Mr. Chair, I share my colleagues', both my Conservative and Liberal colleagues', sadness that the Liberal cabinet did not support the private member's bill to include fetal alcohol syndrome considerations in sentencing.
If the government had voted yes, if it had not voted its own member's bill down, it would have achieved the truth and reconciliation call to action number 34. The government promised it was going to implement all of them. That was a lost opportunity.
Another one, also one of the calls to action, call to action 32 asks the government, and this was a campaign promise, to reverse the mandatory minimum sentencing brought in by the Conservative government. My colleague sits on the status of women committee with me. We have heard Debra Parkes, Jonathan Rudin, Rajwant Mangat, all legal professionals on the issue of indigenous women in the justice system and the incarceration system. They have all said the government should undo the mandatory minimum sentencing requirement and allow judges judicial discretion. It would have a huge impact for women in prison and their families.
Will my colleague work with me to have the government start tomorrow to undo that damage? It could be done.