Mr. Speaker, I am very happy the hon. member agrees with us. I hope he crosses the floor on this bill.
We believe individuals in a federal penitentiary should be those who pose a threat to society. There are many ways one can argue a threat. There are threats in terms of violence and also threats in terms of those individuals who wilfully cause damage in other fashions to individuals. It is not only individuals who have been incarcerated for violent offences.
I hope the hon. member will work with us in devising new and innovative ways in which we can actually decrease the costs by not necessarily having individuals incarcerated in expensive, closed custody, federal penitentiaries. We want new ways in which we can send a clear message of deterrence to criminals, make sure that there is a penalty for individuals who are committing an offence, to deal with the issue we have been trying to deal with in trying to garner some restitution for the victims and the state, and ensure that individuals will not continue to reoffend.
We can identify the reasons why they reoffend, address those reasons and provide individuals with the ability and wherewithal to become a productive employed member of society. If we work together on these issues, we will make Canada a safer place.