Justice committee  Yes, he is our executive officer.

Justice committee  Thank you. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, good afternoon. The Canadian Police Association welcomes the opportunity to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights concerning Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conditional se

Justice committee  That is one problem. The other problem is repeat offenders. Our police officers haven't even finished their paperwork and the person they arrested is back on the street doing exactly the same things.

Justice committee  One of the biggest problems is when victims see the person who committed the crime back on the street without even spending a couple of weeks in jail. It is significant. They are wondering. They start to doubt the system. For them, they think, what's the use? They have to go thro

Justice committee  I won't be talking about statistics. If you want to talk about statistics, there's one thing I can do. Our front line police officers deal with victims and deal with citizens in their communities, and when they say they're not safe, they're not safe. When you talk about 30% being

Justice committee  We saw how much it cost for supervision. It's $1,700 a year. So that's not a huge supervision to get, and they know that system there. As I said, I think when we're looking at what kind of message we want to send, where's the deterrence and where's the consequence? If you commit

Justice committee  That is why I was saying earlier on that there is a lack of available statistics and that some statistics cover all types of crime. However, and you just have to look at what happens daily in courthouses — there are a great many people who receive conditional sentences, or sente

Justice committee  Statistics Canada is lacking those statistics.

Justice committee  It is not just an impression, I'd say.

Justice committee  Absolutely.

Justice committee  The reason why we are more than happy that something will be done is because judges, over the years, have given different interpretations of what was supposed to be applied in 1996. But, for economic reasons, judges have greatly exaggerated the use of suspended sentences.

Justice committee  No. Just go to any courthouse, sit down and listen to the sentences which are handed down. Then compare the crimes which have been committed with the sentences which have been handed down, and you will realize that what is happening is a complete joke.

Justice committee  In our brief, we also call upon the government to include in its bill certain offences or crimes which would otherwise be beyond our reach if Bill C-9 were adopted. We also talk about the people who will not be affected by the 10-year threshold, those who receive a sentence of le

Justice committee  I can give you more than one concrete example.

Justice committee  It is because these offences may not seem violent, but in reality they are extremely violent. For example, drug trafficking...