Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am saddened to present a petition collected in my riding of Etobicoke Centre in memory of Boris Cikovic, a teenager who was gunned down by thugs trying to rob him.
This time of year is very hard for Boris' parents and his many friends in the neighbourhood where he lived and where his promising young life was snuffed out by a bullet that terrible day, October 3, 2008.
This second petition, signed by over 500 constituents, comes on the heels of a 700-person petition last week.
The petitioners urge the government to get tough on crime by passing my private member's bill, Bill C-537. This bill would ensure that offences involving firearms are automatically tried by a superior court. It would also toughen bail conditions by forcing those accused of crimes involving firearms to have to demonstrate in court why they should not be detained in custody before trial.
The individual charged with the murder of Boris allegedly refuses to co-operate by naming his two accomplices and is out on bail.
Boris' parents, Vesna and Davorin, struggle daily knowing they may actually be passing their son's murderer in their own neighbourhood.