Madam Speaker, I am touched. I want to thank my colleague and our colleagues on the government side.
More seriously, the bill the government is introducing is part of a continuum. In 1997, the House passed Bill C-95, which, for the first time, criminalized membership in criminal organizations.
Bill C-95 was based on three criteria. There had to be five members who had committed an offence punishable by more than five years during the preceding five years. The police felt this was not workable. It was extremely difficult to lay charges under the provisions of Bill C-95.
However, Bill C-95, introduced in 1997, did have some positive aspects. For example, it extended warrants for electronic surveillance, which used to be valid for only three months. It is not easy to get a warrant for electronic surveillance. You have to go to a justice of the peace and document why a warrant is needed. Bill C-95 made it easier to get warrants for electronic surveillance and extended them to a maximum of one year.
In order to successfully lock up and charge ringleaders such as “Mom” Boucher, shadowing is needed. The use of informants is indispensable in criminal law. “Mom” Boucher would never have been convicted if it were not for informants and shadowing. Electronic surveillance warrants also play an extremely important role.
Over the past few years the witness protection program has also been improved. It is now possible to get a new identity, to be protected and to receive compensation. Not that we are talking a lot of money. We do not give $3 million to every person who helps solve an investigation. Nevertheless, a lot has been accomplished: electronic surveillance warrants and new organized crime related offences.
Quebeckers are very familiar with journalist Michel Auger. He is a renowned, respected and extremely courageous crime reporter. He was attacked in the parking lot of the Journal de Montréal on Iberville Street and shot. After that attack, provisions were added to the legislation in regard to intimidating journalists, public servants, those who administer the law and, of course, elected officials.
All this lead us to provide additional tools to fight organized crime more effectively. I will only give the example of the Hells Angels. During their good years, they had 39 chapters; today, they have 34. There are about 500 of them and most are considered to be members of criminal organizations. It is extremely difficult to prosecute them.
Today, we are going further. We are reversing the burden of proof. We are allowing the Crown to initiate proceedings against individuals in the upper echelons of organized crime. It goes without saying that if a person is found guilty of a punishable offence that carries a sentence of more than five years, that person is not a rank and file member of a criminal organization.
So, this is a very positive legislative measure. It was requested by the Canadian Police Association and by a number of stakeholders in civil society. We must be grateful to all the parliamentarians who worked to have the Criminal Code amended and turned into a much more effective and functional tool than had been the case until now. Just think of the years 1995, 1996 and 1997, when a war was going on in our communities, including Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, Rosemont, Saint-Nicolas, on the outskirts of Quebec City, or on the South Shore. This was going on in our communities. It was very frightening for our fellow citizens who, of course, did make representations to us, their elected officials.
I thank my hon. colleagues for their friendship and, in some cases, their affection, and I am grateful to them for listening to me during five additional minutes.