Mr. Speaker, the rash generalizations of members of the Reform Party of our disinterest in defending the rights of the victims are very unfair.
It is absolutely fair to have good constructive debate. I respect that the Reform Party has always made, along with the deficit campaign, the issue of law and order a pre-eminent piece of its platform.
The Minister of Justice has amended more justice legislation in the last four years than has been the case in the history of the country. Members opposite always use the words lack of balance. They indicate that we on this side of the House seem to be defending the criminal over the victim. I represent a downtown Toronto riding, Broadview-Greenwood. I have the Don jail in my riding, the largest city jail in the country.
Issues related to law and order, crime and young offenders are key issues in my community. We have made great strides in the last four years in these areas. To make a blanket statement that the
government is not concerned about issues related to law and order is not an accurate statement of fact. We will show in the upcoming election in detailed form a list of all legislation that has been amended.
Is it perfect legislation? I am not standing here saying it is perfect. I have never seen a piece of perfect legislation on any issue. We all have to compromise on certain issues, but there is absolutely no way the government is putting the rights of the criminal ahead of the rights of the victim.