For people like Olson and Bernardo, to suggest that 15 years to life is an adequate response is absolutely ludicrous. This is why I hope that the member for Mississauga East will also support members of parliament on the opposition side when we continue to call for the abolition of section 745 of the Criminal Code, the so-called faint hope clause. I am sure that based on the time she spent watching this debacle in British Columbia she will be of a similar mind. The principles of her bill are completely undermined and useless as long as we continue to have section 745 in the Criminal Code. It is my belief that each of the innocent lives that were taken deserve at least the validation of having a consecutive sentence to represent their lives.
Conditional sentences are another subject, but that is another matter that has to be revisited.
I would suggest that serious sexual assaults and violence should never be considered by judges for the imposition of conditional sentences. It is also my belief that a person who commits multiple crimes should be given an appropriate sentence to reflect each and every one of those offences if committed at a different time with different circumstances. Bill C-251 addresses that. It does so in a substantial and common sense fashion. Therefore I support the member and I support her bill.