Mr. Speaker, how come the House leader of the official opposition misses out on the 20 minute part?
I think I have heard it all in here today. I want to talk a little about some of the comments in a minute. What a lot of people do not understand here is that the DNA legislation does not apply to some 14,000 prisoners currently sitting in our prisons.
Once again the government feels that it is not quite appropriate to take DNA samples of those people. I will tell members the effects that will have on our country. It does, however, say it will take DNA samples of prisoners currently serving time for multiple murders, multiple sex offences and dangerous offenders. Keep those three categories in mind here.
I have seven federal penitentiaries within half an hour's driving distance of my house in Abbotsford, British Columbia. We have around 100 released prisoners on day parole, UTA and ETA at any given time.
Sumas Centre is a day care facility with no fences, no guards, and the inmates are basically walking our streets. They have a 7 or 8 o'clock curfew at night. I have long talked to the government about increasing security there. In the last 10 months, from April 14, 1997 to February 1998 we have had four sexual attacks in my area by residents of this facility. We have had well over 55 unlawfully at large from that facility and not one of them has had a DNA sample taken from them.
A person who sexually assaulted a lady and robbed her store was from this facility and had 63 prior convictions. There was not one DNA sample taken from this person.
When I stand up here I ask what part of this message do they not understand. Perhaps they do not have enough prisons in their ridings. Perhaps it has not affected them like it has many of us. However, this DNA sample is important. It is important to victims of crime and important to people who will become victims.
I sit here in the House and listen to members across talking about constitutional issues, the Canadian Bar Association and on and on it goes, what if, maybe, could be, but I never once heard a discussion about victims or potential victims.
I guess it does not come as a surprise to anybody why we still have the faint hope clause in this country, section 745, why prisoners now vote, why prisoners are entitled to overtime pay, and why we outlawed pepper spray for the law abiding Canadian citizen yet we use it on university kids if they get in the way.
What is wrong over there with the mentality? Let us look at some of this mentality and some of the quotes I just heard. “This could lead to the atrocities of Nazi Germany”. I cannot believe Liberal members actually believe that. I am telling this government here and now that every day in my community the people walking out of prison are sex offenders, murderers, drug addicts and bank robbers. They are all sitting in there at night and come out in the day but the government does not have the courage to take a DNA sample of these people. In my community we have people who are victims every single week.
I do not know how anybody can compare tattooing with DNA. That is out of the blue. A Liberal member opposite says it is too early in this stage of parliament to make such a decision. When is the time to make a decision? How many people in my riding have to suffer as a result of indecision? When is it, the year 2006, 2010, when enough victims are stacked up in this country so that the public puts on the pressure and then there is change?
Are all these opposition parties here crazy? Are we making these stories up?
I made a presentation after forcing this government to have a review on the Sumas Centre in my riding. At that time in March there were approximately 43 unlawfully at large prisoners. We had all types of robberies committed by these individuals, three sexual assaults, no notice being taken. It fell on deaf ears over there.
I went to the review commission and I asked why not stop here and do something. DNA would be a good idea. Then when these individuals walk out and perpetrate a crime we will know immediately. In fact, many of them do not get caught perpetrating crimes so we would probably find out faster if, when and where these people were. Nothing happened with that.
Since I spoke to them just a few short months ago we have had 13 more unlawfully at large prisoners. Some are sex offenders. We had not taken DNA samples of them. Why? They were not multiple sex offenders. Two qualify and one does not. There is a brilliant concoction of reasoning to me.
James Armbruster has 63 prior convictions, one sex offence relating to his grandmother, and he is not DNA sampled. Why? He did not have two victims. But now he does.
I do not know if it makes much sense trying to convince those in a majority government when they refer to the potential of this leading to the same atrocities of Nazi Germany. How do you argue with that kind of reasoning? It is absolute nonsense.
We are sincerely in trouble in this country with logic such as this from across the way that is so illogical to victims of crime and potential innocent people.