Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to offer my strong support to my colleague, the hon. member for Mississauga East.
This is the third time my colleague has brought the present system of concurrent sentencing forward to the House dealing with serial predators and their sentencing. She should be congratulated for her perseverance and dedication to this issue. It is time for us to deal with this issue now and to delay no longer.
My colleague was successful because of the efforts of 166 members of this parliament, from all parties, who signed this bill and made it a votable item. They should be congratulated for taking such a very strong stand.
Bill C-251, entitled “An act to amend the Criminal Code and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (cumulative sentences)”, provides for the imposition of consecutive sentences where a person commits multiple serial offences.
This bill is about making our streets safer for all Canadians. This bill is about punishing serious offenders in such a way that their sentence accurately reflects the gravity of their offence.
This bill is about restoring public confidence in our criminal justice system. There is a very popular saying that goes something like this “In order for justice to be done, it must be seen to be done”. When a serial murderer or rapist is sentenced as though only one crime was committed, justice has not been seen to have been done and therefore it has not been done.
When a system that is designed to protect the public falls into such disrepute and loses the respect and confidence of the public, action must be taken. This bill is about showing the proper respect to victims and showing the proper respect to their families, whose suffering is so often underestimated.
I believe that the primary function of our criminal justice system is the prevention of crime and the protection of society. Unfortunately the system cannot protect everyone all the time. People do get hurt. They are wronged. They are victimized. But once an offender is apprehended and convicted, sentencing is required.
There are different views with respect to the purpose of a criminal sentence. The prevailing opinion among justice and correctional officials is, in my view, appropriately focused on rehabilitating the offender and ensuring that he or she does not commit another offence upon their release from prison. We cannot lock up everyone and throw away the key. However, I believe the focus is so single-minded that it neglects other critical aspects. Very seldom do we hear the word punish.
In the case of repeat murderers and rapists I would think most Canadians are not interested in rehabilitation. They do not want to see these people on the streets again. I agree with them.
Canadians must be permitted to express their outrage at and condemnation of such brutal acts of violence. Our current system of sentencing repeat offenders does not serve this need.
Concurrent sentencing provides one sentence for multiple crimes. What is left to deter criminals from committing further atrocities once they have committed their first?
To put the current situation bluntly, we offer volume discounts for rapists and murderers in Canada. The current sentencing regime cheapens life. Virtually no regard is given to the lives of the individual victims.
Much of what I am saying has been said before in this House, but it needs repeating. The pain and suffering and the death of a second, third or eleventh victim is of no consequence to the court. The minimum penalty always applies, even for the most prolific killers.
The majority of murderers and serial sex offenders are returned to neighbourhoods, often without publicity or warning. Trials and convictions attract public attention and the public is usually lulled into the hoax that a life sentence means life. They have read it in the morning paper.
But a life sentence is not a life sentence. Ten years later they actually hear the truth. The parole board has short-changed justice, written off the victims as if yesterday's news, just to free up a bunk for the next serial killer.
But Canadians are gradually catching on to this deception of life imprisonment. Half of those convicted of second degree murder are sentenced to life and are released in less than 12 years. For first degree murder the median has historically been 14 years. Life only means life for the murder victim who is not there to protest his or her sentence and is never eligible for parole.
My own family knows too well about the loss of a loved one, knowing that the perpetrator of the crime, the fellow who took the life of a young officer in the prime of his life, who left a wife and three children, is eligible for parole within the next year. Kitty and her children will never have Vernon back. Life was life for Vernon.
The predator has dealt a life sentence to the victim's family. For them the comforting illusion of safety in our streets has been shattered. They have to live with the stark truth that the only law that protects them is the law of averages, the chance that none of the predators roaming our communities will get around to them again.
The sad truth is that judges already have the power to sentence consecutively but they simply are not doing it. I say this is very sad because although judges are charged with applying the law in a fair and impartial manner they should also reflect community interests and values in doing so. Judges claim to be doing this when dealing with issues of public nudity and obscenity. Why when it comes to sentencing serial rapists and murderers do they not apply the same?
It is up to parliamentarians and lawmakers to send a message that the courts are not. It is that predators will be punished and punished severely. There are no mitigating circumstances for a predator. There is no need to rehabilitate a predator. No predator is a safe addition to any neighbourhood, no matter what therapists say. Predators belong in prison permanently.
Some will argue that consecutive sentencing serves no purpose other than revenge. If a predator knows that he is going to jail for the rest of his life, that he will never have a chance at parole, that he will die in prison, he may think twice. If the prospect of consecutive sentence does not act as a deterrent in a specific case, it will serve to express more genuinely the revulsion, horror and outrage of the Canadian people. It will also serve to show the family and friends of the victim that their government cares about them.
These two reasons together or individually are sufficient to justify consecutive sentencing. Our institutions are very responsive to lawyers, lobbyists, inmates and advocates. Criminals can rely on the system that orphaned the victims. The murder victim has no representative, has no lobbyist, has no lawyer because the victim is dead. The only argument we will hear about the victim's lost rights will come from the family and from people who recognize the injustice and the obscenity of the current system.
Why are we offering a Wal-Mart two for one sale for criminals committing serial crimes? Commit one, get another one free, a third one, a fourth one. This has to stop. Each life is valuable. Sentencing must reflect the value of each individual life. Currently the second victim means nothing. Very simply, we are offering a bulk rate deal to murderers and rapists. One 25 year so-called life sentence is a penalty for premeditated murder no matter how many victims. A mere seven years in prison is the maximum parole ineligibility for a rapist no matter how many victims.
I am proud to support Bill C-251 and I urge other members of the Liberal caucus and members from the other side to support it.