Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, February 12, 1995, 2,500 citizens of Surrey, B.C. braved the elements to join Mr. and Mrs. Steven Carpenter's walk in memory of their daughter Melanie who was tragically slain in early January.
Today in my riding, the citizens of Cranbrook, British Columbia are conducting their own march in support of the Carpenter family and to speak out against early parole of dangerous offenders. The march is spontaneous. It is grass roots. I commend the efforts of my constituents and only wish I could join them.
Fernand Auger, the suspected assailant of Melanie Carpenter, only served two-thirds of his sentence and was obviously not rehabilitated, let alone ready to be released into society.
The Liberal government has shown in the past that it is not interested in listening to the concerns of Canadians. I therefore implore the justice minister to listen to the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who are worried for the safety of their families and support my Reform colleague's Bill C-240 which would prolong the detention of these high risk offenders.