Madam Speaker, four years ago, six Canadians were murdered at the Quebec City mosque. The murderer was sentenced to 40 years in prison without parole, which is what the law allows for in the case of multiple murders.
Yesterday, the Quebec Court of Appeal reduced that sentence to 25 years. The president of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City said:
It's a sad day...It's not enough...he can get out in 25 years with good behaviour...but the people who died are gone, they will never come back.
The consecutive sentencing provision for multiple murders was enacted in a law passed in 2011. This is not a Conservative law. Yes, it was passed by our government, but it has remained in force for five years under the Liberal government. The appeal court judges called this law absurd, heinous and cruel.
In our mind, what is absurd, heinous and cruel is for six Muslim Canadians to gather at the Quebec City mosque and be murdered by a criminal.