Parliament is back, and the Conservative Government has rolled their ‘tough on crime’ agenda into Bill C-10: Safe Streets and Communities Act, a.k.a. the Omnibus Crime Bill.
The Omnibus Crime Bill is bad policy. Ideologically driven, the bill will establish harsher laws for youth offenders and legislate mandatory minimum sentences for a number of crimes. The upshot will be overcrowded prisons, billions of dollars flowing from the public purse and a criminal justice system that transforms first time offenders into hardened criminals. Even more troubling, the Bill will disproportionately target people with mental illness, those that suffer from substance abuse or citizens who live in marginalized communities.
Academics, lawyers and judges, police officers and even prison guards agree that ‘tough on crime’ policy does not work. We only need to examine our southern neighbours to remind ourselves that a system of preventative and rehabilitative justice is a hell-of-a-lot better than a system driven by a desire to punish.
The bad news: Harper currently holds a Majority mandate and will likely succeed in passing bill C-10. He has already rammed the Omnibus Crime Bill through parliament, obfuscating information about the financial burden of such legislation while inhibiting meaningful discussion and parliamentary oversight.
The good news: Despite holding a majority mandate, Harper still lacks two essential things: support of evidence and support of the majority of Canadians.
Canadians don’t actually want to be tough on criminals, they just don’t want crime. The Conservative messaging strategists however, have been successful at convincing Canadians that these two interests are synonymous. Days ago, the Conservative Minister of Justice smugly asserted that Bill C-10 is “just the beginning” of changes to the criminal code. It is crucial that the public take back control over the conversation and re-establish that Harper’s approach does not represent Canada’s wishes.
We must tell our government that despite Conservative rhetoric, we know that crime is actuallydecreasing in Canada. We want our precious tax dollars spent on teachers, doctors and childcare providers because we know that prevention and rehabilitation is far cheaper and more effective at reducing crime. We don’t want to operate like the United States who incarcerates one out of every 100 citizens at a cost of $60,000 per year per inmate. We need to tell our Government that Canadians will not vote for a party that devises and imposes key policy decisions based on ideology rather than sound evidence and research.
The Young Greens plan to take a lead on reclaiming this public discussion. As a start, we will be partnering with OpenMedia.ca to screen a documentary on Internet spying on Campuses across Canada. We will be rolling out the details of actions in the coming weeks, please stay tuned as we unveil our ‘schools not cells’ and ‘jobs not jails’ campaigns.
If you are interested in the campaign or wish to find out how you can help, please send us an email at youth@greenparty.ca
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Canada needs Jobs not Jails
I don't get very political but I thought I'd share the Green party's concerns with everyone. Just because I COMPLETELY agree and think something needs to be done. CANADIANS need to act out now or child molesters could get away with lesser harsh offeneses against them then a teen or adult who gets caught with some pot. PLEASE ACT NOW!!!
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