House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was justice.

Last in Parliament September 2008, as Conservative MP for Calgary Northeast (Alberta)

Won his last election, in 2006, with 65% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Criminal Code September 23rd, 1996

Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the member for Portneuf. I do not see very much difference in viewpoints by this member, certainly by his party, to that of the Liberals, especially to that of the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

The member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce says nothing can replace the life of the victim. In the same breath he also says it is a waste of a life to keep a murderer in jail. That is what came about from the architect of section 745.

I see no difference in what the member for Portneuf is saying to that which the architect of section 745 has said. I would like him to tell me and the rest of this country that the murderer of Constable Shelever, Roy Glaremin, is no more or less of a vicious murderer than Olson or of the murderer of Mrs. Morrison's seven-year old daughter who as a mute and who could not even scream out for help. Is he any more or any less of a vicious murderer than Olson?

Criminal Code September 23rd, 1996

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to debate Bill C-45.

It never ceases to amaze me to listen to members opposite as well as to the official opposition. When it comes right down to it, they think very much the same when it comes to getting tough on crime and on criminals in this society. I note the Bloc members would like to liberalize criminal justice to such a point that I do not believe they would want to throw anyone in jail. They made that very clear in their support and the amendments to many of the proposals they put forward on section 745. I do not really see a whole lot of difference between the Liberals who are bringing forth this legislation and the Bloc members who want to liberalize things even further.

That is not what Canadians are saying. They are complaining right across the country for substantive changes to the Criminal Code. They want a government that is serious about that but we are not getting that message. There is a lot of rhetoric on the opposite side about getting tough on crime and coming up with some very significant pieces of legislation to do it but the government is not doing it.

The government is making more law, but what is that law really saying? On one side Bill C-45 comes forward and on the other side the Minister of Justice brings forward bills that would make indictable offences dual procedure offences. That is talking out of both sides of the mouth. The government is getting tough on one side and weakening on the other. What do we end up with as a result? Somewhere in between it is a status quo type of bill, but that is not what Canadians want.

Section 745 symbolizes the sorry state the Liberal social engineers and soft on crime politicians have put upon the criminal justice system. It symbolizes the welfare state criminology philosophy that pervades corrections, parole and sentencing in Canada today. It is a philosophy whose key promoters argue wrongly that one, criminals commit crime primarily because they themselves are victims, and two, that crime including murder is mostly a product of social conditions. In short, it is a philosophy that draws attention away from individual responsibility and personal accountability for one's actions. I will return to those two themes shortly.

Upon review of the proposed amendments to Bill C-45, I note that most are either minor or technical in nature. Quite frankly, they do very little to change the substance of the bill, which is to amend the Criminal Code to the extent that if Bill C-45 is passed by Parliament, the following changes will come into effect.

First, applicants, including those now serving time for murder, will no longer be entitled to an automatic right to a section 745 hearing. A screening mechanism will be utilized in that a superior court judge will first decide whether the application has a reasonable prospect of success before the applicant will be able to go before a community jury.

The member who preceded me in speaking to this bill pointed out that it is the opposition that has held up this phase of the bill coming into law. I will take exception to those words because it was the Minister of Justice who introduced this bill in the dying moments of Parliament prior to the summer recess because he did not want debate on the topic.

Most people want to see section 745 stricken from the code. However, that did not happen. The debate did not occur because the Minister of Justice left it until two weeks before the recess to ram it through, hoping that the opposition would take it and run with it.

The Bloc members, the official opposition of this country, the separatists of this country, decided that they were going to interfere with that process even voting against it in hope that they could change it and liberalize it even further. That is what happened but the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the Minister of Justice because the bill was introduced so late.

Another change that will come into effect with the passage of Bill C-45 is that persons convicted of multiple murders after the bill comes into force will not have the right to apply for early parole under section 745. That does not include the convicted murderers who were sentenced prior to this bill. Somewhere in the neighbourhood of 600 murderers who have received a life sentence will be eligible to apply under the old provisions of the code. Often we talk about making retroactive changes. This is one place that legislation could come into play where they would not have that provision suitable for them.

The third point is the jury from now on will be required to reach a unanimous decision before the parole ineligibility is shortened, which is an advantage.

Those three points are an advantage in protecting the country. However, they do not answer the concerns of most people. They do not go far enough.

The effect of this legislation, which is most relevant, is that people like Clifford Olson and Paul Bernardo will be affected by the first and third proposals but not by the second. They may still apply for section 745 hearings and furthermore they may receive early release from life imprisonment. The possibility exists that they still could receive early release.

I often think about murderers like Paul Bernardo and Clifford Olson and what they have done to members in the community where I live. I know there are other families that struggle with knowing that Olson or Bernardo still have access to our courts, to the hearing process. There is no closure. I think more respect and dignity should be awarded in their direction, which does not seem to exist in this Parliament.

For this reason alone the Reform Party cannot support this legislation. We are not going to support this bill. My colleagues and I have travelled this country and we have listened to every response, often emotional, of representations by victims' groups, police officers, prison guards and rank and file law-abiding Canadians. They want section 745 scrapped.

Canadians are sending Liberal politicians a unified message that a killer who commits first degree, premeditated murder ought not to ever have the opportunity for early release.

I am going to refer to my own community frequently because it is reflective of others in the country where tragedies and murders have taken place and have victimized the community as well as those closest to the families. I remember a a few years back that a seven-year-old mute girl was murdered by an individual. He killed her after he picked her up in the playground. It was a premeditated murder. He was charged with first degree murder and convicted.

That crime is just as serious as those crimes that were committed against many families by Clifford Olson as well as Paul Bernardo. I do not think that killer should have any more of an opportunity to apply for early release than Clifford Olson or Paul Bernard. The bill falls short. Canadians tell us that life should mean life.

The first policy in our blue book under parole is that there should be no parole, that the full sentence should be served. That is what many Reformers are saying and it is quite reflective of what others in our society are saying as well.

This is a sentiment of which the justice minister is either unaware or more likely a sentiment of which the minister has a vested interest in not being aware. To whom is he listening?

The fact that there no longer exists truth in sentencing for killers outrages Canadians. They want to see a person who is sentenced to life get life. Consequently, a particular topic is finding its way into coffee shop and dinner table discussions. The feeling is that the return of the death penalty for capital murder is desirable and desperately needed. Therefore, I want to put the Liberal government on notice that a Reform government will hold a binding national referendum on the reinstatement of capital punishment. A Reform government will abolish, repeal and scrap section 745 of the Criminal Code. That is what Canadians are saying. As I pointed out, we are on record.

For the three years I have served in Parliament I have noticed how the justice minister conducts business. It is obvious that instead of listening to victims' groups, ordinary Canadians, police

officers or prison guards, the justice minister lends his ear to special interests, legal aid defence lawyers and other socialists soft on crime special interest lobbies.

I sometimes find it remarkable who the justice minister picks to imply endorsement of his policies. He may have a representative of the chiefs of police or a representative of the Canadian Police Association. But is that reflective of rank and file chiefs and is it reflective of police officers across the country? I think not. One example of that was the gun control issue. It was not reflective of rank and file officers across the country. I think that sometimes certain associations and organizations become too politically involved.

What a sad day it is when the minister, duly elected to serve the democratic wishes of Canadians, fails to do so. The government can be assured that Canadians will hold it accountable at the time of election. I look forward to that time. In fact, I am going to make sure that more of the government's position is clearly revealed in other areas of the country outside of my own. That is my campaign, to bring forward justice issues because I know it is close to the minds and hearts of a lot of people.

Prior to my election to Parliament I served for 22 years as a police officer. I was on duty on May 24, 1977 when my colleague, Constable William Shelver was shot in the back of the head. His assailant, Roy Glaremin also shot and injured another constable that night. Mr. Glaremin applied for judicial review under section 745 in 1993 and he has initiated proceedings for another review later this year. Lawyers tell me that he will likely be successful this time around. He shot a policeman.

Nothing contained in the proposals brought forward by the justice minister to Bill C-45 will stop a vile killer like Glaremin from seeking early release.

The bare truth about section 745 of the Criminal Code is that nearly 50 of the last 60 killers who have applied for early parole hearings using section 745 have had their eligibility period reduced from 25 years to 15 years. Most of these killers were imprisoned as first time murderers. Therefore, they are all eligible for early release under section 745. They can apply. Nothing proposed in Bill C-45 will change this reality. The claim therefore that the justice minister's tinkering with section 745 will toughen up parole criteria is not exactly that. It has been engineered to mislead Canadians to believe that real action has been undertaken by the government to keep killers in jail. The truth is that the justice minister has no intention of getting tough with criminals and the section 745 proposal is evidence of that fact.

A certain number of those 600 eligible killers will not apply, as has been the case in the past. I do not think that will really change a whole lot under this present system. The reviews that will continue on will not only open up cases for those victims who have had loved ones murdered, it will cost taxpayers a considerable amount of money for hearings on the applications that come forward.

I state for the record that the Reform Party will accept nothing less than the full repeal of section 745 of the Criminal Code. I also restate that the proposals put forward by the Liberal government do not properly address the concerns of the majority of Canadians. Anything less than a true life sentence is completely unacceptable where the killer has committed premeditated, first degree murder.

Poll after poll, survey after survey that have been conducted in this country clearly reflect that people want capital punishment for first degree murderers. Section 745 is anything but a faint hope clause. Rather it is a sure bet law for killers, and it must be repealed and scrapped, not modified, not tinkered with. Canadians want nothing less.

Another reason that illustrates why section 745 must be repealed is the case of Clifford Olson. Last April the serial child killer sent sneering personal notes to several MPs in which he boasted about his prospect for early parole under section 745. I notice this is continuing. His notes are generally signed: "Yours truly, Clifford Olson, the beast of British Columbia" .Truly he is a beast and should not even have the opportunity to do what he has done.

Later this fall, Olson will have served 15 years of his multiple life sentences for mass murder and rape. He made his application for early release under section 745 on August 12.

The case of Clifford Olson clearly illustrates that anything less than a true life sentence for killers, whether they be one-time murderers or multiple murderers, is completely unacceptable. Closure will come for victims, for communities, only when a true life sentence means exactly that. There will be no application for early release and victims will be able to rest easy.

I urge members opposite to reconsider this bill. Certainly it has some positive attributes, I do not deny that but it does not go far enough. It does not invoke closure. It does not send a killer away for life where he should be. That is Reform's proposal and that will reflect most positively across this country.

Petitions September 20th, 1996

Mr. Speaker, the petitioners request that Parliament support a binding national referendum to be held at the time of the next election to ask Canadians whether or not they are in favour of federal government funding for abortions on demand.

Crown Liability And Proceedings Act September 20th, 1996

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-325, an act to amend the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act.

Mr. Speaker, this bill would amend the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act to ensure that inmates serving penitentiary sentences will not be able to sue the federal government or its employees.

Specifically this legislation would prohibit lawsuits to be filed by inmates against the federal government for matters arising as a result of or during their penitentiary sentence.

There is an urgent need for this type of legislation in Canada today. This legislation, if adopted, would put a stop to the outrageous practice of prisoners engaging in frivolous legal actions against Canadian taxpayers. I would encourage all members of the House to carefully consider this legislation.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

Criminal Code September 19th, 1996

Mr. Speaker, impaired drivers kill innocent Canadians. No one in the House would dispute that fact which is so obvious. The question therefore is to what extent do our laws deter the impaired driver from getting behind the wheel of a car. I would like to contribute my perspective on this matter highlighting some

of my firsthand experience which I gained as a police officer who served in Calgary for 22 years.

First I can say with assurance that the current Criminal Code section 255(3) penalty for impaired driving causing death is not tough enough. When I say that it is not tough enough, I mean that the penalty is by no means an effective deterrent. I would argue that many lives would be saved if the penalty for impaired driving were increased, that is, through increased deterrence.

For my soft on crime friends, let me be precise as to say that the philosophy and definition of deterrence is just that, deterrence. The key instruments of deterrence are the certainty and severity of punishment. Deterrence prevents crime and saves lives. When potential offenders, considering the risks and severity of punishment, decide to commit fewer crimes, logically the number of people willing to commit crimes decreases as the danger of punishment increases.

Consequently the Criminal Code amendment presented today by my colleague from Prince George-Bulkley Valley is not only good legislation but one which is desperately needed by frontline police officers, attorneys general and prosecutors for the crown to deter drunk drivers everywhere.

At present section 255 of the Criminal Code provides a 14-year maximum penalty for impaired driving causing death. The legislation proposed today would require a judge to prescribe a minimum seven year penitentiary sentence to any individual convicted of drunk driving causing the death of a human being.

I can relate a situation that happened in my own riding not too long ago where an impaired driver ran over a seven year old boy, dragged him down the road. The boy died. The driver looked at him laying on the road, got back into his car and drove away. The court case finally came about and the individual driving that car got only nine months. That is totally insufficient. It shows that the sentencing in Canada is far too lenient for impaired drivers.

Let me also say however that the criminal justice system in Canada is at a crossroads. Two competing visions of the future direction of the criminal justice system exist. One view which is promoted by socialists argues that the failure of the criminal justice system to stem the increase in the long term trend of crime can be remedied through the welfare state criminology. This view espouses the belief that the solution to criminal behaviour is to redirect resources away from the punishment of crime toward alternative measures and jailing.

With alternative measures, just exactly what is going to happen now with that provision on the books to an impaired driver and one that may even kill someone? If an impaired driver will receive nine months now for killing someone, what are alternative measures going to do? They argue that crime is a product of social conditions and that the most effective remedy is for the state to intervene through programs such as stepped up welfare payments and other tax funded social experiments.

Thirty years after the first programs of Liberal criminology and penology were introduced, violent crime has increased by 400 per cent. I cannot see why impaired driving causing death should not be considered a violent crime. Property crimes have increased by 500 per cent. And impaired drivers continue to maim and kill innocent Canadians. For this reason, it is time to change the course of our criminal justice system back toward a system that deters criminal conduct through rigid sentencing guidelines for serious crime. Impaired driving causing death certainly falls into this category.

If there is any doubt as to why this type of legislation is needed, consider the lenient sentences handed down by soft on crime judges. Let us look across the country. Regina v. Lewis, New Brunswick 1992: The accused killed a woman after crossing the centre line of the highway. The accused received a one-year sentence. Regina v. McLean, Ontario 1990: The accused struck a motorcycle and killed its rider. McLean received only a two-year sentence. Regina v. Elkas, Ontario 1990: Elkas rear ended a car and killed two people. Even though the accused had a lengthy criminal record, the judge ordered only a four-year sentence.

Let us look at some other facts. In 1994, 87,838 people were charged with impaired driving. Also in 1994, 1,414 people were killed as a result of impaired driving, which is three times higher than deaths resulting from murder. Ninety per cent of impaired drivers are primarily responsible for fatal crashes in which they are involved. Out of the 1,315 fatalities in 1993 in Ontario, 565 were alcohol related. The statistics go on and on and on.

I will conclude by saying that every member in this House has an opportunity to take some action on this type of crime. I would urge them to vote in favour of this bill.

Criminal Code September 19th, 1996

I would request that unanimous consent be given then.

Criminal Code September 19th, 1996

Mr. Speaker, I would like to split my time with the member for Sarnia-Lambton who also supports this bill.

Prisons And Reformatories Act September 17th, 1996

Yes, Canada pension is probably thrown in there too. That is quite a list for people who have offended in this country and tossed into prison. Those rights should be removed and removed now.

Corrections Canada spends more than it ever has on costly and largely ineffective rehabilitation programs for prisoners. The drug rehabilitation program is one. Five million dollars was spent in 1994 on drug rehabilitation. To what avail? Drugs still flow into the prison. Prisoners still leave with the drug habits they entered with because of the availability of drugs inside. Those are facts.

Why is the Liberal government not addressing those concerns?

It is also true for sex offenders. In the 1993-94 budget of corrections Canada there was a total of $98 million for inmate programs described as education and personal development, occupational development programs and employment, spiritual, social, cultural and special needs programs.

We affirm as Reformers the government's responsibility to guarantee a minimal level of care to all convicted inmates: basic food and shelter, basic medical treatment, clothing and a rehabilitative framework based on the inmate's initiative. We also recognize that the rehabilitation of inmates shall be based upon incentives and merit. You earn your way.

A guaranteed system of initiatives shall determine the level of discipline. We propose that the framework for this system shall be set up in a way that clearly presents the relationship between the severity of the crime for which they are imprisoned and their demonstrated willingness to seek rehabilitation.

In other words, it is a self-rehabilitative program. Under our model, temporary absences would be a rare occurrence, especially for the violent offender. Maximum security institutions would house violent and serious offenders who are considered dangerous or who are serving true life sentences.

The program would be guided by the following principles: labour intensive work details without pay or skills training, no conjugal visits, only a core duty of care, restricted access on a very limited basis to entertainment and communications.

That was the maximum prison. We suggest that medium security prisons should house non-violent offenders and only those who have a proven willingness to participate in rehabilitative programs out of the maximum security institutions.

These positions would not be permanent. Any misbehaviour or loss of inmate initiative would result in the inmate's being returned to the maximum security.

Right now the process is the exact opposite. The pressure is on the maximum-medium to keep pushing down the inmates lower and lower, to re-evaluate their risk assessment. That is what is happening inside right now. Change the risk assessment to get them out of those maximum institutions into the medium, change the risk assessment to get them out of the medium into the minimum. That is what is happening.

The program should consist of the following. Inmates will work in print shops, carpentry, machine shops and garment production. Some of those things exist right now. Machine shops are being phased out in many institutions. What is replacing them? Educational programs. Prisoners will be given the opportunity to upgrade their formal education based on compliance with the prison rules.

Authority must be turned back too to the staff that run these prisons. We suggest that minimal compensation commence at this level. We would also allow a pay and trust up to $5,000 for the inmate to ensure that he has adequate resources upon release from prison.

What does it stand at right now? It is $80 after an inmate has served a substantial length of time. He has $80 in his pocket when he walks out the door. Is that adequate? What will he do if he cannot get a job right away? He will go back to crime.

That direction must be taken away. That thought must be taken away from them and they should be given something productive inside. They are obliged to work in the system. At this point prisoners would earn increased access to entertainment and communications after they have earned it.

With respect to minimum security facilities, we would propose they be run on the following principles. Minimum security prisons shall house non-violent offenders and those who have earned the privilege at this level, again the non-violent.

Work crews and apprenticeship programs will be trade oriented. They will be required to participate in some fashion in a work program. There will be a day pass system to encourage employment in private industry.

Sixty per cent of inmate pay would be applied to the inmate's room and board. Twenty per cent would be directed to the victim of the crime for which the individual is serving time and the remaining 20 per cent would be placed in trust for the inmate's

family or for the inmate upon release. There would be increased privileges, in particular conjugal visits, and they would be only on the minimum security level.

In addition, Reform believes the following reforms must be considered: non-voting privileges, no children in prisons. I have seen it said time and time again: "I went to see daddy in prison". How far do we carry that or the conjugal visit home? Is that a place to bring children? No pornography, personal TVs or stereos. All of these are on the commissioner's directives. Yet there is no enforcement in this area.

Reform believes these are the concerns Bill C-53 should focus on and not a program of temporary absence whereby prisoners' rights are given higher consideration than the protection of society. One has to ask why this bill is coming into being? It would appear it is as a result of a financial concern. In other words, it is too costly to keep them inside.

Reform believes a graduated system of accountability must be revisited in order to place the principle of individual accountability back into the prison system. Inmates no more than any other Canadian should not be able to take their position for granted.

The Reform Party's vision for the future of Canadian corrections is that responsible and co-operative behaviour will lead to privileges and perhaps transfer of deserving inmates to a less restrictive facility. Misbehaviour and infraction will mean the loss of privileges and even the return to a higher level of incarceration.

Canadians want to see some substantial reform in this whole area of incarceration. It is too bad these principles are not reflected in Bill C-53.

Prisons And Reformatories Act September 17th, 1996

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to address Bill C-53. I cannot say that I and my party are in agreement with the bill. We are not. However, it does give me an opportunity again to address some of the major concerns which the people of the country have been expressing to me over the summer months and before. It is not just in my riding that people are very upset with criminal justice matters. This concern is found in every riding across the country.

Members opposite know full well that the criminal justice system is hurting and needs a lot of reformation.

Bill C-53 is an act to amend the Prisons and Reformatories Act. It would add a statement and a purpose to temporary absence programs and authorize the provinces to create additional types of temporary absence programs.

The purpose and principles set out in the bill are almost identical to those set out in the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. There is, however, one significant exception. The principle that the protection of society is to be the paramount determination of any case is not repeated in this bill. If this is to be the paramount consideration when dealing with conditional release under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, it is not clear why this would also not be the paramount consideration regarding temporary absence at a provincial level.

The Reform Party opposes the bill because it places the rehabilitation and integration of criminals ahead of any consideration for the protection of society.

Canada is long overdue for significant readjustments to our liberal justice process. Protection of society must once again become our paramount consideration when dealing with and deciding to reintroduce offenders into our communities.

Even at the present stage, prior to anything this bill may offer, there are serious considerations and violations for those offenders who have walked into our society, who have reoffended and who have done terrible damage to those communities in which they were placed often without the knowledge of the people in those communities.

Let me state what has become painfully obvious for a great majority of Canadians. The criminal justice system, including corrections, parole, court administration and the Young Offenders Act, has failed to meet the expectations of the majority of our citizens.

People today question the entire process and they have lost confidence in the government's ability to ensure personal safety and to protect private property.

I have had the opportunity to go door to door throughout my constituency. The number two item of concern to most of my constituents has been criminal justice and their safety.

It did not matter if it had been them personally who had been victimized but certainly a neighbour or a friend close by they were referring to. That was their concern.

They feel the justice system is not dealing with those concerns adequately. As a result, most Canadians no longer believe the promise of welfare state criminology, that crime will fall proportionate to increased social spending and wealth redistribution by government.

That seems to be what is driving our criminal justice system. Critics of the current system argue that one of the more immediate threats facing Canadian society is a criminal justice system that is no longer effective at deterring crime because it has lost its will to punish and correct criminal behaviour.

They point out that three decades of correctional experiments in which many violent, serious and repeat criminals have been forced against their will to participate in rehabilitation programs have proven costly and largely ineffective.

That is what is happening inside. Suffice it to say there exists a great deal of concern with respect to the early release of violent and repeat offenders.

Canadians are dismayed because the principles of truth or honesty in sentencing no longer seem to apply in our justice system. How often have we heard the judge say eight years and yet the parole board turns around and says released in one-third, two years or three years?

That is not truth in sentencing. The Canadian people would like to see a sentence given and that time served. The chasm between appearance and reality in sentencing criminals due to plea bargaining and parole has fueled demands for significant changes to the system, specifically truth in sentencing and violent strike legislation.

I had an opportunity to travel into the state of Ohio during the summer. In the area where I was, there was a prison that housed 5,000 state prisoners. What was significant was that on questioning the deputy warden in that institution, they were preparing themselves for truth in sentencing legislation that had just been enacted in their legislature. Truth in sentencing. They were preparing to take those prisoners and hold them in jail.

They found it to be cheaper holding them in jail than to release them and have them reoffend time and time again, where the costs were filtered down to the municipalities with investigations, courts and everything else, and that is the concern in Canada.

Critics also point out the problems within our correctional system such as the unfettered flow of illegal drugs within the system. I was at a press conference this morning where that topic came forward. Bleach kits and condoms were the order of the day and are the order of the day in our federal penitentiaries. If that is the way Correctional Service Canada responds to a problem within its walls, then we have a major problem on our hands when offenders walk out the door.

They will still have their drug problems and will commit crime as a result. The health risks to both the prison population and the staff that look after them will increase tremendously as it is right now and has been pointed out by the last series of stats that reflects a 46 per cent known increase in HIV-AIDS within the prison walls.

The source of the drug problem in our prisons is a result of the visitors program. In other words, they take advantage of the restriction under the charter with regard to search and seizure. A guard cannot single out an individual and say we are searching you. They have to take them at face value and have just cause to do so.

Critics also point out to the lack of meaningful work programs within the present system. Skill based training programs are being phased out and replaced by cognitive skills training, moral reasoning and anger management courses. Mandatory work activities are not required.

To enlarge on cognitive skills training certificates and anger management course certificates, many prisoners I have talked to who have been released and were serious about job hunting and the like would present these certificates to their perspective employers

and time and time again the reply was: "Well, what can you do?" Correctional Service Canada's system does not prepare an offender for his release to go into the job market. I think that is a shame.

The Liberal government has time and time again talked about its compassion and yet a prisoner in a federal institution does not receive basic training because of these pie in the sky courses being offered in their place.

Mandatory work activities are not required. Another problematic issue is the taxpayer funded amenities for prisoners. Inmates are granted luxuries which many law abiding citizens are not, including but not limited to access to golf courses, GST rebates, cable TV, legal aid, lavish work facilities, free counselling, full medical and dental with no line ups, free university education and the ability to refuse to work.

A general feeling exists that because we have made prison conditions too easy it has undercut the deterrent effect of imprisonment. There is whole group of people involved in the area of prisoners' rights. There are advocates, lawyers, prisoners' rights groups inside and out and they scream at anyone who opposes the present or the status quo.

Anyone who does is condemned and the finger is pointed; the archaic thinking that goes on with those who oppose the present system. It is inhumane to think of anything otherwise.

The general public does not buy these noisy nabobs. It is even critical of the system and the advocates who keep liberalizing it. As far as I am concerned these criticisms are justified. Canadian recidivism rates are between 50 and 85 per cent depending on who we talk to. Contrary to the claim that crime is decreasing, the incident of criminal activity today is at a level three times greater than it was 30 years ago.

Prison facilities are at or near capacity and sometimes the accusation or the comment is that they are overflowing. New correction facilities must be planned or in the absence of such preparation more offenders will be released on the streets or released on temporary absence.

Temporary absence is the substance of Bill C-53, the legislation currently before the House. With respect to this legislation Reformers are guided by our party policy as found in the blue book, the justice section, sections A, which reads:

Reform Party supports a judicial system which places the punishment of crime and the protection of law-abiding citizens and their property ahead of all other objectives.

I would like to talk a bit about what we are committed to do. The number one priority of our criminal justice system ought to be the protection of law-abiding Canadians and their property. I know we can read in some documents that are presented by the members across away that this is the paramount consideration or this is the mandate of whatever bill they may pass. In this one they do not mention it at all.

What has been happening in our system? It is becoming more and more liberal and the concerns of people in the constituencies across this country reflect it. This year in my city alone of Calgary somewhere in the neighbourhood of five pedophiles were operating all within a two or three week period and several of them had been on release. One had been released even after he refused treatment in the penitentiary. Within three months after being driven from High River, a small town south of Calgary, he went into Calgary and it just so happened to be in my riding that he attacked another young girl.

These considerations must be taken into account when offenders such as pedophiles are released into the community. This bill does nothing to address these concerns. This bill operates in the opposite fashion. It will release earlier and for longer periods of time people who are incarcerated.

Reformers are wholly committed to placing the rights of victims ahead of the so-called rights and considerations of criminals. Our party reflects adequately the statement and the presentation of the victims' bill of rights by the member for Fraser Valley West, a Reformer, which was presented in this House and adopted by the governing party, the Liberal government. That consideration is there, but let us act on it.

Since Bill C-53 would consider prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration as equal to the consideration for the protection of society, Reformers oppose the bill, as it places the rights of criminals ahead of those of the victims.

Bill C-53, an extension of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, would expand the scope and the number of temporary release programs in Canada. Do we need more?

A study by the National Institute of Justice in the United States reflected that the cost of incarceration was one-half that of release, and that the recidivism rate, the following investigations and court action resulted in double the costs. That is what is happening.

From the appearance of this bill, the government intends to pass other laws to release more people. It has never adequately studied the issue of the cost of crime in our country. Before we get more laws on the books some research should be done to find out exactly what the problem is and what costs are involved. However, that does not seem to be the way or intent of this Liberal government.

Past experience has demonstrated that the temporary absence program, especially for violent, serious and repeat offenders, can jeopardize public safety. All one has to do is look at the Daniel

Gingras case. I am not saying that Daniel Gingras will be released again or that kind of scenario will be repeated, but it could very well happen. It happened then because he was given a birthday pass, which was up to Corrections Canada. He escaped when he was in the West Edmonton Mall and subsequently raped and killed two people, unsuspecting victims.

The concept of temporary absence illustrates that there is little truth or honesty in sentencing. Many Canadians feel this approach is wrong, specifically that criminals owe a debt to society and this debt should be paid through the full uninterrupted service of sentence. Is that too much to ask? Are the Canadian people asking too much when they say: "If a man is sentenced to 15 years, he should do 15 years?" I do not think so. It is high time the government started to listen to statements from right across the country about the concern over early release.

Programs of temporary absence are an extension of status quo correctional philosophy which argues, first, that most criminals commit crimes because they themselves are victims and, second, that crime is mostly a product or a result of social conditions and that the most effective remedy is for the state to intervene through programs such as stepped up welfare payments and other social experiments.

Nowhere is punishment mentioned in this scenario. It is becoming evident by the treatment of prisoners in jails that punishment is not part of the scenario.

Temporary absence is another in a long list of language which is preferred and used by welfare state criminologists, which includes conditional release, mandatory supervision, statutory release, community sentencing, alternative measures and other newer labels which are essentially built on the same theme. They build on the notion that the purpose of imprisonment is rehabilitation and that the best measure of an inmate's rehabilitative progress is his conduct in prison. The conduct of an individual in prison will certainly be different than it is out in the street. He will be restricted to some degree.

The murderer who shot the policeman has been a good boy for eight years. He has not done anything seriously wrong. Maybe he smoked a few joints in prison because there is a good flow of drugs in there, but he has really done nothing wrong. That thinking and that philosophy are not acceptable to the majority of people in the country.

The problem is that very little consideration is given to the crime and its impact on the victims which made it necessary for society to imprison the offender in the first place.

Reform is sympathetic to opponents of the status quo correction and parole system who argue that substantial crime savings can be made through deterrence rather than through programs of temporary release and legislation such as Bill C-53. I do not see deterrence in Bill C-53. Nor do I see accountability mentioned in Bill C-53.

The key instruments of deterrence are the certainty and severity of punishment. Deterrence prevents crimes from occurring when the potential offenders, considering the risks and severity of punishment, decide to commit fewer crimes.

When I joined the police department over 25 years ago we were instructed as new recruits that having a man in uniform in a marked police car travelling about a community, going to the parks and playgrounds, had a deterrent effect. The law was clear. If a pedophile was out there among children he would be arrested. That was a deterrent effect. The pedophile would be taken off the street, charged and held in prison until he went to court and, once convicted, that was where he stayed. That was a deterrent. The certainty of punishment and the enforcement agency's clear concern for community standards and safety were deterrents.

That does not exist today. The pedophiles that happened to be in my city over the summer had no fear. Finally, through the efforts of the community, one was removed because he was getting aggressive when walking among children in a wading pool.

Logically the number of people willing to commit crimes decreases as the danger of punishment increases.

I reflect on another situation which occurred when I was investigating major crimes in Calgary. It was a situation where a store owner, a pharmacist, who had been robbed five times finally told the offender in court one day: "Do not ever come back into my store. I will get you. I will be ready for you".

It just so happened that the criminal was brazen enough to take him up on the dare. He went into the store to rob him for the sixth time. What the criminal did not realize was that the pharmacist had a shotgun behind the counter. When the offender walked through the door he was chased out of the store, shot and killed.

That was a deterrent. The store owner was charged and went to court. A jury found him not guilty. There was not a drug store robbery in Calgary for two years. That is a deterrent.

Business owners and homeowners are tired of having to put up with a non-committal criminal justice system which has no deterrent in it and no punishment.

As an alternative to the status quo correctional philosophy to which Bill C-53 is simply an extension, we propose a dramatic and immediate overhaul of corrections, parole and sentencing. Specifically we propose truth in sentencing for violent and repeat serious

criminals. Those offenders would serve a minimum of 90 per cent of their court prescribed sentence.

Truth in sentencing would apply to any individual who is convicted of an indictable offence or of any other crime deemed violent or serious under the provisions set out in the Criminal Code.

Truth in sentencing is needed instead of temporary absence programs because convicted violent criminals and serious offenders are serving a fraction of their time in prison compared to the sentence received at trial. Truth in sentencing will increase the length of time convicted, serious offenders are incarcerated.

In Canada, an offender who has served one-third or seven years, whichever is less of his or her sentence of incarceration becomes eligible for full parole. I think that is going to change. Inmates who have not been released on parole after having served two-thirds of their sentence are released by law to serve the final third of their sentence in the community.

If required to serve at least 90 per cent of their sentence, violent criminals and serious offenders would serve longer sentences, resulting in the prevention of crime which would otherwise be committed by criminals out on early release. In short, Bill C-53 wants to expand early release through the expansion of temporary absence.

National Parole Board data confirms that even the most violent and serious offenders serve on average only about one-half of their prison sentence. One of its studies showed that individuals convicted of attempted murder, for example, served an average of 48 months where the court ordered sentence was 94 months. In the case of manslaughter the actual time served by the offender averaged 44 months, where the original court sentence was 84 months. In the case of rape or aggravated assault, the average offender was released after serving 49 months of a 79 month sentence. That is not truth in sentencing.

Instead of expanding temporary absence programs and putting the rights of criminals ahead of the consideration for victims and law-abiding Canadians, the government should consider longer sentences for violent offenders because longer sentences will result in the reduction in the crime rate by preventing these offenders from recidivating. Requiring them to serve 90 per cent of their sentences will almost double the time they spend in prison and of course prevent crimes these offenders would likely commit in the community. The recidivism rate, as I pointed out, is somewhere in the neighbourhood of 70 per cent, most wardens tell us.

Two violent strikes and you are out. Reformers are proposing two violent strikes laws to which violent criminals and sex offenders would be subject. We say that for every criminal who is convicted of a violent crime for a second time, he or she should be sentenced to imprisonment for life without eligibility for early release or parole.

We believe that two violent strikes laws signify a tough, realistic approach to crime and would get multiple offenders off the street and into prison where they belong.

Critics of two strike proposals raise the cost of incarceration as an issue. Indeed, many of these same critics use cost as an argument to further the case for temporary absence programs. These people say that it is less costly for society to release criminals on a temporary basis than it is to supervise them on extended temporary leave in the community. To this objection I say two things.

First, it stands to reason that contrary to the claims by those who advance welfare state criminology, two strikes legislation will actually save societal cost by eliminating trial after trial of the same repeat offenders.

As a police officer I saw the revolving door. I think of my time, for instance, in the robbery unit of the Calgary city police department and how offenders would come through. They would be picked up, convicted, into prison they would go and within two to three years we were picking up and putting into prison the same offenders. That is the revolving door and that is reality. Often they were on parole. Seventy per cent to seventy-five per cent were drug abusers. Even though they had spent their time in prison they were still plagued with a drug habit because they could not shake it inside the prison system due to the flow and availability of drugs. That is our system and people want it changed.

This issue goes beyond statistics and projections of costs. The need to control violent crime is about who we are and what we hope to become as a society. Canadians deserve to feel safe in their homes at night and secure in the morning when they send their children off to school. Canadians will not live in the state of fear, our daily lives held hostage by a lawless few.

Notwithstanding everything that has been said, we are aware that there have been problems with the American application of three strikes legislation. Critics of two strikes legislation often cite the discrepancy in the severity of crimes covered by the law. An often repeated story involves a California man who was sentenced to life without parole for stealing a slice of pizza.

Let there be no mistake about that issue to which I speak today. Reform planned an alternative to legislation like Bill C-53. I point out that many of the proposals that I speak of here today will be brought before our caucus for final ratification at one point. The Reform plan clearly defines what is a violent offence. Hence, there

will be little or no chance for a pizza thief to face a mandatory life sentence upon conviction, which is what happened in California.

We also propose hard time prison sentences. We have a proposal to return prison time to hard time. We believe that the time spent in prison should not be a place any criminal would ever want to return to. A prisoner should not want to go back. Amenities currently afforded to inmates such as colour and cable TV, taxpayer funded university education, lavish workout facilities, special meals and holiday pay should be eliminated. That is quite a list.

Criminal Code September 16th, 1996

Everybody does not know that.