SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 204

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 1, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 204 - Jun/1/23
Mr. Pierre Paul-Hus
Madam Speaker, as my colleague could see from the description I gave of the support that Bill C‑325 has received, it is pretty unanimous. However, there is a distinction to be made. I think we often confuse things when we talk about bail. I know that the government is in the process of making changes to the law with Bill C‑75. For my part, I am adapting what was problematic with Bill C‑5. I am also introducing something new that does not exist anywhere else in the Criminal Code, namely making it an offence to fail to comply with release conditions. That is parole, which is different from bail. Bill C‑325 is not at all similar to what the government is currently proposing.
131 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 204 - Jun/1/23
Mr. Pierre Paul-Hus
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. When I was working on the bill, I initially did not want to create an offence for an individual on parole after being jailed for a minor offence. The simplest way was to take Schedules I and II of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. There are many offences listed in these two schedules. However, we must not forget that the law also states that the judge can find an individual punishable on summary conviction. Therefore, judges have some flexibility. Yes, I would be willing to entertain certain amendments in committee to this list, which is admittedly quite long. The objective is truly to target high-profile violent criminals and repeat offenders.
121 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 204 - Jun/1/23
Ms. Lori Idlout (Nunavut, NDP)
Uqaqtittiji, when offenders are rejoining the communities, if they do it on an early conditional release, they are already required to report regularly to their parole officers. I wonder if the member could explain how this bill would improve a system that already exists.
44 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 204 - Jun/1/23
Mr. Pierre Paul-Hus
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. One part of this bill seeks to make it an offence when an offender on parole breaches his conditions. Far too often, violent criminals on parole, such as Eustachio Gallese, who killed Marylène Levesque, do not care about respecting conditions. Parole officers do not have any power other than writing reports. That is why the bill seeks to make it an offence when a criminal breaches his parole conditions. This does not exist at the moment and the Canadian Police Association has been calling for this for more than 15 years.
102 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border