Madam Speaker, I fail to understand how the victim's pain and suffering will be reduced if the convicted criminal is sentenced to 20 rather than 25 years in prison. I do not understand.
My learned colleague, whom I salute and for whom I have enormous respect, tells me that 15 years is not long. He should go ask Brian Tobin, the current premier of Newfoundland, whether or not 15 years is a long time. He should go ask him. Fifteen years is a long time in an active person's life. It is probably the maximum sentence that can be given so a convicted criminal has a real chance to rehabilitate himself and reintegrate into society. After 15 years, the inmate is often too old to start over on the right foot.
It is the kind of balance we try to achieve when drafting a bill like this one: giving a criminal a real chance to return to society while limiting the possibilities that he will reoffend. We are trying to find the right balance between the two, something the Reform Party does not seem willing to acknowledge. This is unfortunate.