No, not at all. A person cannot have committed any criminal offence whatsoever. A record suspension cannot be granted to a repeat offender. Not at all.
What does that mean? For example, take someone who committed a criminal offence in 1995 and who must wait 10 years after having served his sentence before being able to request a record suspension. If the person commits another criminal offence in the meantime, that will postpone the moment he can make his request. The individual has to serve his sentence for the second crime and wait out the new period of time before being able to request a record suspension. All in all, that person might have turned 90 and wonder what all that meant to him.
Record suspensions only work for those individuals who are very likely to become rehabilitated. A hard-core criminal will never request a record suspension. Why, do you think? Because that person knows full well he will never receive one, that he will never even be eligible because he is still involved in criminal activities.
The provision that provides for the suspension of criminal record, or pardon, as it is now called, is meant for people with a strong capacity to rehabilitate themselves. In any case, those people are already rehabilitated, having served the time required before being able to request a pardon. During all that time, they demonstrated that they were able to be rehabilitated. In fact, they are already rehabilitated because they have not committed another criminal act.
This bill, which includes offences other than serious offences against people, will unfortunately target the 97% of people who obtain a record suspension and never re-offend. Those people will be affected by this bill, simply because the minister finds that to be logical. The Conservatives do not understand the meaning of the word “rehabilitation.” This is akin to something from the Middle Ages.
The important thing is for us to take our time, to hear witnesses—I myself have submitted a number of names—and to make appropriate amendments to this bill so that it effectively targets the right people. If we want to target pedophiles, then let us target them. We should not target the woman who shoplifted in order to feed her children, or the man who committed a youthful mistake at 18, outside a bar, when he fought with another man who wanted to pick up his girlfriend. Let us refine the aim of this bill. We want to ensure that pedophiles are no longer eligible for a record suspension; so let us do it, but let us do it right. Let us target the right people, or rather the right crimes.
That said, Mr. Chair, we will be moving amendments. We will enthusiastically contribute to ensuring that child predators are ineligible for pardons. As it is currently drafted, this bill is unacceptable.
In conclusion, I would like to thank you for your kindness, Mr. Chair, and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas.