TOUGH ON CRIME?

Good news: Despite the fact that crime rates in Canada have been
falling steadily since 1991 (according to StatsCan), Stephen Harper
is planning on getting "tough on crime" with Bill C-26.

If putting people in jail was the answer to stopping crime, the
United States would be crime-free. Unfortunately, the evidence is
clear that extremist law and order measures have no deterrent effect
on crime rates.

Former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler called mandatory minimum
sentencing "ineffective" and U.S. Supreme Court judge Anthony Kennedy
(who was appointed by Ronald Reagan) has said that mandatory minimum
sentencing is all too often "unwise and unjust."

The absurdity of Bill C-26 knows no limits. Under the proposed
legislation, any "organized crime" group guilty of trafficking
cannabis will face a mandatory sentence of one year in jail. That
means any three people (which is what is considered "organized
crime") sitting on a couch passing a joint around (trafficking does
not need to involve money) can face a year in prison. That's right,
parents: Stephen Harper wants to put your kids (and probably many of
your friends) in jail.

An equally frightening aspect of Bill C-26 is the interference of the
legislature in the independence of our judiciary. A cornerstone of
our society is independent, impartial judges with the discretion to
deliver decisions and hand out sentences on a case-by-case basis.
With Bill C-26 the federal government will obstruct this independence
and start telling judges what to do.

Furthermore, Bill C-26 will put the lives of law enforcement officers
in further jeopardy. Real criminals and drug traffickers, if faced
with unnecessarily long and harsh prison sentences, will be more
likely to use violence as a means of evading arrest. Indeed, because
of the increased dangers of being in the drug trade there is no doubt
prices for hard-drugs like heroin and cocaine will skyrocket.

That means that marginalized people who are struggling with substance
abuse will be forced to resort to desperate measures to get their
drugs: more persons smashing car windows and more sex trade workers
putting themselves on the street.

Bill C-26 may in fact increase crime rates that have been going down for years.

If the Conservatives were serious about tackling the issue of crime,
they would invest in rehabilitative programs for offenders and
concentrate on restorative justice. Most importantly they would focus
on the roots of crime: poverty, neglect, broken communities, racism,
substance abuse and mental health issues. And finally, they would end
the prohibition of cannabis that is currently achieving nothing more
than a cash cow for gangs and criminal records for law-abiding Canadians.

Canada does not need a War on Drugs. We do not need more prisons. My
question is will John Cummins stand up to this latest attempt to
Americanize Canada?

Thomas Hubert

Delta