Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in the House in support of this worthwhile bill, a bill the member for Mississauga East has been pushing for years and which is needed in today's society.
I know this member has tried on now three occasions to see that this legislation gets passed or at least recognized and thoroughly treated by parliament. It is an honour to know this member of parliament who subscribes to the view that if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
It is with that that I am here today to once again speak to an issue that I believe seems to have a consensus developing in the House, at least making sure that this issue gets thoroughly debated not only in the House but in the justice committee .
I ask hon. members to consider that this is not really a partisan issue. We can play the usual jousting between both sides of the House. We all have different philosophies and we certainly have different dynamics within our constituencies. However, one thing we can agree on is the value of a human life.
This bill addresses very squarely, whether it be in the area of criminal justice or social understanding of humankind, the need to respect and to not denigrate the value of every human being.
My previous colleagues, including my colleague from Whitby—Ajax, spoke at length about the problems inherent with the system that gives volume discounts for serial murderers.
I am pleased to see that the Bloc critic has taken a stand on criminal offences of a sexual nature. I totally agree with him and I hope this will result in a piece of legislation the House can proud of and which we will be able to review together in order to come up with a better criminal justice system.
This summer the men and women who represent our front lines were assembled in at least three locations across the country to commemorate the passing of one of their own. In my riding of Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge we mourned the tragic loss of Det. William Hancox.
I do not know whether we have had an opportunity to recognize that but I would like to take the time now to make sure the House of Commons hears his name and the great effort he made on behalf of keeping this nation a secure nation.
I know there are people in the gallery today representing our finest in this country. They are not here to simply hear about the outcome of this bill but to understand that there is a relationship between the need for public safety, the security of the person and the whole definition of a social contract on which this whole issue seems to rest.
It is for those reasons that I applaud the attempts of my hon. colleague from Mississauga East. I applaud the efforts of so many of the victims rights groups in the country who have been crying out for a voice and who ask above all that we not play this simple game of politics, of divide and conquer, or to hide behind certain laws, customs or traditions.
Common sense dictates that this House today consider the impact it has on the security of the individual and the value of life. The status quo is clearly not acceptable and it is in that regard that the wisdom of the subcommittee on private members' business chose wisely for the first time to make this bill votable.
This bill is certainly deserving of an opportunity to be treated by the justice committee. I have some difficulty with the interpretation of where this could go and I would probably want to ask for a clarification of a statement that was made by the Chair a little earlier, that this bill be referred to the finance committee. I seek unanimous consent of the House, seconded by the member for Huron—Bruce, to amend the direction of this bill from the finance committee to the justice committee.