I greatly appreciate your comment on Ms. Côté's roots. I completely agree with the positive reception from all the members of this committee.
In terms of mandatory minimum sentences,
I would say, just for context, there are some 60 inclusions of offences in the Criminal Code now that have a mandatory minimum penalty, so this is not a new concept. It has been around literally since the Criminal Code has existed, that is, offences that were punishable by mandatory minimum penalties.
Last February, as you would know, we brought in the tougher penalties for child predators. This proposes, among other things, to increase mandatory minimum penalties as they pertain to child sex offences and require in some cases that these sentences be served consecutively in some circumstances. Mandatory minimum penalties, I would submit to you and to committee colleagues, are carefully tailored to address the very serious impact of the types of crime and the offences that they seek to deter.