Link to the full debate:

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/housechamberbusiness/ChamberPublication IndexSearch.aspx?retPublicationDocumentId=2224630

Mr. Dave Van Kesteren (Chatham-Kent—Essex, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, we heard a lot today about crime and punishment. I would like to challenge some of those statistics and some of the statements.

I grew up poor and I would bet that there are a lot of people here who grew up poor, too. All my friends grew up poor. Quite frankly, we did not break the law, but we did get into a lot of trouble at home.

I want to challenge some of these things that members are talking about and then I will ask the member a question. Another thing that I hear repeatedly is prison being referred to as repression. I wonder where we are going with all this.

Crime is going down. I have heard that so much. I have two sons who are police officers. We just listened to the hon. member on the other side. My sons tell me crime is not going down but the reporting of it is going down. The police and public are reporting less. The police are frustrated and I would suggest that the public is getting frustrated, as well. We have a system that just does not seem to be working.

Whether or not we agree on these issues, and we could debate them for a long time, but the underlying issue is, should the time be indicative of the crime? Is this repression we are talking about or should there be punishment for wrongdoers, and should it reflect what they have done?