Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise this afternoon to speak in full and complete support of Bill C-251 and to salute the efforts of our hon. colleague, the member for Mississauga East. I believe the member has done Canadians a great service with the bill and I am pleased that it has been deemed a votable item.
Our colleague's sincerity and dedication when it comes to issues of justice, sentencing and working with victims of crime are recognized and appreciated, for perseverance and raising awareness of this issue and her devotion and commitment to helping victims of crime are qualities for every Canadian to admire.
Bill C-251, as members will know, provides for the imposition of a consecutive sentence where a person commits sexual assault and another offence arising out of the same event or where the person is already serving another sentence at the time.
The bill's summary clearly states:
—a person sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder or second degree murder is not eligible for parole until the person has served, in addition to the portion of sentence that the person must serve for murder, one-third or a maximum of seven years or any other sentence imposed—in respect of an offence arising out of the same events or that person is already serving. The mandatory portion of each life sentence imposed on a person who is convicted of a second murder must be served consecutively before the person is eligible for parole.
As I see it, you do the time if you do the crime. It is important to point out that both victims groups and the Canadian Police Association support the bill.
As a citizen of Canada and as a member of parliament, I am fully aware of the tremendous service men and women in law enforcement provide us as they discharge their responsibility to protect and defend our lives, liberty and property. We honour them and offer encouragement.
Law enforcement officers are the most unselfish and dedicated public servants in society. We have all heard over and over again that each day as they go about discharging their responsibilities law enforcement officers place their lives on the line.
People should not just pay lip service to this statement. The citizens whom they protect should be conscious that many times law enforcement officers experience a tremendous amount of frustration. They are required to work within a criminal justice system which at times is too inefficient and too technical to handle the various examples of crime in society. Regrettably on terrible occasions they make the supreme sacrifice for the people they serve. They know that Bill C-251 would help keep hardened criminals off the streets. In my capacity as an elected member of parliament I want to be able to give them the tools to work with and within.
Each day we are reminded with vivid reality that we live in an imperfect world, one beset with many problems such as poverty, injustice, disease, war and most assuredly crime.
Some who are skeptical would say that this is nothing new, that these problems are part of the human condition and will be with us as long as men and women remain on earth. They will get caught up in the magnitude of the world's dilemmas and with fatalistic acquiescence. They will sit and do nothing, justifying this inactivity with the platitude “I am just one person. I can't change the world”.
The member for Mississauga East is doing her part, and I may add doing it well. Without individual action by citizens the problems may continue to worsen as more people become victims of crime. There is no greater satisfaction than that which comes from the feeling that one has contributed something good to society, that one has given in the support of others. The profession that gives an opportunity to achieve this is law enforcement work.
Bill C-251 will give Canadians and victims of crime perhaps some additional peace of mind than otherwise would occur. It will correct a shameful volume discounts to rapists and murderers through concurrent sentencing. The bill is about reasonable and required change that every major victims group is demanding.
Bill C-251 has three important objectives: to reduce inhumanities to families of victims, to restore some truth in sentencing and to stop gambling lives away on the chance that a multiple murderer or serial murderer will not attack again.
What is punishment? Punishment is a detriment imposed for committing a crime. The four widely accepted purposes of punishment are deterrence, retribution, incapacitation and rehabilitation.
During the last 20 years many American states have shifted away from indeterminate sentencing. The Canadian Sentencing Commission issued a 592-page report in 1987 that found abundant evidence of unwarranted disparities in sentences as judges took different approaches to similar cases.
The bill is important due to the shift away from indeterminate sentencing. It seems to reflect a reduction in confidence in rehabilitation as a purpose of punishment and a reduction in confidence of parole boards in deciding when an offender should be released.
When sentencing an offender for multiple offences in Canada the primary focus is on the global sentence that results from the judge's discretion. Some offences, most notably prison escapes and breach of conditional sentence, require mandatory consecutive sentences under subsection 718.3(5) of the Criminal Code of Canada. However throughout the focus remains on the global sentence to be imposed.
Bill C-251 would change that for the better. As my colleague from Mississauga East stated during debate on June 4, 1996:
Concurrent sentencing cheapens life. The lives of individual victims are erased from the sentencing equation. The suffering, the pain and the death of the second, third or eleventh victim is of no consequence to the courts.
I wonder if we could apply that kind of sentencing if we had a parking ticket. If we got one or ten, would the court see fit to only charge us for one?
As well, families must continue to attend parole hearings, reliving and rehashing pain, anguish and grief over the loss of a loved one. Let us support victims of crime. Let us support our law enforcement officers. We as members of parliament have an important role to play with this unique privilege we have been bestowed by our electorate.
Changing and improving legislation is a vital part of that role, and each of us take it very seriously. That is why private members' hour is crucial to our effectiveness as members of the House. Individual members have the opportunity, free from party constraints, to express their views and concerns on behalf of their constituents, their conscience and their genuine interest in trying to make some positive changes.
It is with that spirit that I urge all hon. members to support Bill C-251 and the exceptional work on this issue by our colleague from Mississauga East.
