CONSERVATIVES KEEPING TO COMMITMENT OF LAW AND ORDER

This week in Parliament, our government introduced Bill C-10, omnibus
crime legislation called the Safe Streets and Communities Act.

It incorporates a number of crime and public safety bills that were
introduced and debated in previous parliamentary sessions but were not
passed before the last election.

The main components of the bill are:

- The Protecting Children from Sexual Predators Act (former Bill
C-54), which proposes increased penalties for sexual offences against
children as well as creates two new offences aimed at conduct that
could facilitate or enable the commission of a sexual offence against
a child;

- The Penalties for Organized Drug Crime Act (former Bill S-10), which
would target organized crime by imposing tougher sentences for the
production and possession of illicit drugs for the purposes of
trafficking with particular emphasis on trafficking to youth;

- Sebastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders,
the former Bill C-4), which would ensure that violent and repeat young
offenders are held accountable for their actions and that the
protection of society is a paramount consideration in the treatment of
young offenders by the justice system;

- The Ending House Arrest for Property and Other Serious Crimes by
Serious and Violent Offenders Act (former Bill C-16), which would
eliminate the use of conditional sentences or house arrest, for
serious and violent crimes;

- The Increasing Offender Accountability Act (former Bill C-39), which
would enshrine a victims' right to participate in parole hearings and
address inmate accountability, responsibility and management under the
Corrections and Conditional Release Act;

- The Eliminating Pardons for Serious Crimes Act (former Bill C-23B),
which would extend the ineligibility periods for applications for a
record suspension (currently called a "pardon") from three to five
years for summary conviction offences and from five to ten years for
indictable offences;

- The Keeping Canadians Safe (International Transfer of Offenders) Act
(formerly Bill C-5), which would add additional criteria that the
minister of public safety could consider when deciding whether or not
to allow the transfer of a Canadian offender back to Canada to serve
their sentence;

- The Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act and related amendments to
the State Immunity Act (formerly Bill S-7), which would allow victims
of terrorism to sue perpetrators and supporters of terrorism,
including listed foreign states, for loss or damage that occurred as a
result of an act of terrorism committed anywhere in the world; and

- The Preventing the Trafficking, Abuse and Exploitation of Vulnerable
Immigrants Act (formerly Bill C-56), which would authorize immigration
officers to refuse work permits to vulnerable foreign nationals when
it is determined that they are at risk of humiliating or degrading
treatment, including sexual exploitation or human trafficking.

Critics of the legislation are characterizing the government's
approach to law and order as punitive rather than preventive and
lacking in compassion for marginalized people in our society.

I encourage you to consider the objectives of the legislation before
you accept this view.

The Criminal Code sets out the laws of our society and therefore
provides support for law enforcement and our courts in determining
appropriate actions and punishment when those laws are broken.

With a sound judicial system in place our society can focus on
prevention by identifying and addressing the root causes of crime
including mental health, homelessness, poverty and addiction.

Our government is keeping its commitment to Canadians to improve the
overall efficiency of our judicial system while finding the
appropriate balance between criminals and victims.

It clearly communicates that those who commit crimes will be held
fully accountable for their actions and that the safety and security
of law-abiding Canadians and victims comes first in Canada's justice
system.

Anyone wishing to access the full text of the Safe Streets and
Communities Act can do so at www.parl.gc.ca by following the "Bills"
link on the main page.