Madam Speaker, I can assure the member and all members of this House that it is devastating for non-profit groups that are doing barbecues, car washes and whatever they possibly can to raise funds for organizations to help community members and community events, to have somebody come along, take that money, put it into a slot machine, gamble it away at cards or spend it on holidays.
Oftentimes I have seen clubs that have had to close down as a result of being defrauded and even members of that club actually having to put in money to cover bills, which is atrocious. I do agree with the member that having minimum mandatory sentences is necessary to give guidance to the judges and justices across this country so that not only do we have consistency across the country but we have transparency in the judges' decisions.
It would ensure that people who do these crimes know what will happen to them, know they will spend time in jail. We not only need to deter these criminals from reoffending, as this particular bill addresses, but also others who see what they can get away with, that if they want to steal $2 million and get six months in jail, they see that is not going to happen anymore.
Under this bill, it will not happen. I would welcome the Bloc and the NDP to come on board with this House and work with us to get this legislation passed and to get other tough on crime and criminals legislation passed as well.
It has taken us a long time to move forward from where we were prior to taking government, but we are moving forward and we are picking the best pieces of legislation to do so and getting good results for Canadians.