I can certainly answer that.
Speaking personally, I found myself ideologically having a complete shift in thinking in a relatively short period. I became more proactive in my community, volunteered my time, and travelled across the country to come to Ottawa. I love it here.
I mention this because these are things I never did before. And the reason I started doing them is that I've lived both sides. I've been a victim of crime--and I have an alarm now, ma'am, thank you very much. I've learned to develop empathy, and I understand, through my own personal experiences, both good and bad, that we need to learn.
You are quite right, sir, people are forgiving. They do want to see an ex-offender succeed. They do want to see us achieve as much as we possibly can. I don't believe they want to see this type of legislation that would put up a barrier and restrict any opportunity for them to get their closure, for them to see their wishes come to fruition.
When I was in prison.... I've seen some very, very, interesting restorative resolution situations. I have sat in a room where a man who killed a woman's daughter was sitting face to face with that person. If anything has the potential to go bad, it is that situation, when you have the mother of a murdered child sitting there in front of her killer and they're working it out.
I believe that what you're saying is absolutely true. So when we put in place legislation like this that paints us all with one brush, situations like the one I just spoke of will never ever happen. And that's really it.
