OTTAWA – Liberal Critic for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Dr. Carolyn Bennett, Liberal Critic for Justice and Human Rights, Irwin Cotler, and Liberal Critic for Public Safety, Francis Scarpaleggia, today called on the government to reassess its justice agenda in light of a report that shows a continuing drop in Canada’s crime rate.
“The Statistics Canada annual Juristat report proves that there continues to be a steady decline in crime in our country – with the police-reported crime rate down 5% between 2009 and 2010,” said Dr. Bennett. “Yet we have a Conservative Government trying to implement policies based on ill-informed ideas instead of evidence. Conservatives continue their fear mongering in hopes of scaring Canadians into accepting severeand ineffective crime legislation. The omnibus crime bill planned for fall will only exacerbate prison costs – and will almost certainly have a disproportionate effect on Aboriginal Canadians – so we urge them to change course before it is too late.”
Dr. Bennett concluded, “This report provides essential insights that stand contrary to what the Conservatives would have us believe. The government’s own documents prove that prison costs are now 86% higher since the Conservatives formed government in 2006. While they preach fiscal responsibility, the Conservatives are spending billions at the expense of programs specifically designed to prevent people from offending and reoffending.
The Conservative government was found in contempt of Parliament for withholding the enormous cost of their justice bills, and now we know why. Not only are the costs outrageously high, but as this StatsCan report shows, they are also at odds with the realities of declining crime in Canada.”
Mr. Cotler added, “The Conservatives expanded crime and punishment agenda – the wasting of mega dollars for the building of mega-prisons while crime is declining and investment in prevention and jobs is ignored –is wrong as a matter of policy, suspect as a matter of law, and misguided as a matter of economics.”
“The report is added proof that the Conservative government’s crime agenda is being set in a context that negates all of the government’s operating assumptions,” said Mr. Scarpaleggia. “Not only that, but other jurisdictions, like Texas, are moving in the opposite direction in their approach to combating crime, giving more resources to probation boards and investing greater sums in treatment programs, all with clear positive results that include falling crime rates and slowing rates of recidivism.”
The Liberal Party believes in tough sentencing for serious crimes. We also believe in ideas that are fact-based and backed by evidence. But spending billions on housing criminals with no plans for rehabilitation is dangerous policy.”
