As he has said many times, public safety is the mission of his Ministry. The key to public safety is preventing crime. An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure. Because every time we incarcerate someone, there is a cost. Incarceration is an important part of our justice system.
Violent criminals have to be kept off our streets.
Enforcement of the law is crucial. But the goal cannot be to simply build more prisons and fill them up. That's no guarantee of safety. The federal government is determined to take a balanced approach to reducing crime in Canada, one that includes addressing the underlying factors that lead to criminal behaviour. We also believe that in order to build public confidence in our criminal justice system, Canadians must be able to feel the impact of our efforts.