GET SMART, NOT TOUGH, ON CRIME

The Harper Conservatives are at it again with their costly
conduct-no-research policy making. Rob Nicholson and Stephen Harper
are spearheading a campaign to introduce mandatory minimum sentences
for a litany of drug crimes.

After their first two attempts failed (Bill C-26 and Bill C-15), the
Conservatives are hoping the newly stacked Senate will pass this bill
unamended. The bill introduces mandatory minimum drug penalties for
offenses like growing six marijuana plants or making a pot brownie and
sharing it with friends. This comes at a time when recent polls
suggest more than half of Canadians want marijuana legalized.

It also comes at a time when vast quantities of research decrying
mandatory minimum penalties as a crime deterrent, particularly when
dealing with drug crime, are readily available. A quick Google search
yields a variety of institutions condemning mandatory minimum
sentencing as a costly, unjust and ineffective deterrent.

In a 2006 publication, Canada's Parliamentary Information and Research
Service was unable to find a direct cause and effect deterrent
relationship between MMS and crime in nearly all available research.
Furthermore, while examining the issue of MMS for drug crimes, the
publication finds that since the late 1980s (when the United States
introduced MMS for certain federal drug offenses), "drug-related crime
in the United States has been generally unaffected."

The publication also describes many consequences of MMS. For instance,
decisions regarding appropriate punishment are transferred from judges
to prosecutors. Prosecutors have the power to lay different charges
that may not carry a MMS, while judges are limited in their sentencing
power once charges have been laid. Increased costs to the justice
system are also cited, due to lengthier sentences. MMS also often
removes any incentive for accused to plead guilty, so more cases go to
trial. Trial cases may result in jury nullification, due to a jury's
refusal to convict the accused based on an unfair mandatory sentence.
The document also cites a survey that more than half of Canadian
judges felt that MMS hindered their ability to impose a just sentence.

With overwhelming amounts of research (including the government's own)
explaining the lack of effectiveness of MMS, a population calling for
looser drug laws, and the highest ever deficit in Canadian history,
why are the Conservatives opting for another costly, unpopular and
ineffective new "tough-on-crime" bill?

This is just the latest in a series of Conservative commitments that
seem to be uncalled for by Canadians, unsupported by science and yet
are often costly: G20 security, $1.2 billion; fighter jet
purchase/maintenance, $16 billion; new prison funding, up to $13
billion; Truth in Sentencing Act, $4 billion; and new
serious/organized crime definitions.

Canadians just spent 11 years making significant gains in paying down
our deficit, and some economists estimate that at this spending rate
we will have eliminated those gains by the middle of next year. That
burden will our children's to bear.

Stephen Harper, get smart on crime or get out of office!

Alex Long,
Peterborough