Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-53 which is before us today. I am not pleased to speak to it because it is a substantial piece of legislation or because when the bill passes it will make changes to improve the system. It will not. I am pleased to speak to the bill because it gives me a chance to very clearly point out the difference between the Liberals and their totally ineffective legislation on crime and justice and Reform and our substantial and comprehensive proposals which will make the system better. Our proposals are in line with what Canadians want.
The member for Scarborough-Rouge River in asking a question to the previous speaker pointed out that the legislation only deals with sentences which are less than two years in duration and, therefore we are not really dealing with serious offenders. I disagree.
If that member were to ask his female colleagues in the House, he would find that they are not only concerned with being raped and murdered, they are concerned when they take that walk into the parking lot at night that somebody might try to steal their purse or that somebody might give them a violent push. They are concerned that when they are at work their homes might be broken into.
These crimes are not considered to be serious. These crimes violate what I believe is a right of all Canadians, a right to feel safe and to be safe in our streets, in our parking lots and in our homes.
I completely disagree with the member. These are very serious offences which do very serious damage to people not only physically but also psychologically.
We should not make light of this issue just because we are dealing with sentences of under two years. That is a big mistake.
I am going to take a little time to go through Bill C-53. It is an act to amend the Prisons and Reformatories Act. It would add a statement of purpose for temporary absence programs and it would authorize the provinces to create additional types of temporary absence programs.
The key issue for Reform is that although the principles relating to temporary absence are similar to those set out in the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, there is one substantial and very serious exception. In the Corrections and Conditional Release Act the protection of society is to be of paramount consideration, whereas in this act that is not the case. In that way this legislation is actually a step backward. That principle is found nowhere in Bill C-53.
Bill C-53 would consider prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration into society as equal to the consideration of the protection of society.
Again, this resulted from years and years of Liberal thinking, the same Liberal thinking that led to the changes in the justice system which took the focus away from the protection of Canadians so they can feel safe in their homes and in their streets. But I will talk more about that later.
Bill C-53 is an extension of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and would expand the scope and number of temporary release programs in Canada. Past experience has demonstrated that temporary absence, especially for violent and serious repeat offenders could jeopardize public safety.
For example, Daniel Gingras was out on a temporary escorted absence when he escaped at the West Edmonton Mall and went on to kill again.
The concept of temporary absence illustrates that there is little truth or honesty in sentencing. Many Canadians feel that this approach is wrong, specifically that criminals owe a debt to society and this debt should be fulfilled in its entirety. They want certainty in sentencing. None of this out on early release with half the sentence or less carried out. Canadians are truly fed up with that and they want a change. This legislation does not offer substantial change.