Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith for her advocacy on behalf of women.
What we are looking at is the principle of restraint that is being legislated here. We are looking at not imposing unnecessary conditions, but giving freedom to the judges to determine whether mandatory minimum sentences are the way to go.
The job of the judges and the judicial process is to apply the proper tools. Our job is to give them the tools from which they can choose to use, depending on an individual case and on their expertise in this matter.