44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 9, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/9/22 11:05:20 a.m.
- Watch
- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, to the government House leader, conditional sentence orders are a very important tool to ensure that those who pose no risk to society are able to have alternatives to spending time in jail.
I wonder if my colleague can outline how that is going to impact incarceration, particularly of indigenous and Black Canadians. I would note that prior to the many of the mandatory minimum penalties that came in, there were about 11,000 conditional sentence orders that were imposed. Right now, we are hovering around the 6,000 mark, so almost 5,000 Canadians a year spend time unnecessarily in detention and, as a result, face an increased risk of reoffending because of the system they are in.
121 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/9/22 1:13:36 p.m.
- Watch
- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, unfortunately, I do not get the feeling that this government is willing to do that.
We often say that the government prefers to react rather than act. That is often the case. The government does not walk the talk. The community organizations and semi-governmental agencies that could and should be taking over for the prison system when it comes to minimum penalties need money to do their work.
71 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/9/22 4:26:36 p.m.
- Watch
- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, I listened to the member's speech, and in it he purports that mandatory minimum penalties do not contribute to over-representation of Black, indigenous and racialized folks across the country.
That is not the opinion shared by those from the Black Legal Action Centre, the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Frye Societies and the Women's Legal Education & Action Fund who have called for the repealing of all mandatory minimum penalties for exactly that reason.
What does the member have to say to experts like these?
89 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/9/22 7:02:10 p.m.
- Watch
- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member is aware that a number of years ago the Supreme Court struck down a number of mandatory minimum penalties because they were unconstitutional, specifically with respect to section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees against cruel and unusual punishment. In the Nur decision, a quote from the Supreme Court was that, “Empirical evidence suggests that mandatory minimum sentences do not, in fact, deter crimes”.
To understand better, I am curious how he sees the opposite here.
90 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/9/22 7:41:52 p.m.
- Watch
- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, my understanding of the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, from hearing her speeches in this place before, is that she generally seems to prefer less government interference. Removing mandatory minimum penalties gives more judicial discretion to remove government interference from the sentencing, so I wonder if the member could help me understand this disconnect in this particular speech she just gave.
65 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/9/22 7:59:32 p.m.
- Watch
- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, one of the reasons why I believe in repealing mandatory minimum penalties is that it is one of the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. While there is a lot of talk of following through on these calls to action, we need more follow through. Call number 32 specifically calls upon the federal government to amend the Criminal Code to allow trial judges to depart from mandatory minimum sentences and the restriction on the use of conditional sentences as well.
I know the member for Langley—Aldergrove is mindful of hearing the priorities of indigenous peoples in this place. I would like to hear his reflections on that.
114 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
