Women and parents are especially afraid of a system that is not flexible enough to protect them from sexual predators and child molesters. That's why we have drafted legislation for public consultation that would allow authorities to detain indefinitely those who pose a danger to society. Protection of society is more important than giving another chance to these individuals who just can't be rehabilitated. That's what the public is telling me about these shocking crimes. They are fed up and so are we.
People expect the government to do something about it.
The pendulum has to swing back to a more common-sense view of what society's position is on these offenders. That is why the overriding principle that has guided the government in all the legislative initiatives and changes I have described is that public safety comes first. I mentioned that we were also working on ways to deal with repeat young offenders. Much has been said in the media recently about youth violence, and particularly the effectiveness of the Young Offenders Act in addressing this problem. Let me summarize the comments by Prime Minister Kim Campbell earlier this week on this issue.