Madam Speaker, I had the opportunity to listen to the debate from all the different parties this evening. I have to admit it was one of those times when it seemed that there was a fair amount of thought and conscious effort made to consider the reasoning behind the motion put forth by my colleague from the Yukon. That often does not happen in the House. I am sure among ourselves we recognize that and I am sure Canadians recognize that.
From my perspective on this, it was interesting to note that this was one time when I heard the Reform member talk about a need to be reasonable in the approach to justice issues and not jump on one incident. Often that is not the case with the Reform Party. I was very conscious of the fact that there seemed to have been a little more in-depth feeling going into the remarks and consideration of the whole process of a justice bill or a justice motion.
As has been mentioned, it is very complicated. We do not always see the whole picture as we discuss things in parliament, and Canadians do not get the whole picture with each case when they hear what the media has to say about it. The sad reality of that is that Canadians have lost faith in the justice system. They have lost faith in the laws. They see situations such as the Klassen case and hear what has happened. There seems to be no reasoning behind how someone can get away with that kind of an act.
I listened to the hon. member from the Reform Party whose son was killed. I understand his passion. How can he not want to see change so that kind of incident will never happen again? And rightfully so. However, we need to be very conscience of all the ramifications.
What has happened is that there is no faith in the Canadian justice system. The delays with the justice department on a number of issues have resulted in that lack of faith when instances like the Klassen case come up. Too often it becomes the case that offenders get out of jail ahead of time or are released and then they kill someone. People are losing faith. When it takes time for a process to go through the justice department, the committees and everything else, it seems like these issues are always on the back burner.
Had my colleague not brought this issue up, how many of us would have had any thought or discussion about it? How many Canadians would even hear about it? It would sit in some committee or at some back door. It would get a little bit of advertising that there was going to be a hearing here or there, but it would never ever get discussed.
In spite of all the concerns that everybody has, it is extremely important that more emphasis be put on the issue. The defence of provocation has been used in situations which are unconscionable to accept. I was not going to mention the recent shootings but my colleague from Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore mentioned it. It should not be perceived as being a crass portrayal.
When the Littleton shootings were first mentioned I was conscious and very aware of the fact that so many of the students from that school stated their caring for the victims but also for the two young people who had committed the crime. They stated their concern over the attack that had taken place, the name calling, the verbal things and that they were not a part of it. They were sorry they felt that way. What my colleague mentioned is true. Are we accepting that as a defence of provocation? It cannot be.
There are faults within the system which have to be addressed. I want to thank my colleague. I encourage the justice minister to ensure that more effort takes place and that there is speed in reviewing the defence and the whole issue. Canadians need to have faith in the justice system and the laws. We are failing to give them that with the way things are happening now.