Senator Batters: Senator Gold, I’m looking for particular examples. Since you listed kidnapping and then referenced some types of situations, do you really think those would result in a kidnapping charge? Because not only do the police have discretion, but the prosecutors and judges have discretion in the types of charges that are laid and the sentences that are given out. For blocking an exit or something like that, would you contend that is actually something that somebody would receive a kidnapping offence charge for?

With respect to custody situations, of course, those can be extremely damaging situations too. We had one in Saskatchewan a few months ago where the mother in that situation had no idea where her child was for months. Wouldn’t you contend that if someone is charged with kidnapping, that is particularly something that should not be a conditional sentence?