PARLIAMENT HILL, Ottawa—The government tabled its omnibus crime bill in the House of Commons today, packaging together a mass of previous legislation that is attracting heated criticism.
The Safe Streets and Communities Act (Bill C-10) collects nine pieces of legislation that died on the order paper in the previous session of Parliament and aims to fast-track them into law.
Most of the bills packaged in the act strengthen sentences for a list of some of the most egregious offences, including sexually exploiting children, but the omnibus bill will also affect sentences for offences like fraud over $5,000 and small marijuana grow operations.
Another portion of the bill grants immigration officers leeway to deny work permits to exotic dancers and others who could become victims of exploitation or human trafficking in Canada.
The proposed act would also end house arrest or conditional sentences for property and some violent crimes and either eliminate or extend the ineligibility period for pardons for other crimes.
For Canadians sentenced overseas, the bill adds criteria the Minister of Public Safety could consider when deciding whether to allow them transfer back to Canada to serve their time.
One of the more unique bills packaged in the omnibus bill is the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act and related amendments to the State Immunity Act , formerly Bill S-7, which would give terrorism victims the ability to sue perpetrators, including some foreign states, for crimes committed overseas.
The government is facing pointed questions over the cost of the new provisions, while some groups are concerned about the effectiveness of the legislation and its impact on marginalized populations.
In an event in Brampton Tuesday, Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson said he was proud to table the legislation but could not directly address costs. Instead he cited 500 pages of documents provided to Parliament and said that the real costs of crime are borne by victims.
“We campaigned on a promise to get tough on child sexual offenders, crack down on illegal drug trafficking, and improve the overall efficiency of our judicial system. Canadians gave us a strong mandate to bring forward these reforms,” he said in a statement released to the press.
Further Strain on Prison System
Critics of the bill are concerned that by packaging nine pieces of legislation together, the various provisions will get less scrutiny by Parliament. The government says the act re-introduces several reforms that were previously debated but never became law. Many of those bills saw little debate time however, and were left low on the governments legislative agenda.
Among the bill’s detractors is a small host of groups that came to Parliament Hill Tuesday to tell the press that the new bill was going in the wrong direction and could cost billions.
Catherine Latimer, executive director of the John Howard Society of Canada, says their group has concerns about the effectiveness of the bill and its impacts.
“We think it will endanger corrections workers and inmates,” she said.
The John Howard Society and other groups that work to rehabilitate released prisoners say the bill targets the most vulnerable members of society and will further strain a prison system already in crisis due to overcrowding.
California had to reduce overcrowding in prisons after U.S. courts ruled prison conditions amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. Canada has the protections against cruel and unusual punishment as well, Latimer noted.
She said they are also concerned about the unknown costs of the bill—costs that would be borne largely by the provinces.
“We are in a fragile economy when many taxpayers are carrying record levels of personal debt, and will be asked to endure significant reductions in public spending. And I think many Canadians are asking whether, in the face of reducing crime rates, expending huge resources on prison expansion is really in the best interest of Canadians.”
Costs have to be provided before a decision can be made on C-10, argues Kim Pate, executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies which works to reduce the number of women in prison.
“The fact that the government fell on a contempt of Parliament reality, just at the moment when they were refusing to provide all the costs of all of the bills that were then being proposed is, I think, very important for all of us to remember.”
Pate wants an immediate amendment stating that until every province and the federal government has signed off that they can afford the real cost of the bill that it cannot be enacted.
