The 2011 Conservative Omnibus Crime Bill

 

Crime Bill C 10 from pjmora on Vimeo.

Crime Bill C 10 - Safer or Meaner? November 18, 2011 In a public forum in Victoria, B.C., hosted by Denise Savoie, MP on November 10, 2011, the following panel members spoke about their serious concerns with the Conservatives' Omnibus Crime Bill C-10. Robert Mulligan – a Victoria criminal lawyer Bruce Parisian – Executive Director of the Victoria Native Friendship Centre Sibylle Artz – Professor at UVic’s School of Child and Youth Care David Hough – Founder of the Restorative Justice Coalition at William Head Institution Chris Beresford – Board member of the John Howard Society of Victoria --- Source: Pacifik.ca - a non-profit, non-partisan collective of concerned citizens aiming towards the development of direct democracy.

Denise Savoie, Member of Parliament, Victoria, organized this panel to provide a public forum to examine the Conservatives’ Omnibus Crime Bill.

In her invitation, Denise Savoie stated: "The government has combined nine separate pieces of legislation from the previous parliament into Bill C-10, some of which we would all support and some of which cries out for closer examination because of its implications for our democracy, our safety and our economy. Unfortunately, the government is refusing to divide the bill so that the uncontested parts can pass easily while the others can be examined with the scrutiny that they deserve.

The message from the government has been that if the Opposition has concerns about some portions of Bill C-10 then the Opposition must be in favour of sexual deviance, violence and terrorism. This kind of politics is deplorable.That is why I have invited a panel of local experts to talk about the legislation and to share with us their thoughts and concerns. There will also be an opportunity to meet with representatives of a number of local organizations that are working on justice issues in our community."

Tough on poverty, tough on crime
February 20, 2011
(...) Less than 10 per cent of Canadians live beneath the poverty line but almost 100 per cent of our prison inmates come from that 10 per cent. (...) Statistics underscore the bleak link between poverty and incarceration. While aboriginals, many mired in poverty, represent 4 per cent of Canada’s population, they make up almost 20 per cent of those in federal prisons
Source:
Toronto Star

Stop Harper's cruel crime bill
Posted: 6 November 2011
In days, Harper will try to push through a crime law that could drastically raise our taxes and dole out harsher punishments for pot smokers than pedophiles -- but Quebec and Ontario have refused to pay for the bad law. Together, we can stand with them and call on every province to ditch the crime bill and protect Canadians from useless expenses.

Click the link above to sign the
petition to Canada’s Provincial Premiers:
"As concerned citizens we urge you to immediately declare your opposition to Conservative Justice Minister Rob Nicholson’s backwards crime bill that will cost Provinces and taxpayers many millions of tax dollars -- wasting our money on a law that isn't needed and that won't make Canada safer."

Source:
AVAAZ.org
Avaaz—meaning "voice" in several European, Middle Eastern and Asian languages—launched in 2007 with a simple democratic mission: organize citizens of all nations to close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want.

Canada's war on crime
Posted by Alex Himelfarb
June 24, 2011
(...) While the rest of government shrinks, our crime control and security establishment grows and with this so too do the authority and reach of government. In an agenda that promises less government interference in our private decisions we get government that is more present and intrusive than ever. All governments must attend to issues of security and every government has worked to prevent crime and reduce its economic and human costs, but never before has crime had the central place that it now holds. It was the issue that ate up the majority of the time of our parliamentarians before the election and the omnibus crime bill signals more of the same. Crime and punishment have become a – or, perhaps, the – defining issue of our government, and the tone — the unrelenting focus on punishment, expanding prison and police powers — represents a profound break from policies of all previous Canadian governments.

Related media coverage:

Texas conservatives reject Harper's crime plan
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/10/17/pol-vp-milewski-texas-crime.html

Quebec balks at Ottawa’s law-and-order agenda
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/quebec-refuses-to-pay-costs-of-federal-crime-bill/article2221192/

Quebec will refuse to pay for omnibus crime bill
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/11/01/pol-omnibus-crime-bill.html

The true costs of ‘truth in sentencing'
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/the-true-costs-of-truth-in-sentencing/article1621898/

Crime bill penalizes logic
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/1450689>http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/1450689

Provinces will pay dearly for Tory crime bill
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/11/04/kevin-libin-provinces-will-pay-dearly-for-tory-crime-bill/

NDP blasts dismal response rate as Tories cut EI call centres
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/ndp-blasts-dismal-response-rate-as-tories-cut-ei-call-centres/article2214647/

Crime bill unfairly targets women, aboriginals, critics say
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/crime-bill-unfairly-targets-women-aboriginals-critics-say-132223703.html

“Bill C-10 will guarantee that aboriginal women remain in prison for longer"
http://www.firstperspective.ca/news/3254-bill-c-10-will-guarantee-that-aboriginal-women-remain-in-prison-for-longerq.html

Police-reported crime statistics
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/110721/dq110721b-eng.htm

Fact Sheet for Police-Reported Crime Statistics In Canada
http://www.justice.gov.sk.ca/Crime-Stats-FACTSHEET2010.pdf