Mr. Speaker, why is it that tragic crimes keep happening with criminals on parole? Madam Levesque has paid with her life. What is going on that we are putting our public at risk? Perhaps it is because of the changes the government made to the Parole Board in 2017. It is not just my colleagues and I who think this; Quebec Justice Minister Sonia LeBel is also demanding answers. She also questioned whether members of the Parole Board were sufficiently equipped to handle these cases.
According to Dave Blackburn, a former member of the Parole Board, of the 16 members appointed since 2017, only two experienced members were reappointed. That means there were 14 new people in these positions. In other words, most of the members had no experience in risk assessment and were not familiar with the parole process. That is an appalling situation that must change. That is why we introduced this motion.
The Parole Board members appointed by the Liberals showed a serious lack of judgment in this matter, and they must suffer the consequences.
Past Parole Board members also said that Liberal changes in 2017 resulted in the majority of board members being replaced with people who had no prior experience.
Dave Blackburn, a former board member, told CTV, “If you don't have experienced board members and just new people, some mistakes can happen, some issues can happen.” Obviously, a very serious situation did happen.