Thank you, Chair.
Thank you for this opportunity to appear and to speak to this motion. I asked to appear because of the importance of this motion and the importance of this motion to my community. The name Paul Bernardo is synonymous with evil in my community. The horrific crimes that were committed against Leslie Mahaffy, who was only 14, and Kristen French, who was only 15, resonate and still impact my community today.
It was the transfer decision that brought forward a number of community concerns. I was approached by friends of the victims who asked us what they could do to ensure that this type of activity or this type of transfer never happens again.
At that time, I worked with my colleagues in the leader's office, as well as the public security and justice departments, and I came forward with my private member's bill, Bill C-342, which would require all court-ordered dangerous offenders and mass murderers to be permanently assigned a maximum security classification. It would also repeal the Liberals' “least restrictive environment” standard for assigning inmates to prisons and restore the language of “necessary restrictions” that the previous government put in place.
Because my private member's bill is low in the priority list, I have also worked with my colleagues here to look at this and see that it doesn't happen again. In fact, I was contacted by the friends of Kristen French. They asked what they could do. They came forward with a letter to this committee, and I believe many of you have received that letter.
I'm going to quote from the letter:
As childhood best friends of Kristen French, one of the victims of these horrendous crimes, we call on the Standing Committee of Public Safety to immediately initiate a study to investigate this matter further, to answer many of the questions concerned Canadians' have.
Even in Niagara, the City of Thorold and the City of St. Catharines—where these horrendous crimes were committed—are looking for answers and assurances, and they have expressed their desire to keep Paul Bernardo in a maximum-security placement.
They ask us to see the additional resolutions that were passed by both of those communities. It is my understanding that the City of Niagara Falls and the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake are also undertaking resolutions in support of that.
Mr. Chair, I believe it's incumbent upon us, in memory of those victims and because of the actions and the concerns that have been expressed by my constituents and other Canadians, to look at this issue, bring forward the ministers responsible and find out exactly why this was allowed to happen.
Thank you.