Justice Minister Rob Nicholson’s bellicose rhetoric about the Conservative crime record strains all credibility.
Minister Nicholson likes to blame the Senate for delays in passing crime legislation, but the Conservatives killed eighteen of their own crime bills by shutting down Parliament, including two in the Senate.
Consider these facts regarding the Truth in Sentencing Act that came into force today:
1. This bill was passed and received royal assent in October 2009, but Harper Cabinet waited until now to bring the law into force – a delay which is 100 percent the fault of the government.
2. Liberals called for this bill before the government introduced it, having joined with several of the Western Attorneys General to call for the elimination of two-for-one credit for time served in response to the escalation of gang violence in Vancouver in early 2009.
3. Liberals helped this bill speed through the House of Commons in thirty-six days. In fact, it would have passed sooner if the government hadn’t insisted upon dealing with other legislation first. More to the point, the Senate dealt with the bill quickly. The government introduced it in the Senate right before Parliament rose for the summer, effectively preventing it from being passed at that point. Once the Senate returned, the bill was passed – in total, the bill was in the Senate for only 19 sitting days.
