Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to Bill C-321. I congratulate my colleague, the hon. member for Mississauga East, for introducing this legislation.
I support the legislation. I know the people of Guelph-Wellington do as well.
On April 9 of this year I wrote to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice and asked that they consider allowing consecutive sentencing for violent crimes. I believe that consecutive sentencing is an important step in our efforts to give a strong message that we as a government and we as a society will not tolerate violent crimes.
In my letter I said that we owe a service to the victims of violent crime and their families in considering amendments to the Criminal Code and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act which will change concurrent sentences to consecutive.
While nothing we can do as a government, as individuals or as a society as a whole can change or alleviate the pain and suffering caused by violent crime, legislation like Bill C-321 can offer some support.
Victims are often, if not always, targeted because of nothing more than who they are. A victim may be attacked because she is a woman. A victim may be a young person. They may be a senior or a store clerk. Victims do not have the choice of whether or not to be targeted. They are chosen and they and their families must live with the results of the violent act for the rest of their lives.
For this reason I recently introduced Bill C-344, which would mean no early parole for those who murder a peace officer. Like the hon. member for Mississauga East, I am concerned about the use of section 745. I would prefer its repeal. However, in the absence of repealing section 745, I believe that bills such as mine and this one are important and necessary.
Discussion on legislation such as this is also a good time to look around our community, communities like mine of Guelph-Wellington, and find ways that we can help eliminate or reduce some of the causes of crime. These causes are not someone else's responsibility. We each owe ourselves, our families and our neighbours the opportunity to effect change.
The people of Guelph-Wellington are asking their federal government to do what it can to effect that change. I believe that passing Bill C-321 is one way to respond to their request.
Some have argued that consecutive sentencing does not make sense. They argue that giving someone a prison sentence of three life sentences or 400 years does not help to address the problems of crime and punishment. I disagree. I disagree for the sake of the victims and their families.
Currently people like Sharon Rosenfeldt and her husband, whose 16-year old son Daryn was killed in 1981 by Clifford Olson, must face the fact that he is eligible to apply for early parole under section 745. Victims and their families find some comfort in the knowledge that the offender will be serving 25 years before he or she is eligible for parole. We can only imagine their suffering and pain when they realize that 25 years means 15 years. For Sharon and her family, it means they are faced with reliving the pain, the sense of loss, the anger and all the other emotions because they were unaware that the offender could seek early parole.
Thankfully, people like Sharon have turned that dreadful event of her son's murder to some good. While Daryn's death can never be understood she and her husband have founded Victims of Violence, which continues to raise awareness on issues like section 745, and to help other families cope with the death of a loved one.
All across Canada people cope with the effects of crime. Whether a house or an apartment has been vandalized by thieves, the family car stolen from the parking lot, or a young woman has been sexually assaulted, we know that crime must be punished.
There are individuals convicted of crimes that are rehabilitated. Many make a return to society and contribute to making Canada great. I welcome the opportunity to give these people a second chance. But there are certain crimes that we cannot tolerate, certain actions which must be punished to the full extent of the law and certain individuals who cannot return to live freely in our society. We can never allow crimes like murder, sexual assault and
attempted murder to be dismissed. It is because of them that Bill C-321 is necessary.
Every day in Guelph-Wellington heroes go about their work. These heroes include in a special way our police officers, but they also include those who answer the phone at a sexual assault hotline, volunteers at the Guelph Distress Centre, teachers, factory workers, executives and children who take the time to make a difference. These heroes make that difference by caring. They know that no matter what the government does, crime will still occur. They are not asking for the impossible but they need our help to continue their important work.
How can we help? We can help them by passing legislation that gives one clear message: "We do not accept what you have done and you will spend a very long time, possibly the rest of your life, in prison".
Bill C-321 reminds all of us of our responsibility to fight crime. Whether it be as simple as making sure our neighbour does not walk alone to church or joining Block Parents, volunteering to coach baseball, helping someone who is illiterate, or watching out for a neighbour's house while that neighbour is away on vacation, we can and we must work together to help reduce crime in our communities.
We each have a responsibility to one another as citizens of the greatest country on earth to make our communities safer. Government continues to have an obligation to its citizens, to offer them a justice system that says no to crime and serves notice that those who commit crimes will be adequately and in some cases, yes, severely punished.
This is why Bill C-321 deserves the support of this House.