I would like to point out that it is not because we are trying to improve the amendment that this is a waste of time. We said very clearly at the outset that we were going to support the amendment that was moved by the Conservatives. That does not alter the fact that we believe certain improvements could be made to the amendment to make it more effective. That is what we are discussing. I am truly saddened to see that people believe that wanting to improve matters is a waste of time. In our view, logically, unless I'm mistaken, the fine will not be increased to infinity without other punishments being imposed, which in any case would render clause 75 non-applicable. I could never believe that a fine of $20,000 would be imposed on a private without anyone considering imposing a reduction in rank or detention. If he has committed an offence so serious that he receives a $20,000 fine, I could never believe that he would not be sentenced to detention or be reduced in rank. It was precisely on the basis of that reasoning that we said it would be much easier to use just the word "fine" for the purposes of simplifying the administration of the act.
I wanted to come back to that point and to clarify the fact that we do not want to waste time. We very clearly said that we were going to support the amendment, but the fact that we are going to do so does not prevent us from trying to improve it. We did not say that what it contained was not functional. We said that there were ways to make it more effective and to include more people. The JAG people also acknowledged that it covered 95% of cases. It did not cover 100% of cases. If they had told us that no one would have a criminal record if they did not deserve one in civilian life, we would not need to have this discussion. However, we are having this discussion because they acknowledge that this does not apply to 5% of cases. We want to improve the bill and the amendment.
This attitude on the Conservatives' part is unfortunate because we are trying very sincerely to improve the clauses of the bill.