moved for leave to introduce Bill C-473, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Young Offenders Act (capital punishment).
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Souris—Moose Mountain for seconding the bill.
I believe that Canada should hold a binding referendum on capital punishment so that the Canadian people and not political parties decide whether it should be reinstated. A Reform government has pledged to do that. However the Liberals do not believe in allowing Canadians to exercise that much power.
Today I am introducing my bill to reinstate the death penalty for adults convicted of first degree murder. In addition, the bill also imposes a range of stiffer penalties for youth convicted of murder.
I introduced this bill three times in the 35th Parliament and am now introducing it for the second time in the 36th Parliament. On the two occasions on which I was fortunate enough to have the bill drawn, votable status was denied. If I am lucky enough to have it drawn once more I will call on the government to allow a free vote so that all MPs can vote the will of their constituents on this important issue.
Not all murderers—