Thank you, again, Chair.
I'm moving amendment CPC-25.2 with the hope that we can make our laws tough on criminals. This amendment seeks to expand, again, the safety valve to include mandatory minimum charges under section 273 of the Criminal Code. Those charges deal with aggravated sexual assault.
My riding of Brampton West is located in Peel region, which has declared intimate partner violence an “epidemic”. In 2024, Peel police responded to over 16,000 incidents of family or intimate partner violence. That's more than 44 incidents a day. We need stronger penalties for violent offenders to keep them off the streets and curb this epidemic.
The current mandatory minimums in the Criminal Code are five years for the first offence and seven years for reoffenders. We need these violent and repeat offenders to stay behind bars so that we can work to cure this epidemic sweeping across my region and some parts of the country.
Thank you.