Mr. Speaker, as members know, I represent the poorest riding in Canada, the lowest income riding in the whole country. As such, even though I am reluctant to say, there is a direct connection between poverty and being exposed to crime and violence. When I survey the constituents whom I represent, the overwhelmingly top of mind issue by a factor of four to one is the issue of crime, safety and the violence in the crime they are exposed to on an all too frequent basis.
I know my colleague from Vancouver Island and I share some similar views regarding incarceration as the avenue of recourse for this type of social malaise. However, is he aware that the United States has the highest rate of incarceration anywhere in the world? It imprisons about 700 people for every 100,000 of population. Canada is second of all the countries in the developed nations. It imprisons 160 people per 100,000 of population. Most of western Europe imprisons less than 100 people per 100,000.
If the logic of Bill C-9 were true, if the empirical evidence were such that putting more people in jail would make the streets safer, I would be inclined to vote for the bill tomorrow. I would have to do so on behalf of the people whom I represent. However, in the place that has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, it also has overwhelmingly the highest incidence of violent crime. There is no direct connection to locking up more people and having safer streets.
I am a member of the NDP party, but that does not mean we are soft on crime. If anything, I come from an area where we want to crack down on crime and make the streets safer. However, the option being put to us is not going to have the desired effect.
Therefore, does my colleague from Vancouver Island shares those views in the jurisdiction that he represents?