Mr. Speaker, Bill C-3 is a continuation of Bill C-104, which is now part of the Criminal Code. That bill allowed peace officers under the authority of a warrant to obtain a DNA sample from individuals suspected of committing an offence under a list of offences in the Criminal Code. Another condition in Bill C-104 is that there must be found at the scene of a crime samples of hair, blood or tissue that would connect an accused with the crime scene.
Bill C-94, the forerunner to this bill, was brought in too late to be passed at the last sitting and Bill C-3 is almost identical to that bill.
What does this bill authorize the police to do? What greater tools are they going to have? From my understanding this bill will allow the police to obtain DNA samples from those convicted of a series of offences. It does not mean there is any connection between them and a crime scene that would allow the police to get a warrant to obtain a sample. It means that after being convicted of one of a series of offences listed, the police can obtain a DNA sample from those individuals.
The Canadian Police Associated, representing the front line police officers, are very much concerned that this bill does not go far enough. They would like to see the same application of the DNA tool as we now have with fingerprints, that a fingerprint can be obtained from anyone arrested for an indictable offence.
The debate on the bill is whether a proper balance is being struck between the rights of the accused and the rights of society as represented by law enforcement agencies charged with the responsibility and duty to bring criminals to justice, investigate crimes and have a sufficiently strong record in terms of success that it would be a deterrent to those who plan and commit premeditated acts against an individual.
The bill will go to committee and we will hear witnesses on that. I am sure we will hear further from the Canadian Police Association.
Bill C-104, which is now part of the Criminal Code, allowed for the taking of three different DNA samples. One was a swab of saliva, another was a blood test and the third was a hair sample. The hair sample has been struck down by a superior court judge in Ontario as being unconstitutional. Judge Casey Hill found that forcibly removing hair is unreasonable and threatens bodily integrity. Judge Hill went to state “Since viable alternatives exist and the degree of uncertainty is so high, the procedure violates the charter of rights and freedoms' guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure”.
I find this judgment confusing. If the police are allowed to take a blood sample, which is far more intrusive than taking a hair sample, then I do not know how the judge can maintain the right of the police to take a blood sample. He stated that it was unconstitutional to take a hair sample. It is confusing to me and probably to the public as well. Nevertheless it has been struck down at least at that level of the Ontario court system.
The government is experiencing difficulties with a number of the laws it has brought to the House. They have been challenged or struck down as being unconstitutional. Recently in Alberta a judge struck down the whole of the rape shield law, not just part of it. It followed a decision in Ontario that struck down part of that rape shield law. Why is legislation being brought to the House that the courts deem to be unconstitutional?
The constitutionality of Bill C-68 is being challenged by four provinces and two territories. The conditional sentencing portion of Bill C-41 is a real mess in the courts. Crown prosecutors across Canada are appealing the manner in which the courts are using that law. We are urging the government to deny the courts the right to use that law when it comes to violent offenders. So far the government has refused to do that yet there are hundreds of cases where courts are allowing violent offenders, including convicted rapists, to walk free.
Why is the justice department bringing forward laws that are being struck down by our court? Why is the justice department not doing its job? Tomorrow the Feeney bill, Bill C-16, will come before the courts. The government had all summer to get that bill ready. Now we are ramming it through against a deadline that need not have been there if the justice officials had done their jobs.
Perhaps if the justice officials looked after their own business instead of interfering with the judicial independence of the courts, as Ted Thompson did with Judge Jerome, we would have better laws passed through this House. They would not be successfully challenged as being unconstitutional and creating a real problem within the justice system.
I have some concerns about the extent of this bill. Does it go far enough? Does it provide the police with reasonable tools, bearing in mind the balance between the rights of the accused and the safety of society?
Does the bill go far enough? We in the Reform Party say it ought to go further. It ought to be treated the same as the police demanding fingerprints from those who are arrested for indictable offences.
This will be explored further when it reaches committee. We will be pressing the witnesses to determine where they believe that balance should fall.