Thank you so, so much.
One question that was asked when my colleague was testifying was, why does this matter and what is this going to change?
It's going to change a ton, because it's going to communicate to paramedics that they're valued and that the Government of Canada supports them. It's going to raise public awareness and say, “Hey, this issue of assault against our helpers is unacceptable. It's a serious offence and will be treated as such.” It's going to communicate to law enforcement and to the Crown that these assaults aren't just assaults; they are threats to public safety because we are losing our helpers. When we lose our helpers, we're going to lose safety for our whole community.
I think the other thing that's really important to understand is that just because the criminal justice system gets involved doesn't necessarily mean that everything is going to result in conviction. There are lots of avenues—diversion, mental health court—that can be used to get folks who may have health concerns the right kinds of support. The goal of this is restorative justice, not necessarily punishment.
Thank you so much for the extra few minutes to get my final thoughts out. I appreciate it.