Mr. Speaker, two years ago a promising grade 12 student and constituent, Boris Cikovic, was gunned down by teen thugs trying to rob him. His accused killer is out on bail enjoying life and allegedly refusing to assist police in identifying his accomplices.
It is impossible to imagine the despair and sorrow felt by Boris' parents, Vesna and Davorin. As Vesna explained to the Toronto Sun:
I have no chance to see him growing up to [become] a beautiful man. Justice is not going to give me grandchildren....
And the other guy, he is out, he is free on bail.
In memory of Boris and in the hopes of stopping this from happening in the future, I introduced Bill C-537 to toughen bail conditions and adding offences involving firearms to those that may only be tried by a superior court.
By passing this bill, those accused of a firearm offence would have to demonstrate to the court why they should not be detained in custody before trial.
As Boris' mother, Vesna, says:
[S]omething has to be changed. My son's life shouldn't be in vain