Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Sherbrooke for his question.
A bill was introduced before the House to abolish the two sections that allow for parole after one-sixth of a sentence has been served. It was not complicated. The Conservative government was asked to pass it at all stages in the House, but it refused to do so. It has some explaining to do to the public regarding why it refused to pass a very simple bill at all stages, a bill that would have eliminated the practice of granting parole after one-sixth of a sentence has been served.
Perhaps the Conservatives still had something else in mind—that is possible—but there was no reason to delay that. If Vincent Lacroix should happen to be released in January 2011, at one-sixth of his sentence, the Minister of Public Works—although I must say, I doubt he will still be the minister by then—will have some explaining to do. He will have to live with the fact that, because of partisan politics, he refused to work with the Bloc Québécois to find a real solution to deal with crooks. In that regard, I think the Conservatives will have some explaining to do in the days ahead, especially in committee, regarding their refusal to help eliminate the practice of parole after one-sixth of the sentence.
In closing, I would remind the House that this proposal has been in the Bloc's platform since 2007. In their 2007 budget, the Conservatives put an end to double deductions of interest. Today, we are still proposing the elimination of parole after one-sixth of a sentence, but the Conservatives are backpedalling on their 2007 proposal concerning double deductions of interest for Canadian investments abroad.