Mr. Speaker, in the final debate before Liberal members, supporters and Facebook friends decide who will lead the third party, there was a new focus on keeping Canadians safe and standing up for victims.
On this side of the House we welcome any reversal of the Liberal soft-on-crime position, which goes back to Pierre Trudeau-era solicitor general Jean-Pierre Goyer, who said it was time to take the focus off public safety and put it on the rights of convicted criminals.
It is important to remind Canadians that it was the Liberal Party that opposed enshrining in law the rights of victims to receive information on their attacker. The Liberals opposed giving victims the right to participate fully in parole hearings, and they opposed funding for the National Crime Prevention Centre, including the youth gang prevention fund. That is on top of their continued opposition to tougher sentences for serious and violent criminals.
Canadians know they can always count on the Liberal Party to put the rights of convicted criminals before the rights of victims.