MONTREAL — If the Conservative government intends to introduce some sort of legislation against so-called honour crimes, the plan remains far from clear.

After days of confusion, the minister for the Status of Women did little Thursday to clarify the government's intentions while speaking at a public event.

Rona Ambrose's roundtable meeting with minority groups came three days after she declared Ottawa was looking at amending the Criminal Code to include so-called honour crimes.

That statement was swiftly dismissed by the Justice Department, which then changed its tune later in the week and said her comments did reflect government policy.

But on Thursday Ambrose was vague when asked whether the government would, in fact, amend the Criminal Code to set out specific punishments for those who cite "honour" to justify their crimes.

In response to several related questions, she said culture or religion should not be used as justification for murder in an attempt to get a lighter sentence.

"No culture, no religion can ever be used as an excuse for murder," Ambrose said.

"Murder is murder and we expect them to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

Handlers quickly moved Ambrose away following a news conference.

When asked what Ambrose's remarks meant with respect to the Criminal Code, a spokeswoman for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson was equally non-committal.

"Since coming into office, our Government has taken concrete steps to ensure the rights of criminals do not take precedence over those of victims and law-abiding Canadians," Genevieve Breton said in an email.

"We will continue to deliver on our promises and look at ways to strengthen and improve the Criminal Code and the overall Canadian justice system."

Ambrose called on cultural communities -- in particular the men in those communities -- to speak out against violence against women.

Speaking to community groups Thursday in Montreal, Ambrose asked them to propose projects aimed at solving a problem they have highlighted as a priority.

A rash of recent cases in Ontario and Quebec have brought the issue back to the forefront.

The Shafia family, a Quebec couple and their eldest son, are charged with slaying three daughters and the husband's first wife.

In another Quebec case, an Afghan-born woman is charged in the attempted murder of her teenage daughter -- whom she allegedly stabbed in the head -- in what police have described as an honour crime. The girl had arrived home late after a night out, police say.

And in Mississauga, 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez was killed in the family home by her father and brother after a dispute over her choice of dress, her friends and other issues.

The two men were sentenced to life in prison after guilty pleas last month to second-degree murder.

Ambrose said that in some previous cases, plea bargains have been used to whittle down charges and shrink prison terms.

Ambrose said it's important that lawyers, judges, prosecutors, police officers understand that they shouldn't be making assumptions about crimes and culture.

"I think the issue about the Criminal Code is that we want tough sentences for serious crimes," Ambrose said.

"And we're looking to make sure -- whether through raising awareness or judges' understand (of) the seriousness of these crimes -- that no culture, no religion can ever be used as an excuse for these crimes."

Tory Sen. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, also on hand in Montreal, said perhaps a period of reflection is in order, along with a more in-depth look at a dozen documented honour-slayings in Canada since 2002.

Boisvenu said there's a concern that alleged honour crimes are often viewed as crimes of passion, instead of premeditated ones.

"There's no passion in crime, there's no culture in crime, it's a crime," Boisvenu said.

"And if people are receiving second-degree murder convictions because it's considered a passionate crime or cultural crime, then we should act in that case and ensure it's considered a first-degree murder."