Madam Speaker, before I address the member's question directly, I want to thank him for the conversations we have had and for his advocacy in advancing some of the specific reforms that are included in this bill.
This bill was not necessarily intended to revisit the penalties associated with every offence that exists in the Criminal Code. Of course, serious offences deserve serious penalties, but it was important for me to address the issue of contempt of court, because frankly, one of the themes carried throughout the text of this bill is the underlying culture of a lack of respect for the law.
Members can see the measures we put in place to address that, which deal with violent repeat offenders and address the number of crimes that are outstanding, but I was not satisfied that we had appropriate penalties in place for those who would openly defy orders of the court. It is important to me that we not only have penalties associated with the criminal activity that takes place in communities, but that we have a regime that will protect the integrity of the court's processes if all other offences are going to be treated with respect by Canadians writ large.