Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses for appearing today on what I think is an important bill.
There's a myth that's being perpetuated out there, and I want you to quickly confirm something. We've heard many of these mandatory minimums referred to as “Harper-era mandatory minimums”. While it's true that under the Safe Streets and Communities Act the Conservative government removed the application of conditional sentences for such crimes as arson, trafficking in persons for material benefit, sexual assault and criminal harassment, I want to speak specifically on the mandatory minimum penalties for gun crime. I'm going to list some of them: using a firearm in the commission of an offence, possession of a prohibited or a restricted firearm with ammunition, possession of a weapon by a commission of offence, possession for the purpose of weapons trafficking, weapons trafficking, robbery with a firearm, extortion with a firearm and discharging a firearm with intent.
I know you're all familiar with those provisions, but could you confirm for the committee that all of those mandatory minimums that were put in place predated the previous Conservative government and were, in fact, brought in by Liberal governments?