Madam Speaker, I have been enjoying listening to my colleagues in this debate. I do not have a full 10-minute speech, but I did want to briefly make a couple of observations on the record.
I have heard some of my colleagues speak in favour of the bill and make what I think is a very important and compelling point, which is that when someone has committed an offence and is called before the Parole Board, often victims' families are involved in those parole hearings, and their presence in those hearings can be very painful in the context of hearing about and reliving those discussions.
I also heard colleagues from other parties make the observation that if someone has been through a process of rehabilitation, and if the determination is that the person is no longer a risk to society, then it is not in the public interest for that person to continue to be incarcerated.
I want to briefly observe that I do not think these points are necessarily incompatible and that there can be a reconciliation of those objectives through perhaps broader reforms to the parole system. For instance, reforms could require a two-step application or that an initial step be surpassed before families are involved in a hearing. That is not in the bill currently before us. However, I think it is important for us, as much as we can, to look for opportunities to reconcile these dual objectives, which are both part of our criminal justice discussion.
I think all members would accept that if someone has been through a complete rehabilitation program and is no longer a risk to society, it is not in the public interest for the person to continue to be incarcerated. That continuing incarceration creates a cost to society, a cost to the system, resources that could be better spent on programs that prevent crime in the first place. These decisions do not require a strict binary.
It sounds like this bill is going to go to committee, and I look forward to the process of study that is going to happen there. However, I would also encourage members to contemplate legislative alternatives that could potentially bring about reforms to the parole process that would achieve both objectives and address the concerns that have been legitimately raised by members on both sides of the debate on this bill.