To the editor:
I'm writing to express my opposition to the Omnibus Crime Bill the Harper government is currently trying to ram through Parliament. This bill will not make Canada safer.
Indeed, the Canadian Bar Association (made up of 37,000 legal professionals) has opposed the bill, saying it is an overreaction to imaginary problems. The strategy taken in this bill has failed in other jurisdictions where it has been tried, including Texas, which has warned Canada not to take this fill-the-prisons, expensive approach.
The bill is not tough on crime, it is tough on people in poverty and people suffering from mental health issues or addictions. Mandatory sentencing takes discretion out of the hands of experienced judges, and can turn minor offenders into hardened criminals, creating a revolving door for more prisoners in ever larger prisons.
Further, this bill will be expensive for the provinces. Quebec and Ontario have already said they will refuse to pay for the added expenses required by a strategy that has failed elsewhere and the justice minister of North West Territories has expressed concern. Premier Christy Clark should follow their lead.
Dianne Henshaw, Vancouver
