Tories unique on justice issue

Winnipeg Sun ^ | 2011-04-20 | Tom Brodbeck

[Clive]

Given that crime is a pretty important issue with the voting public, I set out this week to compare the law and order platforms of our three main federal parties.

Justice is probably one of the few issues in this campaign people actually care about. So it would be useful to drill down and see what each party is proposing specifically to crack down on repeat, violent criminals who are released into the community through our revolving door justice system.

Trouble is, when I looked up the law and order platforms of the three parties, I discovered two of them have virtually no justice platform at all — unless you include the Liberal’s position that providing Canadians with more affordable housing will help reduce crime.

Tiny section

The Tories have a limited platform on law and order, including some reforms to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The NDP has a tiny section on justice in its booklet.

And the Liberals literally have no justice platform at all in their campaign literature.

So there really isn’t much to compare. But here it goes anyway.

Let’s start with the New Democrats.

The NDP has a one-page, seven-point section on crime sandwiched between how they would protect the family farm and how important it is to recognize local heroes.

Let’s just say that law and order isn’t figured prominently in their campaign material.

Under the heading of “hiring more police to protect your community,” the NDP has pledged to “eventually” add 2,500 more police to city streets across Canada.

They would make joining a gang illegal and they would create standalone offences for home invasions and car jackings.

That’s about it.

Most of the NDP’s crime platform is about spending more money on so-called crime prevention programs.

The Liberals do not have a law and order platform.

Nowhere in their latest “red book” do they pledge to do anything about burgeoning violent crime in Canada.

In fact, they even downplay that crime is a real problem in this country.

“Although crime rates are declining nationally, some families don’t always feel safe in their own neighbourhoods,” the Liberal platform says.

Actually, there are categories of police reported violent crime that are rising. And Statistics Canada’s victimization reports show violent crime is up, but more and more people aren’t reporting the offences.

Don’t feel safe

In any event, what is the Liberal solution for some families who don’t always feel safe in their neighbourhoods? To spend more money on affordable housing and social programs to supposedly fight poverty. That’s it.

They have nothing on sentencing, nothing on reforming the YCJA, and they have no other proposed crime legislation.

The Tories have a law and order platform.

It’s a smaller, less aggressive one compared with past elections. But there are some pledges to crack down on violent criminals.

Among them, the Tories are pledging to extend the ban on house arrest to a wider range of serious crimes, including offences that involve serious personal injuries.

The Tories are promising to bring in mandatory jail time for sexual offences against children.

And they’re proposing to bring in tougher sanctions for violent repeat offenders under the youth criminal justice system.

They’re also pledging to eliminate pardons for serious criminals.

“In recent years the scales of justice have tipped too far in favour of the rights of criminals at the expense of law-abiding citizens,” the platform says.

It’s not the kind of sweeping reforms the Tories proposed during the 2006 election. But it is a justice platform.

Now the choice is yours.

[Clive]

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[Forgotten Amendments]

“Law & Order!” troglodytes turned the Land of the Free into the world's most oppressive prison farm. But it's a good election strategy, eh?