Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out right off that no government, Conservative or Liberal, has ever introduced in Parliament bills that put the rights of criminals ahead of those of law abiding citizens. Quebec, like Canada, enjoys a level of security that compares favourably with other democracies. No system is perfect, and the Bloc is prepared to collaborate with whatever improvements are needed to the justice system.
Thus, we have been proposing since 2007 the abolition of parole after one sixth of a sentence has been served and even introduced a bill to that effect, which the government rejected. We refused, however, to blindly imitate the worst of American practice because it leads nowhere. In the States, they imprison proportionally six or seven times the number imprisoned in Canada, and the crime rate is higher. The chance of being a victim of homicide is three and a half times greater there than it is here. That is what comes of having more people in prison and more unregulated weapons.
The Bloc Québécois advocates a justice system that is truly effective in reducing crime, a system based on the individualization of sentences. This approach has served us well and continues to do so. It must not be chucked out for short sighted electoral purposes.