Mr. Speaker, I too will begin by congratulating the member for Mississauga East on this bill. It is evidence of her concern.
However, I think that we must not ignore existing jurisprudence and legislation. There is no doubt that this sort of discourse sells extremely well. When particularly notorious cases are cited and we hear someone say: "I, as a member of Parliament, am going to try to amend the act, so that an individual serves a longer sentence", this goes over very well, particularly when the examples given have been in the headlines for weeks, if not months or years.
While I have a great deal of compassion, I think it is necessary to at least look at what actually exists, both in the Criminal Code, and in case law. We must not pass a bill because it sells well politically, in order to score political points. We must do more than that, particularly when it comes to parole.
I do not mean to say that the parole system is fully meeting the general public's expectations right now. What I am saying is that there should perhaps be a very serious examination of the parole system. Should this be done by a royal commission, or in committee? I really do not know, but there should certainly not be a piecemeal reform of the parole system.
Although the member's intentions are good, I think that her bill is a piecemeal approach to reforming a system that needs a complete overhaul, a very close examination.
It is a bill that is very brief, and very easy to understand. Clause 1 of Bill C-321 states that a sentence imposed for sexual assault-which comes under section 271 of the Criminal Code-shall be served consecutively to any punishment imposed for an offence committed at the same time, and consecutively to any other sentence already being served by the person at the time of sentencing.
This clause may seem rather simple at first sight. It may seem rather simple when first read, but its interpretation might modify the objectives set by the hon. member. For example, a judge already has powers and can, at his discretion, impose consecutive or concurrent sentences. Sentencing judges already have the power the hon. member would like to include in the Criminal Code.
There is discretion. Certainly, it is not very attractive to defend a murderer, but we must not go overboard here, either. Another member said: "If I go to the store and buy ten items, I have to pay for all ten items", and went on to compare that situation to that of a person committing ten murders and being sentenced for just one. That argument is spurious. It is a gratuitous statement which does nothing to help the cause of the hon. member for Mississauga East, because it deflects the real debate, it exaggerates, and it is inappropriate in a debate of this kind.
Let us say that someone has committed 10 murders. The judge has a head on his shoulders and, in sentencing a multiple murderer, he will take everything into account.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure that you will agree with me that making such statements in this House only deflects the real debate and undermines any credibility they may have. At the present time, judges have the discretion to impose consecutive or concurrent sentences.
Between you and me, even if a prisoner is sentenced to 255 years in prison, it will not make much difference in the end, because he will not live any longer just because he is in prison.
Similarly, I wonder what impact this bill would have on the Young Offenders Act. Will the same system be used? I think Bill C-321 would not be applicable under the Young Offenders Act. And I think that may indirectly be what the hon. member wanted to achieve.
Regarding clause 2, the hon. member is well intentioned, and I understand her position. However, her own government has adopted legislation along similar lines that sets similar conditions and is intended to extend the period of eligibility for parole. This is a recent bill. The official opposition even applauded the advantages of this bill, although we did think it was a little too much to the right, that it tended to respond more to demands made by the Reform Party than to public demand.
As the official opposition, we nevertheless supported major elements of this bill. We wanted to introduce amendments, amendments were made, and in the end the bill was passed. But I do not think the government should adopt further legislation in this respect.
Sure, anyone can see there are problems with the parole system. There are problems. Some day, the official opposition will demand that the government appoint a royal commission of inquiry on the entire parole system, especially since the Auditor General of Canada has raised serious doubts about public security. I think we could conclude that the parole system should be investigated by a
royal commission of inquiry, because the public's security is at stake.
I hope that the members who support the hon. member's bill will try to convince the government when the official opposition makes its formal request. I hope the hon. member will rise in caucus to say that the Bloc Quebecois is right to ask for a royal commission of inquiry on the subject. A long term solution should be considered. We must try and find a solution today, but not in a piecemeal fashion, not just to respond to lobbying by people who had a very traumatic experience.
I do not want to give the impression I have no compassion for these people. I do. I understand it must be very painful for them. However, we cannot base a bill on particular cases, put faces to victims and names to criminals. This legislation does not stand up in this case. There is more heart than head in it. Lawmakers must speak with their heads, even though I sometimes wonder where certain laws come from. In essence, this is the way they should be made.
Yes, I understand the member's desire to have a bill passed. It is a cause she believes in, and I congratulate her on it. However, as legislation and jurisprudence currently stand, it would mean duplication.
This sort of thing also raises a lot of questions, affects other laws, including, among others, the Young Offenders Act. What are the consequences for young people? We are currently looking in the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs at the approach to take on the whole matter of young offenders. Where would Bill C-321 fit if it were passed?
Sincerely, I understand the member, and I can understand wanting to make a little political hay-we are in politics-but the subject matter is not appropriate to making political hay. We should look instead at reforming the entire parole system to some extent. We must not forget that there are also cases where parents have been closely affected by this, where someone on parole for two or three days comes and kills their child.
There is the case of the Bolduc girl in Quebec. Her father is not advocating putting them in prison for 250 years or whatever. Quite the opposite. The public has to get involved. It has to come from the community. People do not just criticize, they want to make significant changes to the parole system.
Since the government whip seems very interested, I will conclude by expressing my hope that, when the Bloc Quebecois calls on the government to appoint a royal commission on the parole system to settle the whole issue, it will look into this very seriously. I also hope the government will support the Bloc's request.