Mr. Speaker, I was listening to the remarks of the member for Elk Island. He suggested that members on this side of the House are not sufficiently concerned about this debate to participate as actively as perhaps we should.
I did intend to make some remarks at a later time but I want members to know that I have difficulties with this question of allowing DNA sampling upon charge or immediately after a person has been charged.
I am afraid it will be an invitation to the police to arrest people and to charge them in order to get this type of DNA sample in order to pursue criminals and to hopefully lead to further convictions.
We have to remember that DNA sampling is an invasive technique and that one superior element with respect to how we treat other human beings is to remember the dignity of the human person and to remember that even in the pursuit of crime and apprehension of criminals, we must remember we are dealing with human beings first.
In my riding which is rural the holstein industry is very active. There is a lot of genetic research, samples taken of various animals, not only cattle, and it is all part of today's modern animal husbandry. I would not want to see a situation where we forget that human beings are human beings. They are not to be treated like cattle even when they are capable of committing the worst possible crimes.
I do support the government's reluctance to move too fast on this issue despite the fact that we are coming under all kinds of pressure from the police associations to agree that crime prevention should be uppermost in our minds.
There is something more than crime prevention here. We must not rush into the new age of technology when human beings are reduced to ciphers in the sense of the communication technology or on the Internet or reduced to animals in the sense of how we pursue issues of justice. To the member opposite I plead with him to give us time to examine the implications of DNA sampling which is an invasive technique. Let us think about it. Let us pass the legislation as it is, see what happens and give time for a meaningful public debate. Let us not be stampeded into doing something because the police are putting pressure on us.
I have serious reservations about the police actually lobbying and threatening politicians with political action in order to get their way on this issue. This is something that I hope to address in my own remarks. We on this side are seriously concerned about this issue. We welcome the debate.