Madam Speaker, I too want to congratulate the member for Calgary South for bringing forward this private member's bill.
He started off his comments by saying he felt he had already won by getting selected in the lottery and, as all members know, that is a matter of being fortuitous.
The more important success the member has achieved is that he has brought an issue before the House which has received the support of a committee of his peers to be votable. I think that is the success, that the bill is before this House and will be subject to a vote of members of Parliament. For that he should be congratulated.
I believe he has brought a matter to the attention of the House which is important for debate. The greatest value of Private Members' Business is that it provides an opportunity for public debate and for consultations among the parties to determine whether or not there is some basis for influencing legislation either directly or indirectly.
Recently we have talked a great deal about the Young Offenders Act and the issue of whether or not the names of young offenders should be disclosed and what impact that may have on their ability to be rehabilitated. I see many parallels between that issue and the issue which the member has brought forward. The only difference is that this bill targets the sexual offenders of children.
This is one of those issues about which people should be very cautious because of the inherent risks involved. If we had to pit the interests of one against the other, clearly, most people would say that public interest is more important than the interest of the individual who has been convicted of sexual abuse against children. It is a very difficult issue to deal with, but legislators have to deal with difficult issues.
Questions have to be asked whenever we do Private Members' Business. It is a matter of whether legislation should come forward with regard to a certain aspect that we may have identified. Or, has the fact that this has come forward identified other areas? Are other things going on that are related which would provide some synergy or make the legislation even better?
This is always the frustration or the difficulty with Private Members' Business because to get the confidence of members it has to be somewhat straightforward without too many tentacles leading to other areas of other legislation. That is the problem and that is why most Private Members' Business does not pass in this House. I would support changes or some reform to Private Members' Business to allow a better airing of some of these views so that good ideas, such as the one brought forward by the member, do get worthy consideration.
Let me talk for a few moments about the Criminal Records Act. The development of the Criminal Records Act was based on a proposal put forward in the same way as this private member's bill, although the intention of the sponsors of the two private members' bills and their ultimate foundations were somewhat dissimilar.
Private members' bills and initiatives should be taken very seriously. Without such respect, however, we may have some unexpected consequences. I raise the caution from the standpoint of a member who has been very active in private members' bills. I must admit that from time to time issues are raised by other members that I have not contemplated. That is understandable because ordinary members of Parliament do not have the resources to be able to do that exhaustive work.
This member has touched on an area at which I know the government has been looking as well. There are some possibilities which have to be explored.
Obviously the objective before us is to determine how we can improve the Criminal Records Act. It was introduced in June 1996 and referred to the justice committee of the day. It held formal meetings between March and November 1967. The proposed changes were discussed at length and the committee had the opinion of many interested parties. These are the kinds of things that would occur at committee should this matter be referred there.
That justice committee report came back to the House. The government at the time proceeded with a study of the initiative. In the current situation we face the same fundamental question as was posed when the legislation was first discussed some 20 years ago.
The issue is the legitimate balance between the objective of assisting those who have transgressed the law to reform and lead crime-free lives and the equally legitimate needs of the policing authority and the community at large to be protected from a recurrence of criminal activities.
The principal issues obviously extend to others. They include where the line is drawn between individual and collective rights. Is it worth the time of parliamentarians to ensure that all options may have been canvassed and discussed? Should we make one change to a complex piece of legislation that may have some far-reaching implications on other pieces of legislation? Has sufficient study been done?
I do not know whether the process at this point allows for sufficient study to have been done to date. I do know, however, that the House would provide the venue and the envelope in Private Members' Business to have that kind of consultation.
It is true that the ideas for change which led to the passage of the Criminal Records Act were first presented to the House in the form of a private member's bill. The government of the day apparently recognizing the importance of the change in this area encouraged the initiative. I believe the parallel exists here as well.
The bill proposed comprehensive reform and resulted in a consensus among those who had knowledge of the subject. I think it will take some work to get the House up to speed on the sensitive criteria related to it. Thereafter the government bill was sent to committee for additional study. This is certainly something that should be considered in terms of this bill as well.
I understand the officials of the Department of the Solicitor General have had occasion to study the various suggestions our hon. colleague has raised. I think I can conclude that the member has identified a potential weakness in the system. I am not exactly sure whether what he is proposing is precisely the way to do it, but I want to make a recommendation to him with regard to how we proceed from here.
Very often good ideas in Private Members' Business do not receive the confidence of the House in terms of a vote, but there is another opportunity that has happened on many occasions. When substantive issues raised in a private member's bill are valid and enjoy the support of the House, the bill may very well not be voted on and dropped from the order paper. However the member or someone in support of the member can rise in the House and ask that the subject matter of the bill be referred to committee.
It means that it would still remain alive as an issue. It means that if the government is serious about the issues that he has raised and some ancillary issues this member would still see his initiative go forward in legislation that may be brought in by the government. I ask him to keep that in mind as we move forward.
I would support referral of this matter to the standing committee on justice.
I again congratulate the member. All private members' business deserves our respect and attention. I believe he has done a excellent job in raising this issue. We should be thankful for a fine job on behalf of all private members.