LUDMILA ANDRÉA

Tories’ Omnibus Crime Bill Passed

The Safe Streets and Communities Act fundamentally changes almost every component of Canada’s criminal justice system. It will:

• Increase penalties for sexual offences against children and create two new offences related to sexual exploitation of children;
• Increase the penalties for drug crimes including the imposition of a number of mandatory minimum sentences. Possession of six marijuana plants for the purposes of trafficking, for instance, would result in a mandatory six-month term;
• Keep violent and repeat young offenders off the streets while they are awaiting trial, require courts to consider adult sentences for youths convicted of the most serious crimes, and allow the publication of the names of violent young offenders;
• Prevent judges from imposing conditional sentences for crimes involving serious personal injury, crimes which carry a maximum prison term of 14 years or more, and some other specified offences;
• Enshrine a victim’s right to participate in parole hearings;
• Extend the ineligibility periods for “record suspensions,” previously known as pardons, to five years for summary conviction offences and to ten years for indictable offences;
• Give the Minister of Public Safety more leeway when deciding whether an offender convicted in another country will be granted a transfer back to Canada;
• Allow victims of terrorism to sue individuals, organizations and foreign states for loss or damage;
• Authorize immigration officers to refuse work permits to foreign nationals when it is determined that they are at risk of humiliating or degrading treatment. (The Globe and Mail)

Basically, in the simplest of terms, it is a very bad thing that I do not agree with. I think it has a lot of important issues in mind but it is not an adequate system and will not bring long-term change. Agreeing with Quebec, I see this bill as a “bandaid” solution that will ultimately bring more harm than good.

I leave you with The Canadian Bar Association’s list of 10 reasons to oppose this bill.