that Mr. Tilson's bill is going to solve their problem: the problem of having the impunity to slaughter the honour of those who have fought for their country. I feel that there is no greater action one can take in one's life. We know, however, that, despite the bill, we are going to end up with Crown prosecutors who will often be so overwhelmed by their daily caseload and with people saying that it was just a poor kid who did such a thing without thinking, and those people are going to ask to stick with a charge of simple mischief.
We are leading people to believe that we are solving a major problem by acting in that way, whereas we could get to the crux of the matter by sending a clear message that desecrating things like war memorials and cenotaphs is an offence in itself. That is the problem I see in the bill.
In terms of minimum sentences, I feel that Mr. Seeback raised a good point just now when he said that, minimum penalty or not, it would not stop people from trying for, and actually getting, a lesser sentence. Perhaps that is what actually bothers me in this whole process we are involved with. We are leading Canadians, including our veterans, to believe in something that will not really have any real consequences.
I also want to say—and feel free to tell me different—that, in my opinion, there is no record of repeat offending here. Once more, we are giving the impression that we are getting all high and mighty and saying “here is what will happen for a second and third offence”. We are giving the impression that it happens a lot.
As Mr. Harris said, our witnesses had difficulty listing recent cases, and we know that it is difficult. I think that what happened here in Ottawa in 2006 or so raised public sentiment on both sides of the river about what had happened. A lot of people were disgusted. My feeling is that that is very instructive in itself. I dare anyone to do the same thing again, given the public consequences the last occasion had.
And let us not forget the Royal Canadian Legion. I do not know if everyone received the letter from Ms. Varga. We are talking about the Royal Canadian Legion, a Canada-wide organization that is made up of many veterans who are saying the same thing themselves. I am going to read to you the passage where she too clearly says that they were grateful to us for giving them the opportunity to comment on the content of Bill C-217.
The Royal Canadian Legion strongly supports—as do we—the intent of Bill C-217 to include incidents of mischief against a war memorial or cenotaph or an object associated with honouring or remembering those Canadian men and women who paid the supreme sacrifice in the service of Canada during war and on subsequent occasions since Korea. Our membership is strongly in favour of recognizing the serious nature of these incidents and in consideration of the feelings and emotions expressed by all Canadians against such acts. We do however feel that the provision of appropriate penalties suitable to the individual particulars of an incident should reflect the nature of these acts and there should be latitude in assessing the gravity of the situation. The punishment should fit the crime and, although no incident of this nature can be condoned, there should be provision for restorative justice measures with a mandated dialogue between veterans groups and the offenders. There should be provision where offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, to repair the harm they have done, by apologizing to a group of veterans, or with community services. It provides help for the offender to avoid future offences and provides a greater understanding of the consequences of their actions.
These comments are not coming from just anyone. They are coming from the Royal Canadian Legion.
Once again, I emphasize that we are sending a false message, and we are giving our veterans false hope. For that reason alone, I can be counted among those opposed to this measure. It may be well presented, but it will not achieve the desired result. Given our responsibility to do our job as lawmakers well, I think that we should be very careful.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.