FFWD - Calgary News & Views - News - Crime bill

FFWD - Calgary News & Views - News - Crime bill

"The clock is ticking on the Harper government’s promise to pass its omnibus crime bill within 100 parliamentary days (expected to come around mid-March). Bill C-10, known as the Safe Streets and Communities Act, is opposed by other levels of government, lawyers, criminologists, advocacy groups and virtually every stakeholder. One voice that has remained noticeably mute is the Alberta government’s.

The bill is a 150-page bundle of seven previously introduced measures, which were not passed, created for the Conservatives’ “tough on crime” agenda. If passed, it will, among other things: allow the victims of terrorism to sue terrorists; extend the time period required before criminal pardons are granted; discontinue house arrest for violent criminals; introduce safeguards against human trafficking; and usher in minimum sentences for sexual offences against children, drug-related offences and repeat young offenders.

The Alberta government has relatively little to say about the omnibus crime bill, but it is supportive. Alberta Justice Minister Verlyn Olson, speaking recently in the legislature, said that Alberta backed the legislation when it was introduced last spring and continues to do so now. Alberta Justice spokesperson Josh Stewart reiterates Olson’s position.

“We were supportive of them (the seven bills) in the past and we’re supportive of them still,” Stewart says. “We were involved in quite a bit of the work behind C-10; a lot of the legislative changes at the federal level we’ve been pushing for over the years.” Stewart points to mandatory sentencing and added prohibitions against the sexual predation of children as two of the areas the Alberta government had a hand in.

“I think Albertans definitely are pro for a stance of being tough on crime. I don’t think there’s a question on that,” he adds.

Not every province shares that view. Ontario and Quebec’s governments are perhaps the most vocally opposed. Both provinces are fighting the omnibus bill’s hardline stance on crime and refusing to pay for the anticipated expansion of the corrections system.

Stewart and the solicitor general’s spokesperson, Jason Maloney, dismiss concerns over increased costs as premature.

“There are going to be costs, but it does take money to fight crime,” says Stewart. “It’s really too early to speculate on what the costs might be or against how those costs might be split.”

While the provincial government appears confident Albertans support the proposed changes, those in the province who are familiar with crime and punishment seem unanimously opposed."