Mr. Speaker, this is the first time I have spoken in this House, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank the people of Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles for placing their trust in me on January 23. They are proud to see that we have kept our promises to date.
I would like to say a special thank-you to my wife Julie and my four children—David, Guillaume, Anne-Gabrielle and Élisabeth—and to my father, my brother and my two sisters for their support. I also want to acknowledge the unwavering loyalty of my team of volunteers and the support of the Conservative Party of Canada Association for the riding of Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.
To close this aside, I would like to congratulate the Quebec Remparts on winning the Memorial Cup. It was a long time coming.
I am honoured to be able to speak at second reading about Bill C-9, which aims to modify conditional sentencing.
Before I speak about the bill and its implications, I would like to remind this House that a conditional sentence can be ordered only if certain conditions are met.
First, there must be no minimum term of imprisonment for the offence the offender is convicted of. As well, the offender must be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of less than two years, and the court must be satisfied that allowing the offender to serve the sentence in the community will not endanger the community and is consistent with the fundamental purpose and principles of sentencing set out in sections 718 and 718.2 of the Criminal Code.
These sections stipulate that a sentence must have one or more of the following objectives:
(a) to denounce unlawful conduct; (b) to deter the offender and other persons from committing offences; (c) to separate offenders from society, where necessary; (d) to assist in rehabilitating offenders; (e) to provide reparations for harm done to victims or to the community; and (f) to promote a sense of responsibility in offenders, and acknowledgment of the harm done to victims and to the community.
It is also useful to understand the intention of the legislator by looking back at the information document accompanying Bill C-41 in 1994. This bill is the one that created conditional sentences in our Criminal Code. According to it, the addition of this new sentence meant that offenders who had committed less serious offences and who otherwise would have been incarcerated could, under strict control, serve their sentences in the community.
Reducing the number of offenders in prison for minor offences protects the public by isolating from society those who have committed more serious offences and taking, for those whose offences are less serious, effective alternative measures in the community.
This government is of the opinion that conditional sentencing has a place in certain instances, but it is also convinced that the aim and fundamental principles of sentencing are violated when the accused is given a conditional sentence for a serious crime in which there are no exceptional mitigating circumstances.
Therefore, in the latest general election, the new Conservative Party promised to eliminate conditional sentencing in the case of serious crimes requiring greater denunciation and dissuasion.
The underlying principle in sentencing being proportionality, sentences for serious crimes must henceforth “reflect the gravity of the offence” and the “degree of responsibility of the offender”. That is exactly what Bill C-9 proposes to do. To this end, it would amend section 742.1 of the Criminal Code so that indictable offences for which the maximum term of imprisonment is ten years or more cannot be eligible for a conditional sentence. This would cover not only offences in the Criminal Code, but also those in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
This bill will target certain offences such as driving while impaired causing death or serious injury—a scourge in Quebec—dangerous driving causing death or serious injury—another scourge—criminal negligence causing death or serious injury, sexual assault prosecuted by way of indictment—a problem—aggravated sexual assault, assault with a weapon causing bodily harm, and manslaughter.
The bill will also target serious drug-related offences punishable by a sentence of 10 years or more and prosecuted by way of indictment. As we can see, implementing this threshold will target the offences in the government's electoral program. This threshold will also prohibit the use of conditional sentences for serious property offences and justice related offences. For example, persons found guilty of corruption or of arson could no longer serve their sentence in the community.
The true purpose of the bill is to correct a persistent anomaly. Conditional sentencing was not introduced in the Criminal Code in order to allow offenders charged with serious crimes to serve their sentence with their feet up at home. That is not what the legislation was made for. Such situations are not rare. They threaten our Canadian values, put the community at risk and discredit faith in justice.
This bill could also have repercussions on our correctional institutions. Some offenders currently given conditional sentences would be sent to prison if Bill C-9 became law. It is important to note that only a third of offences currently eligible for conditional sentencing will be effected by this reform and those are offences punishable by a maximum of 10 years or more and prosecuted by way of indictment. As far as the number of convictions are concerned, we estimate that roughly 5,164 of the 15,493 conditional sentences in the 2003-04 fiscal year would be affected by Bill C-9.
Another important consideration is the prosecution procedure. The proposed amendment will have an impact only on those offences prosecuted by way of indictment. As we know, there are many offences which can be prosecuted either by indictment or by summary conviction. Crown attorneys and police officers will decide how they wish to prosecute a case depending on the circumstances under which the offence was committed. Furthermore, this reform will not prohibit the courts from utilizing other types of sentences. For example, they will be able to impose a suspended sentence or a sentence accompanied by a probation order in the case of offences for which a conditional sentence of imprisonment is prohibited, when they consider such an option warranted by the circumstances.
This will also impact on the aboriginal communities. Aboriginal people are overrepresented in our correctional institutions, but we often forget that they are also overrepresented among victims. The 1999 General Social Survey entitled “Canada’s Native People”, from the series of Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics profiles, shows that aboriginal people are three times more likely to be victimized than non-aboriginal people, as well as three times more likely to be victims of spousal abuse. It is for the protection of victims and our communities that this bill proposes to modify the conditional sentencing system.
There is one other consideration. That is the impact of this bill on the provinces and territories. We will be working together with our partners to ensure that the necessary adjustments can be smoothly put into place. As I explained earlier, if Bill C-9 were to become law, only one segment of those who today are receiving a conditional sentence of imprisonment would be sent to jail.
In our fields of jurisdiction, we will be working with the Federal Prosecution Service, the Correctional Service of Canada and legal aid to ensure that our measures are successful.
The impact on the federal government will depend on the number of accused who are given an unconditional as opposed to a conditional sentence. We will be monitoring that impact and, if necessary, we will take it into account in any future initiatives to combat crime.
This bill reflects the intention of this government to go back to the source and prohibit the use of conditional sentencing for serious offences. This government is trying to protect victims and communities, not dangerous offenders. Only a prohibition, as expressed in this bill, will enable us to achieve that goal. The appropriate use of conditional sentencing will ensure that our Canadian values are protected and strengthen the integrity of and confidence in our criminal justice system.
