Mr. Speaker, as parliamentarians we are entrusted with something special: the duty to do what is right, not what is easy. What is right is very clear. It is right to build a criminal justice system that protects Canadians and protects the most vulnerable, that listens to the stories of victims and that recognizes the profound impact that every life lost and every family shattered truly carries.
Behind every crime stat there is a name, a face and a family that will never be the same. I have met with those families. They are parents who will never see their child again. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents and communities are now divided into before and after, all because a repeat violent offender was released in their communities over and over again. The stories stay with me: the heartbreak, the tears and the silence when we have no other words left to share with them.
We must ask ourselves how many more headlines we have to read, how many more victims will have to suffer and how many more families have to be broken before we finally take serious action in this chamber. Victims are feeling like they are the ones living on house arrest, looking over their shoulders and changing their routines, all while the criminals walk in and out of jail scot-free. Victims who have had their lives permanently changed are the ones facing life sentences. It is not the criminals; they are out on the streets, enjoying life.
As such, the jail not bail bill, which we consulted on right across this country, has one guiding principle. It is that repeat violent offenders, that small class of folks who terrorize our communities, should not be released on our streets. The bill is about restoring balance in our system. It is about restoring deterrence. The Liberals can heckle me all they want. They can sit here and heckle all they want. They have been doing that for a long time, but the bill is about restoring trust in our criminal justice system when far too many Canadians have lost faith in it.
My colleagues and I have travelled the country, coast to coast to coast. We have had over two dozen town halls. We have met with thousands of Canadians, families, victims and law enforcement. We have tens of thousands of signatures on petitions. The message we hear is very clear. It is that Canadians are terrified. They are fed up. They have anxiety. Sadly, they are hurting, but despite that pain, they still have hope that we can make the right call in this chamber and put forward solid policy ideas that could restore safe streets in our country yet again.
That is why my bill offers over a dozen clear, concrete solutions to the criminal justice system that would prioritize public safety, that would put the rights of victims first for a change and that would make our communities the thriving communities we used to have. As such, I encourage all members, with the vote coming up on Wednesday, to send a clear message to criminals that enough is enough, but also a clearer message to victims that we see them, we hear them and we stand with them.
On this side of the House, Conservatives are united. We are united in fighting for safe streets. To those Canadians watching at home, they should not lose faith or give up, but hold on, because it is in the darkest chapters we have the brightest lights shining. We will stand with the victims. We will stand with law enforcement. We will stand with every single Canadian right across this country, and we will put the rights of victims first because we know they are worth fighting for.