Thankfully I've had very few abduction investigations, but I have had a couple. One I will remind you of, which I was involved in when I was chief in Fergus, was Peter Whitmore, now incarcerated for life, I believe. He was a sex offender in Ontario who had a propensity to abduct or lure away young males and sexually assault them. On one of the occasions when he got out of jail, he then went to British Columbia and was involved in another abduction for sexual purposes out there.
I think the message that is being conveyed when there is no established minimum is an empty message. By establishing a minimum five-year mandatory penitentiary term, we are taking a stand. We're expressing something. It's a start. By having no minimum, we're saying nothing.
I'm not sure if that makes sense. It made sense up here; I'm not sure it made sense coming out.
We're making a declaration by saying a minimum of five years. By accepting no minimum mandatory jail term, we're saying nothing. We're standing mute.