Mr. Speaker, I realize I will not finish my address to Bill C-45 before we have to stop for question period. Nevertheless, I will touch on some of the points raised by both the justice minister and our colleague from the Bloc.
The justice minister addressed this business as to whether section 745 was brought into the Criminal Code originally by stealth or without the full knowledge of the people. Our hon. colleague from the Bloc touched on the backroom shenanigans that went on back in 1976 when capital punishment was being removed from the Criminal Code and when this section was brought in.
The people of Canada knew nothing about this, evidenced when the hue and cry arose across the country as these first degree murderers began to apply and receive a reduction in their parole ineligibility. There was not a great degree of awareness across Canada about what was happening in this area of the criminal justice system. I suggest the justice minister has not adequately and certainly not sufficiently or successfully addressed that point.
He also spoke highly about the protection that comes to the justice system as a result of the use of juries and that it is people from the community who will be deciding on the acceptability of a section 745 application. That is fine and that is good. Juries are our safeguard, but juries can only act and decide based on the information they receive. Juries have not always made decisions in the best interest of society because they have been deprived of the information they needed to make a just decision.
The Donald Marshall case, which was tried by a judge and jury and the decision was made by the jury, is an example of that. The Wilson Nepoose case, which I was personally involved with, again shows that if sufficient information is not presented to the jury it cannot make a decision in the best interest of society.
I suggest as well if we examine the limited nature of the juries that are called to act under section 745, what kind of information are they receiving? Do they receive information pertaining to the specific acts the individual committed, the circumstances around them, the pain and the horror caused by that individual's action to not only the victim but the victim's family and to society in general? Are they given that kind of information? I suggest they are not. They can make a decision only based on the information provided to them according to the rules.
If we look at the rules they fall far short. That has been the complaint from some of the vested interests in these section 745 hearings, concerning all the information about the consequences the actions of this applicant who is there because of first degree murder had on society and on individuals and whether this whole question of retribution and punishment has been fulfilled, and whether just the question of rehabilitation has been addressed before these juries.
Therefore when the justice minister suggests all is well simply because a jury of common people, picked from the community, will be addressing the issue, I suggest there is a weakness in that argument and that weakness is clear according to the information placed before the jury. The jury cannot act on any other information except placed before it. In most cases the rules are set, particularly in the 745 hearings, which leaves a lot to be desired in terms of the horror and pain caused by the applicant.
I have about five minutes left and so I will get into the main thrust of my concern about this bill. Of course I rise to speak in opposition to it. Bill C-45 demonstrates the justice minister seemingly has no real understanding of the horror inflicted on the murder victims, on their families and on society. If he does it is not reflected in the bill.
The truck driver who witnessed the horror on Melanie Carpenter's face as she sat captive in the front seat of her killer's car understands the terror endured by this victim. The jury which endured the vivid testimony of Karla Homolka and witnessed the graphic audio account of the torture inflicted by Paul Bernardo on Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy understands the pain and suffering of these victims. It understands the constant anguish the families of these young girls live with every day of their lives, lives that have been damaged and altered forever.
Bill C-45 shows the justice minister has little empathy with the family of murder victims. If he has, it is not reflected in the bill. The victims and the families endure nightmares as a result of the heinous crimes committed against their children and grandchildren.
The members of the Standing Committee of Justice and Legal Affairs witnessed firsthand the horror of Sylvain Leduc's grandmother whose grandson was viciously beaten to death. Listen to the horror of Sylvain Leduc's grandmother: "The most painful thing in life is to live with the knowledge that your child lies naked and cold in a morgue. My grandson was in the morgue for three days. I was frozen to death. I could not warm up. I was in a hot tub for three days. I could not stand it until I knew he had clothes on him. My
heart is a pump that keeps blood flowing through my veins. I have a special sacred place situated below my stomach. Some people call this intestinal fortitude".