Mr. Speaker, I have a correction for my colleague. Many of these mandatory minimums were introduced under a Liberal government, going back as far as 1976, the Pierre Trudeau government. When he talks about a Harper failure, that is an attempt at a cheap shot that fails.
As I mentioned in my speech, when we are talking about simple possession, we are talking about people who individually have a small possession, who are not out trafficking, who are not committing robbery with a firearm, or extortion with a firearm, or weapons trafficking, or discharging firearms with intent, or prison breach, or sexual assault or kidnapping. Law enforcement in my riding is not asking me to reduce sentences for those cases.
We can deal with the issue of addictions or substance abuse of individuals. I agree with him that our prisons are overpopulated for certain demographics, absolutely. However, the answer for those individuals is getting better treatment, not sending the message that on these numerous serious offences, we are going to lower sentences or give more discretion on them. I do not believe that is what Canadian law enforcement wants.