Mr. Speaker, in response to my colleague's remarks, I should clarify that we are not giving the courts carte blanche. Judges do not have complete freedom in this area. Both our colleagues and the population should be aware that there is already a solid set of rules in place.
Currently, four conditions must be met before a judge can consider conditional sentencing. The rules are already in place.
The offence for which the person has been convicted must not be punishable by a minimum term of imprisonment; the offender should be sentenced to less than two years; conditional sentencing must not endanger the safety of the community; and the judge must be satisfied that the conditional sentence would be consistent with the general principles of proportionality.
There is already a set of rules in place that includes some room to manoeuvre. I believe that the government's proposed new criteria would destroy the balance already in place in the legislation.
Individuals are usually sentenced to less than two years. If this sentence is eliminated, provincial prisons will feel the financial impact. The federal government will end up creating additional costs. The irony is that money spent on rehabilitation will now be spent building prisons.
Given these consequences, I agree with my colleague that this bill, as it is currently written, is unacceptable. It must be reworked; if it is not, the House must reject it.