OTTAWA — The federal government has reintroduced legislation that would make it tougher for convicted multiple murderers to get parole.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, who first introduced the bill in October 2009, said it would end "sentence discounts" for multiple murderers.

The new law would allow judges to impose consecutive parole eligibility for people convicted of more than one murder, instead of the existing concurrent practice.

First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence with no parole eligibility for 25 years, while the minimum parole eligibility for second-degree murder stands at 10 years.

Under the new law, a multiple murderer convicted of both those offences would have to wait 35 years to apply for parole.

The proposed change means someone convicted of two first degree-murder charges would have to wait 50 years instead of the current 25 to apply for parole.