I don't know if those would have a higher deterrent effect specifically, but I think they would be much more useful in terms of policy. The Amber alert system helps apprehend and disseminate information and get the children back, a very good policy. And of course especially from my vantage point as a practitioner, money spent on rehabilitation.... In Ottawa, we're very lucky to have the Royal Ottawa Hospital, which is one of the pre-eminent psychiatric facilities, and we have St. Lawrence Valley close by. Money is much better spent in places like that, I think.
I think, quite frankly, the government can communicate a message of denunciation, an abhorrence of this type of action without mandatory minimum sentences. I think citizens are able to understand that you can denounce conduct without thumping your fist on a table and blowing into the wind. An educated public will see other measures are more useful. Just because there isn't a mandatory minimum sentence doesn't mean that this conduct is approved of and accepted.