Mr. Speaker, it is typical of the government side to create a false picture and then rail against it. It is rather a phony, hollow play.
When we on this side talk about personal responsibility, government members call it fearmongering. When we talk about victim concerns rather than being too offender focused, they call it rather simplistic. Obviously we can hear today how touchy they are because there is a big problem out there in the community for which the government is responsible. They are accountable.
Just to be reasonable and to deal with facts, not false notions, we can do a lot better in the justice system. When we perform our official opposition role of pointing out inadequacies, what we ask from the government is simply to fix the problem and not get into an esoteric debate.
There is a lot of boasting today about the new young offenders bill before parliament. Will the government be prepared to accept amendments to the bill based on consultation with the community rather than continue to boast about how good the proposed bill is?