Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech. Some points were not surprising, but were particularly concerning, especially the reference to the Minister of Public Works, who said that we were just following the wind. But the member confirmed that we have been proposing eliminating parole after one-sixth of a sentence since 2007.
The Conservatives are trying to take advantage of the mood in the country and among people who have been victimized by these types of fraud. Our colleague also mentioned that for cases of fraud or crimes involving large amounts of money, most sentences were longer than two years. The government is now saying that for $1 million, it is two years.
In Mr. Lacroix's case, who cheated some 9,000 people out of about $141 million, a judge sentenced him to more than 13 years. There is a message to be found there too. He was sentenced to 13 years, but how much time will he serve? Two years and a few months? If he had received a sentence of one day per person victimized, for the 9,000 people affected, that would have amounted to 24 years. Even with 24 years, one-sixth of the sentence would be four years. So there would be a two-year sentence for $1 million, but a four-year sentence for $141 million, by serving one-sixth of the sentence.
Furthermore, the government refuses to do anything about tax havens. The Minister of Public Works will not budge, claiming that it is difficult to organize. But eliminating parole after one-sixth of a sentence has been served, that is relatively easy.
I would like to hear what my colleague thinks about these points, which I believe are very important.