Keep Talking Justice Reform: MP

Niagara MPs discussed justice reform recently, as rapist Daniel Senecal waits for sentencing after attacking little girl

Niagara South Conservative MP says pressure is growing to fix Canada's justice system concerning repeat violent sexual offenders like Daniel Senecal.

Fred Davies had a roundtable this week with sexual abuse survivors and other Niagara MPs, Tony Baldinelli and Dean Allison, saying the Liberal government added a safety valve to recent legislation.  "Minimum sentences don't really mean that much when a judge has the authority to already automatically determine on subjective analysis on whether a minimum sentence is appropriate."

He's not sure how the judge will handle Senecal, who raped a 3-year old Welland girl.  "But, the law still provides safety valves for people to have lighter sentences.  Now, I'm not suggesting for a moment that the judge is going to do this with Daniel Senecal, but we need clarity, and we need certainty with crimes like this."

He encourages more of a national discussion, adding change won't happen with this government.  "The more we shed light on this, the greater the pressure on the government to make changes.  And, I don't want to make this a partisan issue, but I can tell you with certainty, if a Conservative government were elected, these changes happen nearly immediately."

He says recent Liberal legislation makes mimimum sentencing meaningless, as Senecal waits sentencing.  "For me, it was personal because I grew up on that street, my grandparents lived just a few houses down from where she lived, so I knew the neighbourhood as a child, I used to walk the street with my grandfather, down Crowland Avenue." 

He adds a discussion to making the sex offender registry public must continue. 

Hamilton East Conservative MP Ned Kuruc and Conservative Shadow Minister for Justice Arpan Khanna were also there.