Mr. Speaker, according to what the member is saying, everything is fine and dandy in the fight against organized crime in Canada and the government seems to have been doing its job.
He mentioned the solicitor general's report on organized crime. If he read it, he would see that things are not as rosy as he seems to think they are.
He bragged about the government seizing some $37 or $57 million in proceeds of crime—I do not remember the exact amount—when money laundering and hard drug transactions in Canada total some $15 billion a year. What our police forces can do in the fight against organized crime is just a grain of sand in the desert, and maybe this is due to the fact that we do not have the right tools.
In 1995 we passed a few amendments to the criminal code which took effect in 1997. These amendments were made under the name of anti-gang legislation so it would be easier to gain public support in that regard. But this name does not ring true because all those responsible for enforcing this legislation come to the conclusion that it is not anti-gang legislation since the desired results cannot be achieved. It is too difficult to enforce.
I hope the member read section 477 of the criminal code. One has to prove that an individual was party to the activities of a criminal organization, that this individual knew that the gang members had engaged, within the preceding five years, in the commission of indictable offences under the criminal code, for which the maximum punishment is imprisonment for five years.
All this being cumulative it is very cumbersome and complex to enforce and it is not needed to fight organized crime.
The member heard the speeches, he heard the comments made by members of the Bloc Quebecois. We have been studying the issue since 1995: We are not talking through our hat, and neither are we reacting to what happened to one journalist. The situation is serious. Quebec and Canadian society is facing a complex problem, namely organized crime.
Does the member opposite agree with the Bloc Quebecois that we need further tools? We need legislation with teeth. If we have to use the notwithstanding clause, if we cannot do otherwise to eradicate organized crime, is the member willing to go along with it?