Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is absolutely right. Such is not the choice our society made. Our society has chosen to trust the judiciary, which has to consider each case individually.
The problem with wanting to punish and imprison at all cost is that we risk putting criminals who could be rehabilitated behind bars, where they will automatically be associating with more hardened criminals, who in turn will gladly teach them how to commit crimes without landing themselves in jail for it. That is the whole concept we are discussing.
My hon. colleague is absolutely right: we are talking about social trends. One trend in the United States is right-wing Republican conservatism. It is working its way across the border, and I believe that we should resist that trend. Let us show that our society is a more fair and equitable one and that we are better able to facilitate social rehabilitation than Americans are as a society.
I repeat, we must resist this onslaught by the Conservative and Republican right. I think this should be done by voting against Bill C-9.