OTTAWA, Ontario – Stormont, Dundas, South Glengarry MP Eric Duncan has tabled legislation in concert with Conservative Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu aimed at protecting victims of violent crime.
The identical pieces of legislation were tabled simultaneously in the House of Commons and the Senate by Duncan and Boisvenu respectively.
The bill aims at amending the Criminal Code of Canada to allow judges to hand down 25 to 40 year prison sentences without the possibility of parole in cases where the convicted individual has abducted, sexually assaulted, or murdered their victim.
In a press release to the media, Duncan explains that the goal of these bills is to protect the victims of these crimes from having to relive their trauma at parole hearings, which can take place every two years after the convicted becomes eligible.
“I am proud to bring this legislation forward again, as it is a compassionate bill that supports victim’s families, who have already been traumatized enough,” said Duncan. “This is a common-sense, bipartisan bill that has received support from other parties over the years. As parliamentarians, we talk about doing more for victims. This bill gives us the perfect chance to put our words into action. It is time to finally get this across the finish line.”
Duncan claims that often those convicted of these types of violent crimes are never granted parole in any case, and do not seek rehabilitation, yet still receive parole hearings every two years.
This bill would not introduce a new mandatory minimum sentence on violent offenders, but instead would leave these decisions to the discretion of judges.
Earlier this week, the Liberal government moved to scrap mandatory minimum sentences for some non-violent drug offences.
