Mr. Speaker, recently I received a letter from one of my constituents, Mr. Brian Gregory of Enderby, B.C. Although I have never met Mr. Gregory, I would like to quote from his letter. He says in part:
As time passes, it appears that more and more people are developing a lack of respect for the law and even outright indignation- If laws are unfair or unjust, then it is up to you, the lawmakers, to change the laws. This brings me to the main purpose of my letter: the criminal justice system.
The terrible tragedies recently involving Rodney Bell, Mindy Tran, and now, Melanie Carpenter, have exposed a weak, tattered criminal justice system.
Last night, my wife and I sat down and brainstormed a list of changes that we think would improve our criminal justice system.
Here is our list of changes which we'd like you to consider bringing to the attention of Parliament.
The law-abiding citizens must be protected at all costs.
An environment must be created where people regain respect and trust for the law. Justice must prevail.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms should not apply to any criminal (including white collar) who is incarcerated. A separate set of minimum rights for criminals should be legislated.
Young offenders should attend adult court and their identities must not be hidden. Teenagers who are old enough to perform criminal acts are old enough to attend adult court and do "adult time". I do believe, however, they should be segregated from adults in separate prisons. These kids are old enough to know right from wrong.
Prisons should be located in remote areas.
Sentences for violent crimes must be increased and there should be no early release for "good behaviour".
Life sentences must mean life with no parole.
The law requiring mandatory release after serving two-thirds of a sentence must be rescinded.
If a prisoner refuses rehabilitation counselling, he should not be released even if he serves his entire sentence.
The public has the right to know if a violent offender lives in their neighbourhood.
Work camps should be reinstated so that criminals could put something back into society.
While I am not a big proponent of capital punishment, this may be necessary for violent repeat offenders or serial killers. An alternative would be life sentences with no parole.
As we have seen recently, the human element of the justice system makes it too risky that an innocent person will be put to death.
Mr. Gregory went on to write that these are the views of an average, middle class Canadian citizen. However, I am convinced that most Canadians share similar viewpoints:
Please do not be influenced by a few elite academics who say that the crime rate is decreasing. One preventable murder is one too many. Let us bring common sense and justice back to our justice system.
My staff phoned Mr. Gregory at 7 a.m. B.C. time this morning to ask if I could quote his letter today. His wife said that she was sure he would be tickled to have me do that. I was tickled to get such down to earth letter on the complex subject of the reforms that ordinary Canadians want to see enacted by Parliament so that law-abiding citizens will once again feel safe in their homes and in their communities.
By contrast, the puny little baby steps that are proposed by Bill C-37 do not begin to answer the need people have to see our young people regain respect for the law.
The Young Offenders Act today does just the opposite. It makes young people look at the law as if it were a joke.
In November many of us attended the justice for Joshua rally. We met here on November 3, which would have been Joshua's fifth birthday except that he died September 15 from head injuries received when a 16-year old in a stolen car fled police at high speed and rammed a van driven by Joshua's grandmother. The young offender was sentenced to one year in closed custody for criminal negligence causing death, one year in open custody, served at the same time, one year of probation and a five year driving prohibition.
In Ottawa-Hull some 10,000 motor vehicles per year are stolen, mostly by young offenders. Many of them will try to get away from police, thereby threatening public safety. Even in my own relatively law-abiding riding of Okanagan-Shuswap last year nearly 200 motor vehicles were stolen in the Vernon area, and more than 50 motor vehicles were stolen in Salmon Arm.
At the justice for Joshua rally Ottawa talk show host Steve Madely claimed that 20 per cent of young offenders have reoffended five times or more. For young victims like Joshua, there is no second chance.
Canadians are fed up with going easy on young offenders and especially violent offenders. Repeatedly they have called on us as law makers to put the justice back into our criminal justice system. Instead, Bill C-37 will not permit 10 and 11 year old offenders to be charged at an age when there is still hope of setting them straight.