Madam Speaker, the member's question is a very reasonable one. The fact is that primarily this increases the penalties and there is also the fact that the Canadian public is so intense about some of the abusive situations. A number of people have mentioned it in their speeches. One story related to us was about horses in the Yukon. We will have those penalties available to prosecutors so that when these cases come up, as they have in the past, the prosecutors would have better tools to work with. There is a great desire on the part of Canadians to have these cases come up.
There is another way this bill can help. By getting these statistics and the information out on the link between domestic violence and cruelty to animals, I think it helps in the preventive stage for those people who work in both cases. Animal welfare societies are starting to work with other agencies and share information and launch coordinated campaigns about family violence and animal cruelty.
For instance, at one time the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, along with the victim services division of the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, the B.C./Yukon Society of Transition Houses, the British Columbia Veterinary Medical Association, and the B.C. Institute Against Family Violence launched the violence link project. The project is aimed at increasing the awareness about the animal-human violence link and promoting more effective cross-reporting between law enforcement and animal care and social service agencies in British Columbia.
With this knowledge, I think we can see that these projects need our support. More can always be done, but encouraging the provincial governments, which are responsible for child welfare, to continue their involvement in these multidisciplinary projects will help get the message out. Hopefully we can prevent some tragedies.