Madam Speaker, in the last sentence I think we were getting to what I am interested in, which is the actual position of the Bloc Quebecois on this section. Is it that the status quo is what the law should be or is it that the status quo is better than the amendments that have been proposed? Exactly what is it?
The hon. member in his speech said that maybe we have not taken into account the perspective of the victims. Maybe the hon. member has not read the bill. I draw his attention to page 4 of the bill, section 745.3(1), subparagraphs c and d.
One thing the jury shall consider-it is mandatory-is the nature of the offence for which the applicant was convicted. That deals with the hon. member for Nanaimo-Cowichan's problem that the jury does not know how heinous the crime was.
Second, sub (d) states that any information provided by a victim at the time of the imposition of the sentence shall be considered by the jury. That is, any information provided by a victim at the time of the imposition of the sentence or at the time of the hearing under this section. It is obvious that the victim's perspective is dealt with in subparagraph (d). The jury is required to consider any comments that the victim's family made at the time the sentence was imposed or at the time of the review under this section. Perhaps the hon. member could explain why he feels this bill does not deal with the victims.
Could the hon. member please, in one sentence, tell us what the position is of the Bloc Quebecois so that the people of Quebec know? Is the position that the current law is just fine? If it is, say so. If it is not, what precisely is wrong and what would the Bloc Quebecois suggest should be in the bill?
May I remind him in closing, while he is thinking about an answer to those two questions, that he and some hon. members, in my opinion, are confusing section 745 with sentencing. This has nothing to do with sentencing. Sentencing is imposed by the law. Life imprisonment is the sentence. Section 745 deals with how long a person has to stay in prison before they can apply for parole. When the jury decides that it will be 15 years instead of 25, it is not deciding to let the person out, it is deciding that the person will have to serve 15 years before they can make an application to the parole board. It is the parole board that will decide under the appropriate legislation whether that person will be released.
Let us stick with the legal realities of what we are talking about. We are not talking about sentencing. We are talking about how long the term will be before a person can apply to the parole board.
What I am really interested in is what the heck is the position of the Bloc Quebecois?