Mr. Speaker, echoing the government member somewhat, we in the Bloc Quebecois also believe that this bill is not votable. If it were, we would vote against it, because I believe that there are some very important principles involved, ones which the Reform Party appears to have ignored.
It must not be lost sight of that the objective of this bill is the deletion of sections of the Criminal Code which allow a judicial review of the parole ineligibility period with respect to certain life sentences.
Certainly, on first examination, the Reform Party approach seems to have some merit, but once again—and this is not the first time I have said this—we must look at the Canadian justice system in its entirety, and not just approach it piecemeal, trying to solve certain problems one at a time.
I believe the entire Canadian system is a bit like a giant jigsaw puzzle. If one piece is taken away, there is a whole section that cannot be put together, and this is a very dangerous thing. In the case before us now, what the Reform bill would have us remove is a vital piece of the justice system.
Much has been said on this. I had a written text, but I do not think I shall follow it, because the basic problem is readily understood. Where the justice system is concerned, we must not go overboard. The justice system must not be examined in the light of some cases that make front page headlines. This is not the way the problem can be solved.
At the present time, the Criminal Code contains a series of sections on parole mechanisms, starting with 745.6. It is not true, as I have heard said on this side of the House, that it is so easy for a criminal to obtain parole. We must start with the basic premise that the parole system has one very clear objective, and that is rehabilitation. If there is no agreement on that principle from the start, it is obvious that what will follow will be fruitless dialogue and that we will never be able to reach an agreement.
In Quebec, for the past 30 years at least, we have had a clear idea where both young and adult offenders are concerned that there must be a rehabilitation component to the parole process. This is extremely important.
Rehabilitation is not automatic, obviously. Before a case is examined in order to see whether a person who has committed a serious crime and been given a life sentence can obtain any type of parole, within the system we have at the present time, it is certain that an analysis has been carried out. We have to be sure that the offender's behaviour will not pose a threat to society. It is not true that just anyone is released. A case is examined and an extremely important review procedure takes place.
This procedure can be found in section 745.6, which was debated in the House in 1996 with Bill C-45, as I am sure members recall. At the time, the government proposed limiting accessibility to the review procedure through a series of legislative amendments. I remember this very clearly because I thought back then that the government was going too far.
Even today, I think that the government went too far, but it is now part of the system. We must live with it and make the best of it.
If we examine the issue from a public safety standpoint, the higher the bar is placed for a criminal seeking release, the greater the guarantee of public safety, of course. Even before the government's amendments, the safeguards for society were adequate, but the government added additional obstacles for these offenders and the result is that today we are fine with the amendments.
Even with the government's amendments to Bill C-45, the Reform Party is proposing the repeal pure and simple of the review process. When we look at the legislation that the government opposite is producing, inspired by Reform Party ideas, we can see similarities between the two parties.
From a justice and legislative point of view, there are similarities with respect to severity and repression. We will see this again in the very near future, when the government introduces a young offenders bill. I am sure that the government will crack down and that Reform Party members will say the government is not going far enough. But this is not how Quebec has looked at things for at least 30 years, as I have already mentioned.
To come back to the review procedure which is the focus of the bill, section 745.6 cannot be viewed as an escape clause for offenders trying to shorten their sentence. I think that the review procedure provided for in section 745.6 is complex and elaborate. We must avoid the conclusion that criminals purging life sentences have too easy access to early parole because of section 745.6 of the Criminal Code.
A clear understanding of the application for review procedure necessitates reference to section 745.6 and sections 745.61 to 745.64, which describe how the review procedure works. On reading these new sections, we see that the review is not a matter of chance. It is far from being a lottery for inmates. If they are lucky, they get paroled, if they are not, their applications get turned down. The review is rigorous and has two stages. First, there is the initial examination mechanism and then the admissibility of the application is considered.
I listened earlier to the parliamentary secretary as she clearly summarized the review application procedure. I will focus on one point only, which is that the application, once accepted, is put to a jury, and, here again, it is no cakewalk for the inmate. He must convince the jury of the validity of his application for release. This is no easy matter. The procedure is highly complex. I am not saying it is too complex for the criminal. I am saying there is no need to alert public opinion over such matters.
Our system has been improved over the years. There are of course cases like Olson's, which a Reform member mentioned earlier. Everyone agrees that such cases could no longer occur under the current legislation. There was indeed a loophole in the Criminal Code, but we tried to plug it.
Although I may once again appear to be defending the government, my purpose is in fact to see that justice prevails. This is a matter of fairness. Even in cases involving criminals, I think the legislation must be fair.
I will sum up very briefly why the Bloc Quebecois is opposed to this bill. First, we oppose it because it goes against the sentencing guidelines of public safety and rehabilitation. Second, the bill is based on the misconception that early release is impossible, even if rehabilitation has truly taken place. Third, the review procedure provided for in the bill is too complex and elaborate to think that offenders serving life sentences can abuse it. Finally, the opportunity to declare an offender dangerous under section 752 of the Criminal Code reduces the possibility of repeat offences.
The fact is that I have not had the time to elaborate on the subject but, once again, there are provisions for declaring someone a dangerous offender and this entire review procedure is impossible.
For the reasons I have mentioned, I think that Canada's parole system does not jeopardize public safety.