Mr. Speaker, I was not going to enter the debate on this bill that is before us, an act to amend the Criminal Code as it relates to the serious and growing problem of street racing. However, I listened very carefully to the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie who has just spoken, and I know that my colleague in the NDP caucus, the justice critic, will be speaking to indicate our support for the bill. I was very much moved by the comments made by the member to speak briefly and pose a question to him. It arises out of two things.
I think it is the case that we are trying to reflect, hopefully all members in this House, upon the quiet dignity of Chuck Cadman, who carried this campaign forward to strengthen the laws arising out of a deeply personal tragedy. The comments made by the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie are a reflection of that.
One had the sense that Chuck Cadman, in his determination and his humility, really an attribute with which a lot of us in this House are not overly endowed, was always concerned not about wreaking revenge but about trying to do everything possible to establish a preventive framework. He wanted to ensure that the horrible tragedy in the loss of his and his wife Dona's son was never repeated because we failed to put in place the legal mechanisms to serve as a deterrent and preventive measure.
I had a similar episode in my own life which did not result in the same tragedy. My mother, at the age of 70, was driving her older sister on her 75th birthday on a country road when a drunk driver who was involved in street racing, highway racing, with another drunk driver literally hit them head-on on a hairpin turn and sliced the car in half. The fact that they were not both killed was really beyond a miracle.
My question arises around the issue of how to strike that balance. I remember my mother was very reluctant to go to court because it was not about revenge. It was about taking responsibility, so that no one else would ever face the unbelievable threat to their safety that they encountered resulting in even worse consequences. The question often arises around how we use mandatory sentencing. Often, the demands for severe mandatory sentencing provisions arise out of a sense of revenge as opposed to a framework which would give a judge the leeway to apply that experience, wisdom and judgment to ensure that it is driven out of a sense of prevention. I am wondering--