Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his commentary. His remarks reflect a great deal of insight into this area.
With respect to the issue of mandatory minimum sentences which he raised, I tend to agree that judges need to exercise discretion. That is what they do. They exercise discretion daily. The scope, breadth and effect of decisions are sometimes staggering. The effect they can have on the everyday lives of Canadians and of those affected can be very far reaching. However there is a time and place for some limitations on that and those would be imposed by mandatory minimum sentences in the Criminal Code.
It is important to note that increasing victims rights does not necessarily mean decreasing the right of the accused to be presumed innocent. I do not think it is necessarily a proportionate counter to say that any increase in victims rights will result in a decrease in the rights of the accused.
I use as an example the discretion of a judge to use conditional sentences in the area of serious sexual assaults or crimes of violence. There is a need for parliament in that instance to place some restrictions on the discretion of a judge to use a conditional sentence for those types of crime. I do not think that was the intent of parliament when conditional sentences were introduced into the Criminal Code. As is the case with the law, a growing tree moves in different directions. I believe that provision of the code has been misinterpreted.
Impaired driving legislation was another example that was cited by the hon. member. Once again I believe there is a need for changes to the provisions of the Criminal Code as they pertain to impaired driving. There is a need to improve the level of accountability that impaired drivers suffer to their peril when they decide to get behind the steering wheel of a car and potentially put people's lives in jeopardy. If that means upping the ante or improving the provisions of the Criminal Code for sentencing I would encourage those changes.
He also spoke of the discretion judges can exercise in ordering therapy or mandatory treatment for offenders. That is something we should be encouraging, not trying to limit by imposing mandatory use of those provisions in the sentencing provisions of the code.
There is certainly a need for more discussion in this area. I look forward, as I am sure the hon. member does, to trying to improve our justice system and working diligently in that direction.