Madam Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure for me to rise in the House today to speak on a bill which would amend the Criminal Code with respect to the arrest of those in breach of condition of parole, statutory or temporary release.
This bill introduced by the Reform member for Langley—Abbotsford will do two things.
First it will amend the Criminal Code to make a breach of condition of parole, statutory release or temporary absence a criminal offence. As a consequence, this would under section 495 of the Criminal Code allow police officers to arrest without a warrant an offender who is found in breach of his or her parole or release conditions.
The second part of the proposed bill is to amend section 497 of the Criminal Code. The amendment would grant arresting peace officers the authority to detain an individual found in breach of his or her conditions in custody until the National Parole Board consents to or opposes the offender's release on bail.
Immediately I want to say that this would not constitute an arbitrary detention. In fact we are talking about the rights of an individual who had the benefit of due process and has been convicted of a criminal offence. His conditional release was a second chance and I do not see why we should give the individual a third chance when he breaches his conditions. The individual is still paying his debt to society and by breaching his conditions he is breaking society's trust in his ability to respect the law. Therefore it is my view that this would not be an arbitrary detention.
Before I go any further I want to say that, like my colleague from Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough said in this House in November 1997, the Progressive Conservative Party supports this bill. The intent of this bill is positive. It will provide our law enforcement officers with an additional tool in their fight against crime.
The changes that are proposed in this bill are constructive for society and are very important. They give police officers who observe individuals who have these conditions placed on them the ability to act and to act quickly and decisively.
The problem with our Criminal Code and our laws is not that police officers do not have the power to arrest but that they have to get authorization to do so. Timing, as they say, is everything. Such events often unfold quickly and officers do not always have the time to get the necessary authorization. Police officers do not always have the time to get a justice of the peace or to contact the parole officer involved. That is even more true in rural parts of our country.
In rural parts of our country police detachments are often comprised of only two members and they are responsible for vast territories. With justices of the peace not always being available 24 hours a day, it becomes quite obvious that the amendments proposed in this bill would be very helpful for our police officers.
Bill C-211 is intended to enable police officers to act immediately to arrest an individual who is found in breach of release conditions without having either to seek a warrant from the National Parole Board or justice of the peace or wait until another crime is committed.
Let me give a practical example on how this bill could be helpful. An offender subject to release conditions that require him or her to stay away from a particular address, either in the case of domestic violence or in cases where pedophiles are involved, could be arrested immediately upon being found in a forbidden area.
Another reason why I support this bill is that it will give authority to police officers to keep in detention individuals who are in breach of their parole conditions. This means that the offender in breach of his or her conditions could not only be arrested immediately but also detained until the National Parole Board has been notified and given an opportunity to react.
Offenders who are breaking their terms of parole are, like I said earlier, once again breaking society's trust in their ability to respect the law. I do not favour any sort of special treatment for such people. Being released under certain conditions does not mean being free. It means that these individuals are still paying their debt to society, a society that has already given them the chance to rehabilitate. This is why I believe that their detention would not be an arbitrary detention.
In conclusion, I would ask all members of this House to ask themselves the following questions. Will this bill improve the present law? Will it allow police officers to more effectively carry out their duties and to better protect society? The answer to these two questions is yes. I ask this House to work together in a non-partisan way to see that Bill C-211 is carried through.