A Conservative Kamloops-area MP has introduced a private members bill looking to give people extra protections when evacuated.

Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola MP Dan Albas has brought forward Bill C-447. If passed it would amend the Criminal Code of Canada to allow judges to take natural disasters into account when sentencing criminals.

“The whole point of the bill is, when people are experiencing the most vulnerable time in their lives, they need to be concerned about their family’s health and safety and not being worried about their home being looted while they’re away,” Albas says.

“The bill basically would allow, when an evacuation order is declared by a local mayor or a federal or provincial official, that people will have special protections for their property as they evacuate.”

Albas says he hopes the bill will be debated in the House of Commons before the summer break.

He says similar legislation already exists in Australia and parts of the United States.