Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak on Bill C-338.
I will read the summary to facilitate understanding of the bill.
This enactment amends the Criminal Code to provide that “streetracing” is to be considered an aggravating circumstance for the purpose of sentencing a person convicted of an offence committed by means of amotor vehicle under section 220 (causing death by criminal negligence) or 221 (causing bodily harm by criminal negligence) or subsection 249(3) (dangerous operation causing bodily harm) or 249(4) (dangerous operation causing death).
In addition, it provides that any person convicted of an offence under any of these provisions by means of a motor vehicle that was involved in street racing at the time the offence was committed be subject to amandatory driving prohibition, which shall be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed in respect of that offence.
In short, the bill introduced by the hon. member of the Canadian Alliance is intended to increase the gravity of offences if they were committed during street racing.
We, and young people themselves, are beginning to understand that youth often see cars as a means toward freedom, getting out, getting away. WIth a car, a person can do just about anything he wants.
Young men and women—for both sexes are now attracted by cars—see cars as a means of empowerment, but they need to understand that parliaments are enacting legislation to stop them from abusing that power. If, for one reason or another, this member's bill is not passed by this House, one day another Parliament, whether the House of Commons or a provincial legislature, will pass far more stringent measures on street racing.
It is important for young people to understand that no matter how fine the car is—it can become a toy—it can also become a deadly weapon. The races that fascinate young people and raise their adrenalin are dangerous and can cause death. Politicians cannot allow this to happen. We cannot risk having people injured or killed because they happen to end up on the street where the race is being held. We cannot allow this.
Parliament must send a clear message to those who indulge in these excesses. That is the message we must send our young people. The text of the bill before us, at first glance, seems once again to focus on criminalizing the situation. However, the role of Parliament is to try to get society to show self-respect. Young people have to understand that.
It is true they have fabulous machines. Thousands of dollars are spent on these cars. That is great for shows. However, a person who owns such a vehicle wants to see it in action. Increasingly, companies are giving consumers the opportunity to test drive these vehicles on race tracks. I encourage people to use such tracks to see how well these cars perform.
However, young people must understand that they should never use their cars to race on the streets, roads or highways.
Speed limits must be respected. That is the message. It is more important than criminalizing certain activities.
Some may think people are still out to get them. That is not the message. We simply want them to be able to live with the other people in our society, with those who do not choose speed.
Society is making a choice when it puts speed limits on highways and streets. Everyone is expected to obey them, the young, the old, and those in the middle like me. It is important that we all be able to respect each other.
That is, generally, the message we are trying to send. It is important. If there had been no speeding, if there had not been street racing, if there had not been accidents, and often, accident victims, we would not be here today discussing a bill such as that introduced by the hon. member. We are doing so because there have been excesses.
Often, young people do not discourage each other. That is, they encourage each other, when they should be doing the opposite. If they respected themselves and respected their cars, they would tell their friends who speed, “Do not do that, because one day, they will stop us from doing it.”
And that is exactly what is happening. In fact, legislatures are discussing and banning the use of nitroglycerine and many other things.
In my opinion, in some respects, the young people themselves must be able to help each other obey the laws. When the laws are not respected, we, as members of Parliament, must ensure that the majority of the public can lead a peaceful life. That is the purpose behind this bill.
Obviously the method often used to discourage is the stick, not the carrot. An offence must be punished. So we have legislation setting out offences. The bill introduced by the hon. member from the Canadian Alliance proposes to toughen the penalties for street racing.
In that regard, we must commend the bill. Obviously, if it is before us today, it is because there have been problems. However, aside from the fact that laws like this lean heavily on the stick, I hope that young people understand that they have to spread the word among themselves that existing laws must be obeyed.
Obeying the law means going to places specifically designed to accommodate this kind of activity. I commend the business people who, increasingly, are developing facilities for car racing. Yes, they are doing that. There are such facilities. I therefore encourage young people to race in appropriate facilities. Elsewhere, on our streets, roads and highways, they must obey the law.
Obviously, this would have the advantage of preventing similar bills from being introduced and legislation passed because there has been abuse.
That is the point I am trying to make to the young men and women who see their cars as a means toward freedom. That is true and that is good. It is true that you can do anything you want with them. These small cars have more powerful engines than the biggest cars we had in the days when I enjoyed speeding. I am not saying that we did it all the time, but occasionally we went over the speed limit. Still, offenders must be punished. That is how we end up with this kind of bill.
Naturally, I urge all hon. members to support the member for Surrey North, but more importantly, I urge young people to obey existing laws to make sure that bills like this one are never passed in our parliaments.