Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments but as usual the member and some of his colleagues tend to be rather selective in their hearing process.
I did not say at any time—and Hansard will so record—that this bill allows the police to take DNA samples. I said the Criminal Code of Canada already allows police to take a DNA sample from a person at the time of charge if they have a warrant. That is the critical distinction the member so easily overlooked.
The point is that we are creating a framework for storing DNA samples and for using that information in the investigation of serious criminal offences. If a convicted criminal—and I emphasize the word convicted—reoffends and his DNA samples are in a database, the police will be able to identify the perpetrator at the crime scene through the use of modern technology and the database of DNA samples. They will know who they are looking for. If that person was convicted, is now out either on parole or has completed a sentence and reoffends, it will allow the police to use this facility to expedite their investigation dramatically.
The member opposite should not try to interpret my comments in this place in any way other than the spirit in which they were given, which is that innocent until proven guilty is a fundamental tenet of the Canadian justice system and one that I support.