I have found since I was in law school that you could not divide people, whether Liberals or Conservatives, into easy stereotypes of “hard on crime” or that sort of thing. Rather, it's that each grasped different principles within those guidelines more tightly.
The first three—denounce and deter, separate offenders, protect society—are the ones that I think the Conservatives feel were softened too much during the Chrétien government and before. Then the other three principles—of rehabilitation, reparations to victims, and a sense of responsibility for misconduct—are the other side, which my friends on this side would suggest were wanting in the previous nine years.
I think all are important. My concern is that when talking about offending the rights of others or about violent crime, from a simple assault through to murder, the emphasis of society has to be, I think, on the first three principles. Would you agree or disagree with that when it comes to violent offenders?