Mr. Speaker, your home, my home, our home, let us bring it home and stand with petitioners in Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon who want federal action to combat the vandalism and theft of telecommunications infrastructure.
While these crimes are not considered to cause actual danger to life in the context of the Criminal Code, and thus are not prosecuted as severely as they otherwise would be, they can in fact be life-threatening. Damaged and stolen cables could lead to local residents being unable to call 911 in the event of an emergency, or keep up to date on emergency weather situations in ridings like mine.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to enact tougher penalties for vandalizing or stealing telecommunications infrastructure. When seconds matter, Canadians must be able to contact emergency services without delay.