Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am saddened to present a petition that was collected in my riding in memory of Boris Cikovic, a teenager who was gunned down by thugs trying to rob him.
Collected by Boris' parents and friends in the neighbourhood where he lived and where his promising young life was snuffed out by a bullet on October 3, 2008, the petition was signed by over 600 constituents.
The petitioners urge the government to pass my private members Bill C-537 and make offences involving firearms be automatically tried by a superior court. The bill would also toughen bail conditions by requiring those accused of crimes involving firearms to have to demonstrate in court why they should not be detained in custody before trial.
The man charged with Boris' murder is out on bail. At the same time, Mr. and Mrs. Cikovic are forced to struggle with the knowledge that they may be passing their son's murderer on the very streets of their own neighbourhood where Boris was killed.