Monday, December 7, 1998
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CANADA VOLUME 135 S NUMBER 167 S 1st SESSION S 36th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Monday, December 7, 1998 Speaker: The Honourable Gilbert Parent CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) All parliamentary publications are available on the ``Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire'' at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 10945 HOUSE OF COMMONS Monday, December 7, 1998 The House met at 11 a.m. We have already heard government members speak in opposition to this legislation. That is most unfortunate, but not really surpris- _______________ ing. Once again this government sings the tune that it is in favour of safer streets and more secure communities, but when it gets down Prayers to the short strokes it typically fails to dance the dance and _______________ continues to maintain the status quo. Government members are quick to cite support from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police when they happen to be on the same page, but they PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BUSINESS invariably ignore these same chiefs when additional protections are sought. As mentioned by the member for Wild Rose, the chiefs D (1105 ) themselves initially proposed this change to our law. [English] The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice claims that Canadians are already well served by common law principles MOTION NO. 300 of sentencing and current legislation. The Deputy Speaker: I would like to inform the House that under the provisions of Standing Order 30 I am designating Going back to my initial example, yes, there is an offence for Tuesday, December 8, 1998, as a day fixed for the consideration of stealing a motor vehicle and, yes, there is an offence for robbing a private member’s Motion No. 300 standing in the order of prece- bank and, yes, a judge considers both the theft and the robbery at dence in the name of the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre. sentencing. However, we all know that multiple convictions virtu- ally always draw concurrent sentences. [Translation] The other period provided for the consideration of Private Bill C-219 impresses upon those judges that they are to proceed Members’ Business will run from 6.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., after as always by imposing an appropriate sentence, but that they are which the House will proceed to the adjournment motion, pursuant then to add another year to the total. As part of their function they to Standing Order 38(8). are to consider the wishes and instructions of parliament which, if it supports this bill, will serve notice to both potential offenders and [English] the courts that the representatives of the people are seriously It being 11.07 a.m., the House will now proceed to the consider- concerned with the theft of motor vehicles to commit other ation of Private Members’ Business as listed on today’s order offences and we have decided to pronounce additional condemna- paper. tion. * * * I will point out some of the justification for this proposal. According to Statistics Canada, some 178,580 vehicles were stolen CRIMINAL CODE in 1996. The rate of vehicle theft has been increasing for eight The House resumed from October 20 consideration of the consecutive years, nearly doubling since 1988. In 1995-96 the cost motion that Bill C-219, an act to amend the Criminal Code (using of stolen vehicles and their components amounted to $600 million. or operating a stolen motor vehicle in the commission of an That is $600 million a year for vehicle theft. offence), be read the second time and referred to a committee. D (1110 ) Mr. Chuck Cadman (Surrey North, Ref.): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in support of Bill C-219. I know that justice issues Both the solicitor general and the justice minister have received are very important to my colleague from Wild Rose. This bill is strong messages to introduce policy to reduce auto theft. The simple. It is not rocket science. A person stealing a vehicle to rob a problem is not just with auto as in car theft; there has been a large bank will be subject to a third offence of stealing a vehicle to increase in the number of trucks stolen in recent years given the commit another crime. That third offence will get an automatic tremendous increase in popularity of minivans and sport utility one-year sentence added to the sentence for other offences. vehicles. 10946 COMMONS DEBATES December 7, 1998 Private Members’ Business These statistics reveal the nature of the problem of auto theft The member for Wild Rose through his private member’s bill is in Canada. Of course not all stolen vehicles are subsequently at least proposing a method to attempt to protect Canadians from involved in other crime. This legislation addresses the problem not only motor vehicle theft, but in some cases serious injury or of the more professional criminal, those who steal a vehicle and even death. He is merely asking for a consecutive sentence for then continue on to other criminal activities. Surely these individu- those professional criminals who steal a vehicle in order to commit als deserve extra attention. another crime. Surely this is a laudable and long overdue initiative. Surely its passage will cause some criminals to have second thoughts about stealing a vehicle to use in other crimes. Surely the One thing I have learned here is this government’s resistance to sentence imposed through this proposal will act as a deterrent to change. It is most often quite content with the status quo. It only others. moves on crises. Another is its apparent policy of not permitting any individual member of this place to succeed in bringing forth As I speak of this legislation I cannot help but compare it to change. As a member of the committee on justice and human another private member’s bill which is presently before the justice rights, I continue to see this government through ministers and committee. I refer to Bill C-251, which seeks to impose consecu- parliamentary secretaries being unwilling to support private mem- tive sentencing on those convicted of multiple murders or sexual ber initiatives, especially those of the opposition. We can only hope assaults. We know that the vast majority of Canadians are in that members of the government backbench will see the wisdom of support of this initiative. I would seriously believe they would also Bill C-219. be in support of consecutive sentencing for those who steal a motor vehicle in order to commit another crime. It only makes sense. Opposition to the bill appears to be based solely on the reliance on present laws to properly address the problem. If the present laws As the member for Wild Rose is fond of saying ‘‘We need more are doing the job, then why do we have this epidemic of motor common sense in this place’’. We need to impress upon those who vehicle theft? Why do we have a proliferation of anti-theft devices consider making a career of crime that we intend to deal most for vehicles? Why are manufacturers installing satellite tracking seriously with their multiple offences. systems in many new vehicles? Why, when we walk on virtually any urban street in Canada, do we see a variety of locking bars on steering wheels or little red lights flickering on the dashboard Here are some numbers from my home city of Surrey, British indicating that an alarm system is armed? Columbia. Corporal Greg Roche of the Surrey RCMP auto theft division provided me with statistics for January 1 to October 31 of this year. During that period 3,161 cars were stolen, 823 trucks, 75 The same holds true for vehicles parked on residential driveways motorcycles, and 62 other vehicles such as all terrain vehicles. That and even private garages. Why, when we unwittingly brush against is a total of 4,121 stolen vehicles. If we exclude the motorcycles a car in a crowded parking lot, do we run the risk of setting off a and others, we still have 3,984 cars and trucks in 309 days, or an chorus of sirens, whistles and klaxons? Obviously the present laws average of nearly 13 vehicles each day. That is about one stolen and the present judicial discretion concerning sentencing are not vehicle for every 80 residents of Surrey. working. D (1115 ) I agree with the Progressive Conservative House leader who said that it would toughen the criminal sanctions for those individuals About two years ago I was playing in a hockey tournament. My who use a stolen vehicle to assist in the commission of their wife and I left the arena around midnight, about a half hour before criminal act. my daughter left with a friend. Turning a corner, we saw a blaze of flashing emergency lights about five blocks ahead. The road was cordoned off two blocks from the scene but we could see a In many instances the government has gone out of its way to horrendous car wreck. My heart leaped into my throat because this protect the rights of criminals. It has been much slower to protect was the route my daughter would have taken home. After an the security of the public. We all recognize the tax burden on anxious few minutes spent taking a detour, we turned on to our citizens. We may not be so clear as to how, through increases in street and saw her friend’s car in our driveway. crime, citizens are expending an ever increasing proportion of steadily shrinking disposable income on protection devices.