Mr. Speaker, we are dealing today with Bill C-18 which provides for tougher penalties for those who made the unfortunate decision to drive while impaired, causing death.
Yet, every commission that has studied that issue since 1914— and there has been one almost every ten years—has demonstrated that imprisonment does not deter offenders in such cases. Tougher penalties for those who make such a stupid decision, although not deliberately—it must be stressed—will not make these people think twice about it. Thinking is a good thing, not when we know the consequences of an act, but rather when we start thinking before making a mistake that might have dire consequences.
Impaired drivers who caused death did not really want to kill anyone. What is the difference between two people driving while impaired, one who has the bad luck of hitting and killing someone, and the luckier one who does not meet anyone on his way and does not cause death? Both of them were in the same situation; they were out drinking and driving and both could have been in an accident. Their behavior could have had the same consequences. Yet, one would get punished less harshly than the other who had the misfortune of causing death because of his action.
What do we want to accomplish by increasing sentences in such cases? Do we want to prevent such acts from happening again, or instead, do we not want to get revenge for an event that everyone finds deplorable?
What would we say if, in two separate cases, two people trying to kill another one would prepare a potion containing some poison, the same quantity in both cases, these quantities being known to be sufficient to cause death in most cases? These two people would prepare a poisoned potion, would mix it with the meal of the person for whom the poison is intended, and would wait for the results.
What if, in one case, the dose is enough to kill the person and, in the other one, the same quantity of poison that would normally have the same effect would not give the same result, for all kinds of reasons. In one case, the victim had probably a normal constitution and, in the other one, the victim had a sturdier constitution and resisted to the poison. Would the two people who committed the same act not deserve the same punishment? Would they not deserve the same sentence?
Yet the law requires that we treat them differently. Why? Because in one instance the action caused death and, in the other, the same action did not result in death; however, the result was beyond the control of the two individuals who acted exactly in the same way.
These two individuals both did the same thing with the intent to cause death. In one case, the individual succeeded. In the other, he did not. The courts will give these two persons different sentences.
This is where I think this bill is not logical. By increasing the sentences, we are not preventing anything. We are avenging the victims of some dreadful action. Will such an approach improve the situation? I do not think so.
The best way to bring people to think about what they are doing is to apply a reasonable sentence to anyone who does something reprehensible. What is the reprehensible part of impaired driving causing death? It is not the fact that someone was killed because that part was not intended by the individual who caused the death. The reprehensible action is the act of getting behind the wheel under the influence.
When someone decides to drive while impaired, there is a decision being made. Some people will tell me that decision is not a clear-sighted decision because the individual is drunk and unable to evaluate his condition and his ability to drive a car; nevertheless, a decision is made at that time.
What we need to do, then, is to prevent people from getting behind the wheel when they are drunk. What is the best way to do that? It is certainly not to evaluate the consequences of driving after the fact and say “In one instance, the fault had serious consequences but in another one the consequences were less serious. We will then impose a penalty according to the consequences”. This way of doing things does not improve the situation.
Society is punishing itself by reacting this way because, first, sending someone to prison does not increase chances for rehabilitation. In both those cases, the chances for rehabilitation are just not there. Second, keeping someone in prison entails huge administrative costs.
Keeping a criminal in prison costs about $62,000 a year in Canada. What is the point, for society, of sending someone to prison for 14 years at $62,000 a year, when that person does not need 14 years to realize that what he or she has done was bad? The only point is that it gives the satisfaction of revenge against someone who caused us prejudice by hurting our feelings, our family or our loved ones?
I can understand the resentment of people who experienced such tragedies and who may have lost a spouse or a child. In my riding, there was the case of a doctor who lost his wife at an early age after she was hit by a drunk driver.
Today, this doctor campaigns in favour of improved legislation so these things do not happen again. I understand his sorrow. He will bear the scars left by that tragedy for the rest of his life. He lost a wife he loved, and the sadness he feels will be with him forever.
But by imposing a life sentence on the person who caused that situation, instead of 10 years, for example, will we make the sadness that man feels go away? Will we give him back his beloved wife? Will his children have their mother back? Not at all. It is unfortunate and we must not excuse such actions, but, at the same time, we must not respond to an abuse by an abuse.
A society based on vengeance is going nowhere. If there were cases where society needed to protect itself, if the person found guilty of impaired driving were a repeat offender, if we had every reason to believe that that person would not get back on the right track and would continue to drink and drive and to endanger the life of people, then it would be logical to put that person in jail. Society has a duty to protect itself and its children.
Is that what happens in most cases? Bill C-18 does not solve that problem. If this bill provided for harsher sentences for repeat offenders, it would be easier to understand the intended objective, but it is not the case. It could be a first offence, but if that offence resulted in death, the person would be put in jail.
Imagine that it is your child. Imagine a fine young man or a beautiful girl of 16, 17 or 18 years of age who, at the end of the school year, after the prom, goes out to celebrate the end of their secondary or college education. For the first time in his or her life, this young man or this young girl has too much of a good thing, hops in a—which is probably your car—and, while driving his or her friend home, has an accident and kills somebody.
If it were your children, how would you like them to be punished? Do you think these young people deserve life in prison for a lack of foresight or experience due to their age? Should we ensure that they waste their lives in prison, while depriving society of talents that it could have benefited from for 50, 60 or 70 years?
It would be much more useful to impose on them a sentence that would make them think, that may bring them to dedicate the rest of their lives to the promotion of abstinence, to the promotion of security measures. This would help to ensure that such events do not happen again.
A person in jail is of no help to anybody. If that young boy or that beautiful girl were sent to jail for the rest of their lives, they would be completely lost to society. Would our society find any satisfaction in being able to say: “This guy has killed someone, and he should be put behind bars. We are glad, we wash our hands, and he will not be seen around anymore”? Is this such a great and noble satisfaction that we cannot do without it.
When we try to be objective, we have to admit this kind of crime is beyond pardon, but we should also realize that people who have been involved in such a terrible experience have to be rehabilitated.
I was talking about a young man 18, 19, or 20 years old, but he could be even 25 or 30. It could also be a good family man, 35 or 40 years of age, who goes out to celebrate a special occasion. It could also be somebody celebrating a wedding anniversary or the graduation of one of his children from university. This father or mother can get carried away, have one drink too many, drive and cause someone's death.
Did this person set out to kill somebody? Absolutely not. He or she was taking part in festivities, and when you celebrate, you are not out to kill anybody.
It can happen that we behave in such a way that we accidentally cause death. But, for the sake of improving the situation, should we send a father or mother in prison for the rest of their lives?
We would be telling them “Sir, we will take you away from your wife and kids because you have accidentally killed someone through your negligence and wrongful behaviour. Because of you, another family has lost their father”. Therefore, courts will say, from now on, that in order to repair the harm done to a family, it will cause harm to another family. That is not justice, but vengeance.
A civilized society should not demand an eye for an eye. This course of action is a dead end. What we must do instead is educate.
We must educate the people to make them understand that their actions have consequences. The consequences can be serious, of course, but the act itself is even more serious. It is such acts that we must prevent from being committed.
Campaigns such as Nez Rouge during the Christmas holidays are much more useful than putting people behind bars. Because of these campaigns, more and more people understand that they must not drive their car while impaired. This type of public education ensures that society gains more by using this method than by crying out for vengeance when such a tragedy occurs.
Statistics show that Canada is second to the United States in terms of the incarceration rate. Not a commendable record. I hope the government will understand that its bill goes too far and that it must be withdrawn immediately.