Oftentimes they do get it.
They are eligible for full parole after serving two-thirds of their sentence. They only serve a maximum of two-thirds of their sentence because automatically they are awarded with good behaviour. A better idea is to ensure that every convicted criminal will automatically serve the full sentence and that sentence would be pulled down based on the behaviour of the individual in jail. Let us not assume that there has been good behaviour, let us make sure it is earned. There are many ways that can be done.
Furthermore all moneys an individual earns in prison should go to the state to help offset the $60,000 to $100,000 that it costs to have someone incarcerated and also moneys to the individuals themselves.
Work and training should be obligatory for individuals who are incarcerated. The training would go a long way to decrease the recidivism rate of those in our jails. It would enable people to get the skills necessary while they are incarcerated so they can become active and productive members of society. Not enough of that is done now. Furthermore it is not obligatory which it ought to be, if someone were to have the wherewithal to do that.
Number six is sentencing. We spoke about section 745 which should be repealed now. It shows the lame inability of the government to deal with significant issues of justice by not addressing section 745.
My colleague from Scarborough mentioned that when people are sentenced to life they serve life. That is absolute nonsense. I have a list that is pages long of individuals who were convicted of first degree murder and because of section 745 their sentence has been commuted to 15 to 17 years. That includes people who have killed police officers in cold blood. I am happy to share that list with anyone in the House.
Is that justice? I hardly think so. That is not the case at all. Section 745 should be repealed now. The government would be showing that it is truly committed to justice if it would take heed of what my colleagues have been saying for so long.
Number seven is young offenders. The government has promised to deal with the Young Offenders Act and has done virtually nothing. I implore members of the government to speak to police officers who are working on the street. Their hands are tied. They are frustrated with the inability of the justice system to back them up when dealing with young offenders.
Having worked with young offenders in jail I can say they receive very little penalty, very little deterrence to committing offences. That is why we see the terrible rate of recidivism among young offenders.
Here are a few concrete suggestions. Publish the names of young offenders. It would send a very clear message that they cannot engage in these activities with anonymity. Have the stiffer penalties that my party has been putting forward for a long time. Make work and school obligatory in their incarceration.
Part of the sentencing problems that we see are because the justice department and all departments are hamstrung because of a lack of funds. That is why we see people being released very early on, earlier than they should be. The trade-off is that the justice department due to a lack of funding is releasing people to save money at the expense of the safety of Canadians from coast to coast. That is not justice.
We have a couple of concrete solutions. We cannot take individuals who are young offenders, who often grow up in tragic and terrible home situations, put them into closed custody for a period of a few months, then put them back in the environment that they were in and expect things to change. It will not happen.
They are usually in an environment in which there are terrible cases of substance abuse, physical and sexual abuse and violence. If they are in this kind of milieu, it is impossible, no matter how much counselling is given to these kids to actually move forward-