Mr. Speaker, I congratulate and extend my appreciation to the hon. member for Prince George-Bulkley Valley for bringing this motion forward and for his determination to have this area explored in view of our desire and thousands of Canadians' concerns about the possible reform of our impaired driving laws at the federal level.
The hon. member for Halifax has quite rightly pointed out the maximum penalties for drinking and driving, but that is not the issue. The issue is the courts are not issuing penalties anywhere near the maximums. The concern is that there should be minimum penalties which the courts must deal with.
This House passes legislation in order to tell the courts what to do, which is exactly what this motion is designed to do. At least it brings forward the opportunity for reasoned debate on this very important issue.
There are over 110,000 members in the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization. This organization was born out of the anguish and pain caused by impaired or drunk driving. This organization was formed as a result of the inaction of the federal government. If the government were addressing this issue, this organization would not have any need or basis to lobby, to raise funds and to do what it can to bring this matter to the attention of politicians who seem oblivious to the need to do something in this area.
Last Thursday night I arrived home in Cameras, Alberta. The very next evening a drunk driver ran into a car which was being driven by a father. The mother was in the front passenger seat and their four children were in the back. Both the mother and father were killed while the children were left alive. The oldest is fourteen and the youngest is five. It happened in the area of Armenia which is in my constituency as a result of the boundary change. The family was from the small city of Cameras which has a population of approximately 12,000 to 13,000.
That catastrophe will touch thousands of people in that area. And what is being done about it? Nothing is being done about it at the federal level. Some of the statistics on the subject have been introduced into this debate by my colleagues. From 1983 to 1991, 17,630 people died in Canada in alcohol related crashes and 1.1 million people were injured. In 1992, 14,014 were killed. In 1987, 5.2 million days of employment activity were lost.
Justice Peter Cory of the Supreme Court of Canada stated in 1995: "Every year drunk driving leaves a terrible trail of death, injury, heartbreak and destruction. In terms of the deaths and serious injuries resulting in hospitalization, drunk driving is clearly the crime which causes the most significant social loss to the country". I hope this is not lost on hon. members.
The justice minister stood in this House and justified Bill C-68 at least in part with the horrific statistic that every six days a woman is shot to death in this country. I would just point out that every six hours someone is killed in this country by an impaired driver. Certainly the House and the Government of Canada should be looking at this issue. It should not simply brush it aside because as the member for Halifax has stated the maximum penalties are what they are; the maximum penalties are not worth the powder to blow them up unless they are utilized. What is the purpose of having a maximum penalty if the courts never consider the maximum penalty or anything near the maximum penalty?
I understand my time has expired. I have appreciated the time to speak and perhaps I will be able to continue later.