Mr. Speaker, is the Minister of Health not somewhat naive in believing a law will solve the problem of gangs?
It is true that we had problems with gangs in Quebec. He mentioned it earlier. However, we solved them without enacting a law. Since we succeeded without the proposed legislation, what is the usefulness of this law?
He gives us examples of carnage in Toronto. Can he promise us today that there will be no more carnage in the streets because of his very effective law?
He speaks of weapons smuggled into Canada. It would be better to talk about establishing a police force to patrol the entire border rather than banning weapons and imposing longer sentences.
My question for the minister is as follows: does he believe that he can really reduce the crime rate simply by increasing sentences? Is this not 17th-century thinking?