SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Repeat Offenders

Honourable senators, on March 12, Chong Woo Kim was behind the counter of his little shop in Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood. The 55-year-old owner of the Fleur bleue convenience store was an honest man who ran a small retail business and was much admired by the community and local customers. He was a calm, unassuming and very hard-working man. He was well known to all the locals, a familiar face and a reassuring presence behind the counter of his convenience store, a part of everyday life. His family, too, is described as respected and hard-working. They are, quite simply, good people.

On March 12, fate put Mr. Kim on the path of a dangerous repeat offender. He was stabbed to death in his shop. This brutal, senseless and unthinkable crime has left a family and a community in shock.

The 35-year-old man accused of this murder, Xavier Gellatly, has an extensive and disturbing criminal record.

Over the past two decades, he has been convicted of armed assault, murder, assault, threats, possession of weapons and breach of conditions. In 2012, he stabbed two people in a Vancouver hotel room, killing Chelsea Holden, a mother of two.

Even in custody, he continued to display violent behaviour, stabbing an inmate and assaulting a correctional officer.

Despite this history, despite warnings about how dangerous he was, he was released from custody on several occasions. This ticking time bomb was walking freely on our streets. Just recently, he was stopped in Montreal and he had a knife in his possession, yet he only received a fine.

Now, Mr. Kim is dead. His family, friends and community have lost a loved one.

Honourable senators, we must ask ourselves a simple yet serious question: How could an individual with such a violent past have ended up free on our streets?

This tragedy reminds us that judicial decisions have very real consequences, and that the lenient guidelines we, as legislators, provide to our courts are no different. When, due to our laxity or naivety, a violent repeat offender is still able to strike and kill, the public’s trust is shaken.

Today, my thoughts are with Mr. Kim’s family, his loved ones and all those affected by this tragedy.

My condolences to the entire family.