Discussion · Government Orders
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal
“Our government wants to bring back mandatory minimum sentences in a way that respects the Charter so the courts will not strike them down. The Conservatives would rather override the Charter instead. How many times will they use that override to pass their laws?”
“Mr. Speaker, there are no floodgates here, but there is a lot of contrast between the Conservatives and the government on the issue. There are laws in place that have been ruled as unconstitutional, in violation of the charter, so a lot of the minimum penalties have been thrown out. The current government and the Prime Minister would reinstate minimum sentences. Yes, there is the exceptional clause so the course could be stayed, we would be allowed to continue and things would not be struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada. The Conservative approach is the notwithstanding clause. How many times is the member going to have to bring in the notwithstanding clause to deal with the legislation? Is it twelve times or 20 times? What is the limit?”
Mr. Speaker, there are no floodgates here, but there is a lot of contrast between the Conservatives and the government on the issue. There are laws in place that have been ruled as unconstitutional, in violation of the charter, so a lot of the minimum penalties have been thrown out. The current government and the Prime Minister would reinstate minimum sentences. Yes, there is the exceptional clause so the course could be stayed, we would be allowed to continue and things would not be struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada. The Conservative approach is the notwithstanding clause. How many times is the member going to have to bring in the notwithstanding clause to deal with the legislation? Is it twelve times or 20 times? What is the limit?