Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: My question is for Senator Gold, who no doubt listened to the senators who made statements about the terrible attacks in Saskatchewan.

These attacks stir up a lot of emotion, but, more importantly, they raise a lot of questions. The man who killed those people in Saskatchewan was granted parole because the Parole Board of Canada did not consider him to be an undue risk to society.

It came to the same conclusion in its assessment of Eustachio Gallese, who murdered Marylène Levesque in Quebec City just a few weeks after his release. Obviously, the Parole Board and correctional services are failing across the board when it comes to assessing risk.

My question is quite simple. What has the government done since Marylène Levesque’s death in 2020 to strengthen Canada’s correctional system, particularly when it comes to decisions on supervision of offenders in the community?

Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: I rise today to honour the 10 women and men who were tragically killed in the September 4 massacre in James Smith Cree Nation, which has left me feeling deeply troubled and grappling with many questions.

This tragedy directly affects all First Nations in our country as it has shaken this northern Saskatchewan community, where people were living their lives peacefully and everyone knew and liked one another.

I would first like to offer my deepest condolences to the families of the victims who were brutally murdered and to wish a speedy recovery to the other 15 people who were injured in this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones. I understand only too well the pain and anger you are feeling as a result of this tragedy.

Unfortunately, crime is an unpredictable scourge of humanity that can affect us at any time in our lives, but that could be avoided if our justice system were more rigorous.

Colleagues, these families will be forever traumatized and will have to survive what I would call unspeakable violence, just like the families of the victims of the Portapique massacre.

One of the two suspects in the James Smith Cree community stabbings was 30 and a repeat offender. He had accumulated 59 criminal convictions since the age of 18, or an average of six crimes a year over a decade. Clearly, the principle of rehabilitation did not work, and incarceration was the only solution that would guarantee the safety of that community.

This tragedy unfolded as a result of the current dysfunction of the Parole Board of Canada and the Correctional Service of Canada. In a 2018 report, the Auditor General highlighted the significant shortcomings with supervised release in the community and the role of correctional officers.

In 2020, the brutal murder of Marylène Levesque by a repeat offender on day parole was the result of the Parole Board of Canada’s negligence. Unfortunately, the Department of Public Safety did nothing to fix our deeply flawed correctional system. Even the study done by the House of Commons public safety committee into the murder of Marylène Levesque made no difference.

It is unacceptable that the board agreed to release the offender and deemed that his release would help protect society. Today, we see the result of that decision. Ten people paid with their lives for this institutionalized incompetence because the justice and public safety systems utterly failed to protect the public from this dangerous criminal.

Honourable senators, please know that I am tired of making such statements, and that I would rather talk about new measures and lives saved than lives prematurely stolen from families.

I remain convinced that, like me, you are outraged and agree that the Senate must take urgent action to remind the government of its duties and responsibilities and ensure that protecting Canadians is a real priority; otherwise, the death of these victims will be meaningless.

Thank you.

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