Mr. Speaker, it has been interesting to listen to the debate today. We are discussing the impact crime has on people who are the victims of criminals and criminal acts.
While my colleague was speaking I realized that pretty well every speaker had said something about sentencing as well as the rights of victims. Although the bill does not address the question of sentencing, which is an entirely different matter, it seems it is one of the areas in which victims often feel greatly victimized because they lose so much.
A rape victim, the family of someone who is murdered, the family of the person killed or severely injured by a drunken driver, all these people are victims. It seems as if the person who perpetrates the crime gets away with a substantially inadequate sentence. In a way that gets into the realm of the rights of victims to see that justice is done, to see that there is a penalty commensurate with the act which has taken place.
Does my colleague, the critic of the justice department for our party, have any insights into how it impacts on the rights of victims when they are victimized by criminals?