Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my opposition to Bill C-3, an act respecting DNA identification.
This morning we saw a very sad spectacle in the House of Commons where a closure motion was put on Bill C-3. If I remember correctly, when those members were on this side in opposition they were the ones screaming the loudest when the former Tory government did the same thing with closure motions. Today what do they do? The same thing, they put closure. No wonder Canadians find respect for politicians at the bottom of professions.
The parliamentary secretary did mention certain things as being the first step. She said Bill C-3 was just a first step. However, as with Bill C-68, it will be watered down to where it actually becomes ineffective. She says this bill if thrown out would be a waste of taxpayer money. This watered down bill is a waste of taxpayer money because was does it do? It does a half job. It does not give our law enforcement agencies the full tools they need to fight crime.
She has taken the position that she is tough on crime. The record of being tough on crime is not there. The Young Offenders Act is watered down. Bill C-68 is watered down. Bill C-68 has been changed to a degree where it is supposed to stop crime but it is not, it is infringing on the rights of Canadians.
The government transforms simple legislation into the most complicated legislation costing Canadian taxpayers a lot of money and does not do the job it is supposed to do.
The parliamentary secretary said Canada is the best place to live in the world as stated by the United Nations. Yes, when you look at other factors, but Canadians today are demanding that streets be safe. On that this government has a terrible record.
I am firmly committed to restoring confidence in our justice system. Canadians need to know what it is to have a true sense of security. This can be achieved only by strengthening our law enforcement agencies. How do you do that? By giving them all the tools they need to protect and apprehend the perpetrators of the most violent crimes.
DNA identification is an example of one of those desperately needed tools. If this process is used to its full potential, DNA identification could very well be the single most important development in fighting crime since the introduction of fingerprinting.
We fully support the concept of DNA identification because it gives our law enforcement authorities one more weapon in their battle to combat crime. However, if Bill C-3 is passed unamended it will give Canadians a false sense of security and therefore I cannot support this inadequate piece of legislation.
The bottom line is that Bill C-3 has such limited scope that I cannot in good conscience support it. Bill C-3 requires those convicted of certain designated offences to provide samples of bodily substances for DNA analysis. The problem with this is that the offender must be convicted prior to the processing being instituted. This will result in the databank being of limited use to police for suspects and persons charged.
The Canadian Police Association has raised concerns over this specific issue too. Police officers rightly point out that offenders arrested and charged with an offence would likely flee while on bail if they knew that DNA linking them to other offences would be obtained on conviction.
The government has stated this is within the charter of rights and the Constitution. I say it is more important to give tools to ensure that victims have more rights than criminals. That is extremely important to recognize. I say to the Supreme Court of Canada as well remember it is more important to recognize the rights of Canadians and victims than it is to recognize the rights of criminals which this government keeps doing time after time and destroying a good piece of legislation dealing with that problem.
Bill C-3 has offences that are split into two groups. The first group automatically leads to DNA testing. Crimes listed under the first category include sexual assault, murder and sexual exploitation. The second group permits seizure only if the court is satisfied that to do so is in the best interests of the administration of justice.
Here is the problem. This is left to the courts again and we know the courts have been lenient with criminals. The courts have been looking at the rights of the criminals over the rights of the victims and Canadians to make the streets safe.
We see that Bill C-3 has limited applicability in that it applies only to certain offences. However, even for this limited list it is not guaranteed that the taking of DNA will be authorized. It is clear that an effective, no-nonsense system of DNA identification is desperately needed in this country. Does Bill C-3 under the current act fulfil this needed desire?
By having a system that only applies to convicted felons who commit a narrow definition of listed crimes, we are truly doing a disservice to all Canadians seeking safer streets. The fact of the matter is that DNA is a modern identification tool which is to the 1990s what fingerprinting was to the early 1900s.
Many American states have DNA data banks, including South Dakota which takes DNA testing once a charge has been laid. A few years back Great Britain implemented a system that called for DNA seizure after a charge had been laid and the list of offences is far wider than what Bill C-3 covers.
We should never allow ourselves to be so stubborn that we could not turn our backs on a good idea simply because it is not a made in Canada idea. Today we fingerprint all those who are charged for a crime.
The government has been saying, and this is where I differ, that a fingerprint is not a seizure. A fingerprint is from our body. In here it is saying that taking bodily fluids is a seizure. For the sake of crime and making streets safe, it is a justifiable seizure. If this is the case then why can this government not expand the very little role it has given to the DNA collection? While it may be true that DNA seizure involves the invasion of personal privacy, it does serve a greater role in solving and controlling crime.
At the end of the day parliamentarians must be able to look Canadians straight in the eyes and tell them that we have done everything in our power to protect them. I do not see how we can do this by voting in favour of this legislation.