Mr. Speaker, in response to the member's question, of course we take away rights from individuals when they commit a crime.
However, who was it who established the rights we are going to take away? It was this place, this Parliament, through the Criminal Code, that determined what rights we would address for various crimes. We are the ones who set out the sentences, the penalties and the options that are available. It is those of us who gather here who have made those decisions. We set out the limitations and gave the courts what we believed were the appropriate ranges of sentences that should be applied in each individual case. I think it is very clear that we set out what those responses were to be.
Let us go beyond that. What the court has clearly stated is that we did not have the right under the charter to take away those voting rights. What we have to do in this place is re-examine this to see what we as a legislature can do.
I still believe, and I do not believe that I will be doubted, that this House of Commons, this Parliament in its totality, is the place where we make decisions. We have the ultimate authority. It is not the court that holds the ultimate authority and, therefore, to criticize the court is inappropriate in this case.