Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise and speak about Bill C-9, which seeks to amend the Criminal Code. To describe the purpose of the bill, I will read the summary:
This enactment amends section 742.1 of the Criminal Code to provide that a person convicted of an offence prosecuted by way of indictment for which the maximum term of imprisonment is ten years or more is not eligible for a conditional sentence.
To help the people who are watching understand, I should mention that the concept of a conditional sentence is quite simple. When an individual receives a conditional sentence, it means that he serves his sentence in the community. He remains free as long as he abides by the mandatory, discretionary conditions the court has imposed.
This is the system we have at present. Our society has developed a certain degree of judicial autonomy. Based on case law, past events and the decisions handed down throughout the history of the courts, a certain procedure has been established whereby judges can analyze each case on its own merits and choose the most appropriate sentence. That is the society we have. In my opinion, the vast majority of Canadians were satisfied with this until today.
With the introduction of Bill C-9 by the Conservative government, we are seeing another opinion. Obviously, in any society, there are always people who are dissatisfied. The Conservatives are exhibiting a republican streak that would have them take away more and more power from the judiciary. They want to reduce judges' authority, simply because they themselves want to dictate the punishment in the Criminal Code. That way, if you commit a crime, the sentence is set, and all the courts do is determine whether or not you are guilty.
This is dangerous. This perception, this concept of the judicial system, this republican conservatism is what we are seeing in the United States. When a society functions in this way, as American society does, then we have to look at whether this helps reduce the number of crimes. In the case of the Americans, experts agree that crime is not on the decline in the United States, it is on the rise. This is understandable. It is simply because sentences are increasingly strict. Offenders figure that they might as well commit enough crimes to get enough money to hire lawyers to get them off.
There have been some highly-publicized court cases in the United States. I do not want to name names. It is because of this that we have this situation. It is because of this that an entire right wing is emerging conditions de surveillance in our society and this republican conservatism. We associate images with certain individuals. If the trial of an individual found guilty has been highly publicized, everyone watching from their living rooms has played a part in determining the sentence.
Establishing the framework for a society is much more complex than that. We must stop enacting legislation and guiding our society based on the cases of a few individuals hyped by the media. This is why the Americans have become so conservative, have shifted to the republican right and have increased sentences. We end up by thinking that every time someone does something, a sentence should be imposed automatically. That cannot be done.
In our society, we are still presumed innocent until proven guilty by the state. That is the hard reality. We must abide by this, that is the way it is and I believe that is a good thing. That is what our ancestors chose to do. It is thus that our parents, grandparents and great grandparents decided to shape our society. We are innocent until proven otherwise and we have given the judiciary the responsibility of determining the sentence.
For this reason the Criminal Code contains the possibility of imposing conditional sentences for certain offences—that is sentences served in the community—accompanied by very serious supervisory conditions.
Since 2000, we have seen a certain shift, thanks to an increase in right-wing, republican conservatism. Courts are imposing much more severe conditions on people under supervised or conditional release. This is probably a good thing; we are following this trend and the courts are adapting.
Yet this is not enough for the right-wing republican conservatives. They believe that minimum mandatory sentences must be imposed immediately. In the United States, this has had negative results. Knowing that they will receive a lengthy sentence, certain people commit a crime and simply ensure that they have enough money to pay lawyers to get them acquitted. This is what the U.S. is up against. Sentences have not been reduced—quite the contrary—and there are more and more criminals. However, certain law offices are making plenty of money simply to get people acquitted who might otherwise have pleaded guilty if they were likely to receive a conditional sentence, supervised by the community. Perhaps they would have decided not to fight the system.
It is time to stop thinking that judges wake up in the morning, and if they get up on the right side of the bed, decide that everyone who appears before them that day will serve their sentences in the community. That is not how it works. Yet the right-wing republican conservatives seems to be saying that the judiciary's 100 years of history since Confederation and everything decided by the courts are no longer valid. Today, these judges are no longer good enough. In order to be good enough, they would have to be right-wing republican conservatives. This is not what our society wants. This is not what our ancestors wanted. In our society, the accused is innocent until proven guilty. Sentences are determined based on responsibility.
I would like to remind the House of the criteria that exist. Before imposing a conditional sentence, judges must consider four elements.
First, the offender must be convicted of an offence with no minimum sentence. When the Criminal Code specifies a minimum sentence, the judge imposes it. It seems that, more and more, right-wing republican conservatives want to impose minimum sentences for every section of the Criminal Code.
Second, the individual must be given a sentence of less than two years. Even when the individual is charged with an offence which could carry a sentence of ten years or more, if they are given a sentence of less than two years, a conditional sentence to be served in the community may be considered.
Third, the conditional sentence must not pose a danger to the community. The judges analyze, call witnesses and people who may influence the person's behaviour, and experts analyze the behaviour. They then decide whether or not the individual will be released into society.
Fourth, the judge must be convinced that a conditional sentence is in keeping with the general principles of proportionality of the sentence. Jurisprudence has established a certain proportionality, but it is the judge who decides. In our society, we must take this into account. We must stop dictating. We must accept that our judiciary is comprised of competent individuals who have been appointed and who have the requisite training to impose sentences. This is how the courts have operated since Canada came into being.
Bill C-9 will add a new criterion: the offence committed must not be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years or more. It does not refer to the sentence handed down to an individual, it refers to an offence for which the term of imprisonment may be ten years or more. They are not necessarily very serious offences. For example, theft over $5,000—such as the theft of a car—is punishable by a sentence of 10 years or more, and so is obtaining credit by fraud. This type of crime is committed often and it should be punished. However, if it is a person's first offence the judge will take that into consideration. Theft from mail also may carry a term of imprisonment of 10 years or more. Offences such as providing a false prospectus, using a false passport, fabricating evidence, are all punishable by a term of imprisonment of 10 years or more. Under Bill C-9, even if the crimes are committed only once by an individual, a conditional sentence served in the community would no longer be a possibility.
To conclude, the Bloc Québécois will vote against this bill.