mandatory minimums

By: Alan Coxwell Stirling, The Intelligencer

 

What an extreme pleasure it was to receive yet another postage-free, feel-good message from our Hastings & Prince Edward Member of Parliament in my rural mailbox last week.

 

In his two-page note Daryl Kramp told me "Conservatives Standing Up for Canadian Consumers" is what his government has been doing up on Parliament Hill during these dog days of the summer of 2010.

 

Featured prominently was a smiling, 30- something couple heading back to their car in a mall parking lot with a couple of kids in an otherwise empty shopping cart.

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By Phillip Smith, Stop the Drug War

 

Canada's Conservative minority government hopes the third time is the charm for its controversial measure to increase sentences for marijuana cultivation and introduce mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offenses. Now known as S-10, the measure will be taken up by the Senate when it returns from recess at end of next month.

 

The bill is designed to "send a message" that "if you sell or produce drugs, you'll pay with jail time," Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said when re-filing the bill in May.

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Times Colonist

 

If the Conservative government was serious about being "tough on crime" it wouldn't tolerate a broken RCMP lab system that leaves officers routinely waiting months -- or years -- for critical results.

 

We are not talking about minor offences. In April 2009, Paul Rouxel was found dead in his Victoria apartment. Only this week, 16 months later, did police announce he was a homicide victim. Long delays in getting results from the RCMP's Vancouver forensic lab played a major role in the destructive wait.

 

That kind of delay makes solving any crime much more difficult. Neighbours and witnesses move; memories fade; the killers disappear to another province or country.

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By Margaret Speirs - Terrace Standard

 

THE NORTHWEST has more than its fair share of problems delivering justice, the president of the BC branch of the Canadian Bar Association acknowledged during a tour of the area.

 

James Bond, a lawyer from Vancouver, met with lawyers from the area to get their opinions on how things are working here.

 

A lack of judges

 

“I think that generally speaking provincial courts at the provincial level, there is a problem across the province with a lack of judges currently,” said Bond.

 

“I think it’s more pronounced here than in other areas. I think you guys are somewhat worse off than fellow British Columbians.”

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By: HARRIS MACLEOD, The Hill Times

 

The Parliamentary Budget Officer would prefer not to do any more studies into the costs of the Harper government's slate of law and order legislation, saying it's now up to Parliamentarians to demand that full cost estimates are provided for the rest of the proposed changes to the justice system.

 

Liberal Public Safety critic Mark Holland (Ajax-Pickering, Ont.) asked Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page to analyse the costs of all the government's proposed justice legislation. To date, the PBO has only reported on the costs of Bill C-25, the so-called truth in sentencing act, a bill to limit credit given for time served in pre-sentencing custody.

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By: Nicole Seguin, National Post Full Comment

 

Mr. Toews states that the Conservative government is ‘unwavering in its commitment to providing law-enforcement agencies with the tools they need to make our streets safer.’

 

Except, it would seem, for the gun registry. The program’s strongest supporters include three national police organizations: the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Police Boards, and the Canadian Police Association. These organizations count the registry as a “valuable tool”, and have spoken out against bill C-391, which continues to be pushed by Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner.

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Yet he somehow tries to justify the expansion of old and new prisons, without admitting the cost will be well into $9 Billion and much higher over time, even though that clearly proves there will be more people imprisoned at an alarming rate, not more people rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.

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By: Chris McCormick, Daily Gleaner

 

It was like watching a kid's party game, with children staggering around with blindfolds on trying to pin the tail on the donkey. Or maybe it was the adult version, except everybody's drunk and they're using daggers.

 

I was watching a video of Stockwell Day, Treasury Board minister, making a presentation to the media on Canada's Economic Action Plan.

 

He was asked why, "during a time of declining crime rates he wanted to blow nine billion dollars on prisons." He was asked if that didn't send a confusing message to Canadians about the government's role as deficit fighter.

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By: Kevin Usselman and Melissa Ramsay, 660 News

 

A controversial new bill proposed by the Conservative government is sparking heated debate.

 

A number of groups across the country are speaking out against Bill C-15 [editor's note: Bill C-15 was the prior incarnation of Bill S-10, which remains before the Canadian Senate], which contains mandatory minimum sentences for drug convictions.

 

An Alberta organization fears if the bill is passed, a number of innocent people who have mental, physical and emotional problems, will be wrongfully incarcerated.

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By: Vic Toews, National Post

 

Our government is committed to initiatives that make our communities safer. That is why the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) continues to provide training and job skills so that criminals can prove they are ready to be released back into our communities. The protection of Canadians must come first.

 

In February 2009, the CSC announced that prison-farm operations located in federal institutions would be discontinued. The federal government recorded $7.5-million in revenues from the six farms in 2007-08, but expenses were $11.6-million, leaving the CSC with an operational net loss of over $4-million for the farms. Over the past five years, less than 1% of those released found employment on independently operated farms. We do not believe that a 1% success rate is an effective use of taxpayers’ dollars. (Other prison-site business programs will continue, including manufacturing, services, construction, and textiles.)

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