Nine bills rolled into Tories’ massive crime legislation

OTTAWA—The Conservative government re-introduced Tuesday a package of criminal measures to toughen mandatory sentences for drug and sexual offences, ban house arrest for violent crime, and boost police investigative powers.

The comprehensive bill rolls together nine past proposals including tougher measures for “out of control” young offenders. The Harper government promises swift passage within 100 sitting days of parliament now that it has a majority of votes in the Commons.

But the Liberal party immediately promised a “real public fight” in Parliament over the bill, which comes with no price tag and no projections about the impact on prison populations.

Dubbed the Safe Streets and Communities Act, the omnibus bill was also condemned by Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies and the John Howard Society of Canada as costly, irresponsible and misdirected.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson unveiled the bill at a Brampton news conference, not in the House of Commons. A series of cabinet ministers marched before cameras to promote the moves.

The giant package includes measures to toughen penalties against adults who sexually abuse children; create new “grooming” offences; address the international transfers of offenders to ensure “public safety” is the premier consideration in applications to repatriate Canadians convicted abroad; make it easier for victims of terrorism to sue supporters of terrorism or state sponsors of terrorism; and make it harder to get a criminal pardon, or to win parole.

Nicholson promised more crime bills down the road, which would include increasing the powers of citizen arrest.

“Canadians have given us a strong mandate to move forward…we were very clear in the election,” said Nicholson in Brampton.

He was flanked by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, a number of police officers and crime victims’ advocates.

Kenney said “it is important to recognize the rights of victims of criminal acts,” and said new measures include powers for immigration officers to reject a visa application to “shut down” the “foreign stripper” problem, which is “too often a pathway to exploitation.”

Read the Star’s Crime and Punishment series here.

But critics instantly said the bill does not address the real needs of victims, will only bloat prison populations, and lead to further isolation of offenders with mental health issues.

Kim Pate, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society, said the bill will have greater negative impacts on women and aboriginals who are often the victims of violent crime or offenders who end up punished in prisons “because of addictions issues.”

She predicted the cost of expanding prison populations would divert needed funds for treatment and rehabilitation. Tougher mandatory minimums that eliminate judicial discretion will also inadvertently deter some sexual assault victims from reporting offences, she said.

A government backgrounder says today there are approximately 40 criminal offences for which a minimum sentence must be imposed on conviction. The Supreme Court of Canada has recently upheld mandatory minimum penalties as a statement of legislative intent, but said they may be reduced in cases of “particularly egregious” state misconduct.

Liberal leader Bob Rae slammed what he said was a 110-page bill that does not lay out the costs attached for federal and provincial court and prison systems but will “significantly increase the prison population at the rate of $108,000 per inmate per year.”

“The Conservatives are taking us in an ideological direction that has nothing to do with increasing public safety and everything to do with this obsession that they have with the symbolism of denunciation of crime,” said Rae. “We’re all opposed to crime. I haven’t met anybody who’s advocating it, no one in my constituency is soft of crime. We all want to deal with it but this is not the way to do it.

Rae said the government should instead be addressing the concerns of Canadians with what is happening in the “real economy.”

“The only good news statistic we’ve seen lately is that the crime rate is actually going down.” He said “once the provincial elections are over, the provinces will have a great deal to say over the impact…on their budgets.”

In Brampton, Nicholson was asked repeatedly about the costs of the bill.

He declined to specify projected costs of the measures, or to reveal the federal government’s own projections of increased prison populations. He pointed instead to some 500 pages of information tabled last spring associated with two of the government’s crime bills.

Instead he cited the cost of crime as “$99 billion” with an unspecified reference to a 2008 number, adding most of that cost — “83 per cent” — is “borne by victims.”

A Justice Department researcher produced a document in 2008 reported that the “tangible” social and economic costs of Criminal Code offences in Canada were approximately $31.4 billion — a number that encompasses policing, court, prosecution, legal aid, correctional services and mental health review boards. Add in “intangible” costs of $68.2 billion to cover the pain and suffering and lost quality of life for crime victims, and the cost rose to $99.6 billion.

Asked about how the proposals will affect First Nations populations, given the high rate of incarceration aboriginals, and whether judges would still be permitted to consider the special circumstances of aboriginal offenders — as set out by the Supreme Court of Canada, Nicholson said “the laws apply to everyone.”

But he added he recognizes the federal government has a responsibility toward aboriginal populations.

“What we provide the courts are maximums and minimums,” said Nicholson, saying it is up to judges to take into account of other factors. “Our job as parliamentarians is to set the parameters and that’s what we’ve done here.”

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Source: Toronto Star