Mr. Speaker, I will ask my colleague the same question I asked earlier.
Is there any evidence to prove that keeping people behind bars longer reduces crime?
The member for Edmonton Gateway gave a rather simplistic answer to my question. He said that when someone is behind bars, they cannot commit crimes in the community. That is true, but eventually they will be released and re-enter society. In 1999, the U.S. Attorney General compiled 50 studies on 300,000 inmates. They found there is no link between longer periods of incarceration and the crime rate. Instead, when people spend more time in prison, they learn things. When they get out, they run a greater risk of reoffending.
What is my colleague's response to that?