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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 199

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 17, 2023 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 199 - May/17/23
Ms. Kristina Michaud (Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, BQ)
  • May/17/23 8:45:53 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, at the end of his speech, my colleague admitted that we need to work harder for gun control, particularly to crack down on illegal firearms trafficking. I completely agree with him. The legislative summary we received from the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness on Bill C-21 had many subheadings on various subjects. It said that Bill C-21 does more to crack down on illegal firearms trafficking, but the bill contains only one measure in that regard. In Bill C-21, we see that the government wants to crack down on illegal firearms trafficking by increasing the maximum sentences for those convicted of such a crime. We are wondering how effective that measure will be, because we know that criminal groups usually use people with no criminal records to bring in firearms. Then, since they do not have a criminal record, they are given shorter sentences. Right now, the maximum sentence is 10 years, but that is a penalty very rarely handed down. Will it really change anything to increase that maximum sentence to 14 years? I do not think so, and I think my colleague might agree with me.
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Context: House Hansard - 199 - May/17/23
Mr. Blake Richards
  • May/17/23 10:33:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I suppose if the member wants to believe the talking points she has been handed to read in the House she would make that argument. What she is failing to understand is that we are not talking about a mandatory penalty or even a minimum penalty; we are talking about a maximum penalty. Anyone who understands the criminal justice system knows that a maximum penalty means it cannot be more than that, but it certainly does nothing to penalize crime. There are a lot of measures that could be taken to deal with the gun crime we are seeing in our cities, but that one is laughable to say the least. The bill does zero at trying to address crime.
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Context: House Hansard - 199 - May/17/23
Ms. Kristina Michaud (Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, BQ)
  • May/17/23 10:34:15 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-21 
Madam Speaker, my colleague talks a lot about doing more to address crime. I agree with him. The only measure in Bill C‑21 that the government proposed for countering firearms trafficking is to change the maximum sentences from 10 years to 14 years for anyone found guilty of firearms trafficking. Although this is not a bad measure, the problem is that it is quite rare for someone to get the maximum sentence of 10 years these days. Why? It is because criminal organizations use people who do not have a criminal record to smuggle illegal firearms across the border. As a result, these people get lesser sentences. They rarely get the 10-year maximum. Today, with Bill C‑21, even if we increase the maximum sentence to 14 years, will that really have an impact? I do not think so. I think that my colleague may agree with me. Does he think that is enough?
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