Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Since my birthday is approaching, I am feeling generous. So I would say that great minds think alike.
Amendment NDP-2 is in line with what we have heard over the last few minutes. The committee has heard testimony of various groups that have appeared before it.
It is nice that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice—who has more often than not introduced bills that provide mandatory minimum sentences—is giving the court a degree of discretion.
I am not talking about minimum sentences here, but rather about the idea of imposing a cap. That's the objective of Bill C-13. It was a good idea to stipulate “for any period that the court considers appropriate”, but it would be much more reasonable to specify that this period could not exceed five years. In this context, that would also provide guidance.