Here's what the Canadian Bar Association had to say:
The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) has concerns with several aspects of the government’s proposed omnibus crime bill, including mandatory minimum sentences and overreliance on incarceration, constraints on judges’ discretion to ensure a fair result in each case, and the Bill’s impact on specific, already disadvantaged groups.
The Bill’s approach is contrary to what is known to lead to a safer society. The CBA is also concerned about how this omnibus process is likely to limit appropriate careful parliamentary study of the Bill’s component parts. The Bill, Safe Streets and Communities Act, was introduced today (Sept 20).
“The impact on northern residents, Aboriginal people and people with mental illness will be especially profound,” says Dan MacRury, of Sydney, Nova Scotia, chair of the CBA’s National Criminal Justice Section. The CBA believes that the Bill will make already serious criminal justice system problems much worse, with huge resource implications.
Here's what Elizabeth May, Green Party leader and MP for Saanich Gulf Islands, had to say (she had the final word) during the prematurely closed debate on the omnibus crime bill:
“Mr. Speaker, the clock is ticking and this debate is closing far too soon for those of us who believe that we are on the verge of a very large, serious mistake that future parliamentarians will have to struggle to correct.
First, let me say to the hon. government benches and the members here where we agree. I would happily vote for the Victims of Terrorism Act. I would vote to change the Criminal Records Act to replace the word “pardon” with “record suspension”.
However, I will be forced to vote against this legislation if it comes packaged with sections that would cause this country nothing but grief.
I wish to say to all hon. members on the government side whose talking points have repeatedly forced them to say that those who question the flawed premise of mandatory minimum sentences have somehow sided with criminals against victims. Nothing could be further from the truth. Members of my family are involved in law enforcement. People close to me have been murdered.
It is not as though we side with criminals when we recognize a piece of legislation is so egregiously flawed that this place should say "no." We look at all the evidence from criminologists, not just one or two, but all of them. We look at evidence from our own Department of Justice that studied this matter in 2002. We look at what is happening in the U.S., not only at the fact that its prisons are full of people but its prisons are full of people disproportionately low-income and black.
We also look at what could happen in this country. We have seen the report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and the report on the Commission on Systemic Racism in the Ontario Criminal Justice System. We know that with this legislation, without a lot of changes in our system, we would disproportionately fill our jails with people who should not be in jail.
We also know that this legislation would cost us billions, which has not been fully costed. Yet, at the end of the day, it may actually result in weaker sentences for those who deserve higher sentences because we would ruin the opportunity for judicial discretion.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.”
If you would like to contact your own Member of Parliament, click on the link for a suggested template letter and your MP's address.
Here follows the template content:
Dear Member of Parliament,
As a voter and one of your constituents, I want to clearly express to you my concerns with and opposition to Bill C-10 – the omnibus crime bill.
This legislation is severely flawed. While there are parts of the Bill that are indeed worthwhile, I believe many of the others will only undermine and shame our entire system and ideal of justice in Canada.
I don’t want police to be able to spy on my emails and internet communications without a proper warrant from a court of law.
I do not believe a teenager charged with possessing a few pot plants should be treated more harshly than someone charged with sexually molesting a child.
In Canada we have a correctional system, not a penal system. I do not believe mandatory minimum sentences serve the best interests of justice. This legislation will fill our jails with people who should not be in jail.
I have seen the news reports from the United States. I know this approach to justice has been tried there, and it has failed.
Furthermore, as a taxpayer, I am very concerned with what this legislation is going to cost me. Each new prisoner will cost an additional $108,000 per year of my money. I understand the new prisons that will need to be built to house these extra prisoners will also cost billions more. In this time of deficits, this is not how I want my government to spend my money.
As my representative in Parliament, I am therefore calling on you now to faithfully respect the wishes of your constituents and vote against Bill C-10.
Sincerely,
