Madam Speaker, I am delighted to speak on this particular amendment to the bill. Before I start I would like to commend my colleague, the hon. member for Wild Rose, who put forward the official opposition's position on this bill very eloquently.
On behalf of the people of Surrey Central, I rise to express our opposition to Bill C-3, an act respecting DNA identification which would make amendments to the Criminal Code and other acts.
My colleagues in the official opposition, Canadians concerned about victims of crime, my constituents and a host of others inside and outside of the law enforcement community are very disappointed with what the Liberals have done with this bill.
The Reform Party is firmly committed to restoring confidence in our justice system and providing Canadians with a true sense of security. This includes strengthening our law enforcement agencies by providing them with the latest effective technological tools to quickly detect and apprehend the perpetrators of the worst violent crimes in society. DNA identification is that kind of tool.
If used to its fullest potential, the DNA databank could be the single most important development in fighting crime since the introduction of fingerprints. The technology available through DNA identification would make our society safer. It would protect our homes, our families and our lives from criminal activity and, in particular, violent crime. It is my understanding that DNA capability will greatly enhance the work of our law enforcement community.
Over the next few years and perhaps decades this technology will virtually change the world in terms of crime solving, crime detection and the positive identification of criminals.
If passed unamended, Bill C-3 will provide Canadians with a false sense of security. Therefore, the Reform Party cannot support this inadequate and incomplete piece of legislation. The Reform Party fully supports the creation of the DNA databank. However, we do not support the limited scope of Bill C-3.
Why do I oppose this bill? Bill C-3 does not grant our police forces full use of DNA technology. Bill C-3 does not allow for the taking of the DNA sample at the time of the criminal charge being laid.
This is where fingerprints are taken. This is exactly the time to take DNA samples. How can the Liberals fail to provide our law enforcement agencies with the opportunity to get a DNA sample at the time of the arrest?
Bill C-3 does not permit samples to be taken from incarcerated criminals other than designated dangerous offenders, multiple sex offenders and multiple murderers.
In the hands of the Liberals Bill C-3 is actually a hindrance to more effective law enforcement and a safer society. This is a needlessly restrictive use of DNA in Bill C-3. The official opposition is holding the Liberals responsible for denying our police the use of DNA which they have been asking for for quite some time.
The Liberals are so arrogant that they are attempting to fool Canadians about what the bill does and does not do. It does not go far enough and we must not be fooled. It is an inadequate piece of legislation and we cannot support it.
I would like to quote from a September 16, 1998 letter addressed to me by the president of the Canadian Police Association. I am sure that other members in this House may have also received similar letters. This letter which I am going to quote from is a scathing indictment of the Liberal government. On the first page it reads:
The Canadian Police Association represents approximately 35,000 front line police officers across Canada.... Bill C-3, as currently drafted, is seriously flawed, and will needlessly allow Canadians to be put at risk.
The CPA has lobbied for the creation of a DNA databank for many years. Since the beginning, we stressed the important impact a bank could have on public safety, a goal that we work towards everyday whether it be on the streets or on Parliament Hill. We said then, as we say now, that for this initiative to work samples must be taken from suspects when arrested. By doing so, we will maximize the potential crime prevention aspects of the bill which is a goal we all share.
Do not underestimate the importance of this issue to the CPA. We are not, and never have been, averse to take every public opportunity to inform the public when the government creates and passes flawed legislation. We will do that again regarding Bill C-3. We will make sure that Canadians understand that their government is risking their lives. We will make sure that if one of your constituents is harmed because of this flawed legislation, that they will know who to ask for an explanation.
The Liberals should be ashamed that 35,000 Canadian police officers on the front lines have been seriously disappointed by this Liberal government's legislation.
Canadians want our police officers to be protected and do the best job they can. The Liberals are not allowing our police officers the use of DNA identification that they are asking for and our police officers deserve more support from us, from our government, than that which this Liberal government is giving them.
The Liberals are choosing to slow down this process of the advent of DNA identification into our crime fighting efforts. The Liberals are crippling the ability of our law enforcement agencies to use this technology. This government has refused to allow the amendments to this bill that have been put forward by the official opposition.
This is not an issue to play politics with. These amendments would put teeth into Bill C-3. But it is as if the Liberals do not want that.
The Liberals are afraid to unleash this powerful crime fighting tool because they are more concerned about the criminals and the rights of the accused than they are about the victims of crime.
Our law enforcement agencies should have been given the go ahead to use DNA identification tools ever since the technology was first invented. For example, it would just be like forcing people to use candles or kerosene lanterns instead of electric light bulbs. We ask our police forces to use fingerprints but not DNA identification.
The Liberal government is supposed to be responsible for shaping our justice system. This is the government of the day. Canadians are relying on the government but the government is just sitting on its hands.
The Prime Minister continues to show his willingness to place the lives and safety of innocent people in jeopardy, whether by allowing the parole of violent offenders who go on to rape and murder again or by allowing freedom of convicted violent offenders through conditional sentencing or by tying our police officers' hands through Bill C-3. The safety of our society is a secondary issue for this Liberal government.
Bill C-3 provides a dangerous and unnecessary exemption authorizing judges not to issue warrants for the taking of a sample if they believe in doing so the impact of the individual's privacy and security would be grossly disproportionate to the public interest and the protection of society. It seems to me that if DNA identification were positive and unequivocal proof then the rights of an individual would be best served by that person providing a DNA sample. DNA samples are conclusive if processed carefully and correctly. A DNA sample can disprove as well as prove whether an accused person was involved in a crime. The Liberal's argument in support of allowing the judge not to issue a warrant for the taking of a DNA sample fails.
Because of the government's irrational fear of violating the privacy rights of a person accused of heinous crimes, the Liberals are restricting the use of this very important technology by our law enforcement agencies.
Once again we are watching the Liberals use cold hearted legal talk to deny giving our law enforcement agencies what they need. The Liberals used cold legal arguments and some kind of numbers to deny help to all of the victims of tainted blood, so probably they are used to it.
Canadians are devastated when innocent victims fall prey to violence, whether the motivation is drugs, theft, greed or hate. My community wants to know how many more innocent people will lose their lives before changes are made in our criminal justice system.
This government is failing our youth, our seniors, our communities and our society because it lacks the moral strength to deal with violent crime and repeat offenders.
During the summer I did some door knocking in my constituency. People were amazed and surprised by why a politician would do door knocking between elections.
While knocking on these doors I noticed that almost second home in my constituency had a sticker on their door or window warning that the home was armed with an alarm system. It gives me the signal that people are not feeling safe on the streets, as we know, but are also not feeling safe in their own homes.
A few months ago a senior was brutally beaten to death in his own home in my constituency. The constituents I represent in Surrey Central are living in the wake of the arrest of five young men for the brutal beating and murder of a temple caretaker.
This Liberal government is spineless, heartless, gutless, deaf and blind. Everyone knows that the government is not getting tough on crime.
My constituents and I are warning this government to get tough on crime. We want it to do the work that is necessary to protect our society. That is why we are not supporting Bill C-3. It does not do the work necessary to give our police what they want in terms of using DNA identification tools.