Mr. Speaker, I would like to make the following comment. I listened religiously to what both the government and the Reform Party had to say about this amendment to section 745. From what I can see, the government paid some attention to our suggestions, as the speech I heard went, in large part, along the same lines as what we have always said about this amendment.
What baffles me somewhat is the Reform line where they seem to put everything in a jumble and even go in for some disinformation. I do not wish to dwell on this but what I have heard said to spook people was so gross that I must at least give you one example among many. The hon. member said, referring to the Paul Bernardo case: "It is terrible; he could apply for parole in 15 years".
I would remind members that this individual was declared a dangerous criminal and, as such, will not be able to take advantage of section 745 of the Criminal Code.
I think that the Criminal Code already goes a long way towards addressing the Reform Party's claims and concerns about public safety. But the Criminal Code must be considered globally, as it applies to parole as well as to the concept of dangerous criminal, a relatively new concept that the courts, yielding to public pressure, will eventually enforce. After all the judges live in the same world as we do.
This concerns me because the Criminal Code forms a whole. And I have a problem with the amendment the Minister of Justice wants to make to section 745 of the Criminal Code. The minister is trying to respond to public pressure or to in-house polls we do not have, which probably show how the population is increasingly moving to the right. Perhaps the minister is thinking: if I want to score political points with the voters in this regard, I should tighten the screw.
I think that the Minister of Justice is acting irresponsibly by simply going ahead and amending section 745, as it is a very important section of the Criminal Code. This section is a link in the chain of the prison system. It did not come out of nowhere. Everything hangs together in the Criminal Code and in the philosophy we have defended in this country, whose evolution Quebecers have done a great deal to bring about. Section 745 is already aimed at protecting the public and rehabilitating criminals.
True, this section was adopted 20 years ago. You may recall that many moving speeches were made in this House during consideration of section 745 as the bill was aimed at abolishing capital punishment. However, the arguments put forward by the minister today to speed up the legislative process are designed to hide his failure to plan a piece of legislation originating from his own department. Instead of thinking about how to muzzle the people of Quebec, which is moving toward sovereignty, the minister should perhaps stop and think for a few minutes about what he could do in his own department to design a bill that provides for the rehabilitation and social reintegration of criminals while at the same time protecting the public.
In this regard, as I was saying earlier, section 745 already protects the public, which is entitled to the protection it seeks. So this is not a real problem. True, it is fashionable today to adopt extremist positions in order to win some votes votes in English Canada, but this must not be used as an excuse.
In fact, if we read documents from the department, and also some newspaper articles, we can see that the proposed amendments to section 745 are primarily motivated by the case of serial killer Clifford Olson who, under this provision, has the right to apply for his release.
The minister seems to be have been caught off guard by this case. Yet, we have known for 15 years that, on August 12, 1996, this criminal would have the right to invoke section 745, but the minister did not do anything. Now, at the last minute, he wants to quickly pass an amendment on the grounds that we cannot allow this criminal to use section 745. We have known for 15 years that this criminal would invoke section 745; all criminals do so. However, not all of them see their application approved.
In its present form, section 745 provides some security and I have no doubt that, if we apply this section and instruct the jury in an appropriate manner, this criminal will not get what he is seeking to obtain through section 745. But the section must be applied. We have to give the jury a proper opportunity to make a decision.
The Bloc Quebecois made a number of observations regarding section 745, including three in particular, which have led us to propose, as did the hon. member for Bellechasse, motions to amend three clauses of this bill.
First, we believe in rehabilitation. However, the amendments to section 745 of the Criminal Code put such restrictions on the scope of the judicial review that this review will exist only in theory. Indeed, the requirement for a unanimous decision by the jury makes it almost impossible for an applicant to get a positive response to his or her application for a judicial review, since a single juror could block the whole process.
The second reason we oppose these changes is that they remove the right of multiple murderers to apply for judicial review. It is completely arbitrary and unfair. In the field of justice, in the field of crime, there is no formula by which someone who has committed a murder has certain rights, whereas someone who has committed two murders does not have those rights. All this must be looked at in its context. It is because of the system as a whole that there is a history to the administration of justice, with the result that if we amend a section here and a section there, we may change the rules of the game, with disastrous consequences.
The third reason we are against the proposed changes is the introduction of a new concept in the Criminal Code, the so-called reasonable prospect that the judge must consider. I think that further study and closer examination of this new concept in the Criminal Code are indicated.
We have nothing against reviewing a section 20 years after it was passed. What we are saying is that we should take more time to analyse the changes, listen more carefully to what the public wants. We should listen to what the experts who will be applying this section can tell us about what direction to take in amending section 745, something the minister is not doing now, in his haste to proceed.
It must be remembered that the first reading of Bill C-45 took place on June 11, 1996. We adjourned for the whole summer, and today, the first day of our return, we are already at the report stage. What is the rush? Why change such an important section in the Criminal Code? Let us take the time to examine section 745 and to listen to the experts who will be applying it.
That is why the member for Bellechasse, a member of the Bloc Quebecois, has at least presented amendments. I say at least, because this point should be studied further. But at this stage, I think that the unanimity rule is the most important rule that must be blocked. We must not vote in favour, and the amendment proposed by the member for Bellechasse changes unanimity to three quarters of the members of the jury, so that nine out of 12 will make the decision on whether or not to apply section 745, instead of the unanimous decision that the minister is calling for.
If the minister wants to be clear about what he is doing, if he is against section 745, then let him follow the lead of the Reformers and make up his mind to repeal it. But if he believes in rehabilitation, if he believes in section 745, I think that he should at least receive the amendments proposed by the member for Bellechasse to change the requirement from unanimity to three quarters of the members of the jury.