Lac La Biche County’s representation in Ottawa says keeping more people in jail for longer will help reduce crime in Canada – and that would be worth the extra taxes that could come with it.
Fort McMurray-Athabasca MP Brian Jean said he was among the main forces that pushed the Conservative’s “omnibus” crime bill through Parliament last week, despite the controversy and criticism surrounding the proposed changes to Canada’s justice system.
The Conservative Government used their majority government to pass Bill C-10, also called the Safe Streets and Communities Act, through Parliament March 12 with a vote of 154 to 129.
The bill has nine changes to Canada’s justice system, including more mandatory minimum sentences, a tougher stance on violent youth crime, restrictions on conditional sentences, as well as tougher sentences for child pornography convictions.
Jean said the new measures would help tackle crime issues in Canada – as well as in communities in his constituency. The MP is a member of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights and a former criminal lawyer who practiced in northern Alberta, including Lac La Biche.
“Canadians have told me we have to crack down on pedophiles and drug dealers,” Jean said. “We want to make sure people who would do these crimes know there are serious consequences.”
According to Statistics Canada, the country’s crime levels are the lowest they’ve been since 1973. When asked about why the government wanted to introduce a tough crime bill when crime has been steadily decreasing, Jean said he believes that serious crime is on the rise.
“I think that 20 years ago, you wouldn’t have seen so many people shot and killed in the street,” he said. “And organized crime is also on the rise.”
A Stats Canada report also states that homicide rates are the lowest they’ve been since the mid-1960s.
COULD COST $140 MILLION A YEAR
Ottawa’s independent parliamentary budget officer released a report stating that restricting house arrests and other conditional punishments, which is part of Bill C-10, could cost the provinces and territories $140 million a year – and increase the cost per offender from $2,600 to $41,000 for Canadian taxpayers.
Jean believes that costs to the public will actually go down because it costs more to deal with the rehabilitory and social costs of crime.
But he said that even if costs did go up, it would be worth it to send a message to would-be offenders that Canada is cracking down on crime.
“I’m prepared to pay more taxes and have these costs borne by the public,” Jean said.
“I don’t think any cost is too great. People need to know if they’re going to commit a crime, they’re going to do time.”
National media outlets have reported that the provinces of Quebec and Ontario are unwilling to bear the extra costs the bill could create.
MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES
The Safe Communities Act includes more mandatory minimum sentences, most notably for drug-related offences – including having as few as six marijuana plants. This part of the bill has sparked outrage and opposition from groups including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Bar Association, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as the province of Ontario and Quebec governments.
A 2002 report by the Department of Justice Canada’s Research and Statistics Division cautions that mandatory minimum sentences could have the unintended consequence of making more casual, one-time criminals into repeat offenders.
“The use of incarcerations as a preventive measure … must be finely tuned or its counterproductive effects may well outweigh its benefits,” the report states.
“Therefore, (mandatory minimum sentences) should not be introduced merely to placate a political constituency or without regard to a thorough understanding of the infractions or offenders for whom they are intended.”
But Jean disagrees.
“Mandatory minimum sentences reduce crime,” he said. “And it’ll stop the continuous revolving door our courts have become.”
HAPPY WITH 99 PER CENT OF BILL
Jean said he’s satisfied with 99 per cent of the Safe Communities Act – except that some parts of the bill might be constitutionally suspect.
Critics have said the proposed mandatory minimum sentences could violate Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which states that citizens have the right to liberty and the right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, as well as the right to equal protection and benefit of the law.
“The only thing is the uncertainty that parts of the bill might not be constitutionally valid,” he said. “Other than that, I’m happy with it.”