Appendix 4 Highlights of the Major Federal Parties'1

Appendix 4

Highlights of the Major Federal Parties’1

Election/Policy Platform in the Areas of Criminal Justice: Who Would/Did You Vote For?

The following description is but a summary of the policy platforms for the various political parties in Canada. Needless to say, as major issues arise (e.g., terrorism, organized crime, legalizing marijuana, or some other major socio- political event), each party usually releases a news release in which they state their political stance. The current list includes items from the 1997 and 2004 election platform.

Liberal Party (Leader 2005: The Right Hon. Paul Martin):

• New sentencing alternatives to incarceration for low-risk, non-violent offenders (e.g., community diversion programs and greater use of assessment techniques).

• Continued support of the gun control legislation that is among the toughest in the western world.

• Strengthening the Young Offenders Act such as longer sentences for younger offenders and improved mechanisms for transferring serious violent young offenders to adult court. They also proposed establishing special programs to help youth gangs members to exit these groups.

• Just prior to election campaign, the Liberal government launched a national “flagging” system to assist the Crown in identifying high-risk offenders at the time of prosecution. In addition, new legislation was introduced to enable high-risk offenders to be placed on supervision of up to 10 years following their release from prison.

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario 1 • New legislation was introduced to protect women and children from violent crime. For example, they eliminated self-intoxication as a defence for violent crimes.

• Following up on their anti-smuggling strategy, the Liberals propose to continue to take an aggressive stand against organized crime.

• The Liberals propose to improve the mechanisms for sharing information across the justice system.

• At the focal point of the Liberal campaign against crime is their focus on crime prevention through the initiation of crime prevention programs through social development initiatives (e.g., Canada Child Tax Benefit, Centres of Excellence for Children’s Well-Being, the Aboriginal Head Start program, etc.).

From the Liberal website (retrieved March 2005):

• Work more closely with police at all levels to develop responses to specific patterns of crime facing our communities, such as hate crime, organized and gun crime.

• Combat sexual exploitation of children on the Internet by providing increased resources for the RCMP.

• Create a new specific offence in the Criminal Code to better target and combat trafficking in humans.

• Reduce compliance requirements for firearms owners.

Liberal Party website: http://www.liberal.ca/

• As noted in the Bulletin issue (May 15, 1997:6), “the text is not available in English and a communications official of the Bloc Quebecois has requested it not be translated.” Not being sufficiently fluent in French to provide a translation and given the request of the Bloc representative, no effort was be made to translate. For the curious and/or bilingual reader, please refer to pages 6–8 of the Bulletin.

• In the 2004 election, the Bloc Quebecois saw the rehabilitation of young offenders as its top priority. They reject “loi sur les jeunes contrevenants” imposed by Ottawa.

• They favour maintaining the Gun Registry but want an inquiry in to the Liberal mismanagement and cost overruns of the program.

• The Bloc favours decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana. They would impose fines, but no criminal record. Drug prevention and awareness programs would be a priority.

Bloc Quebecois website (in French): http://www.blocquebecois.org/

Conservative Party of Canada (Leader: Mr. Stephen Harper):

• Their essential solution to crime problems “is a strong, growing economy that provides more jobs and opportunity”.

• The PCs advocate a tough but balanced and realistic approach to responding to criminals and respecting the interests of victims.

• They propose introducing a “Safer Street” initiative that would balance both prevention and punishment of offenders. For example, they would

• Like the Reform party the PCs propose to lower the age of responsibility from 12 to 10. In addition, they want to see judges given “more power to impose mandatory treatment or therapy on troubled youths” (p. 14). Like most of the parties, they would also propose to make it easier to transfer serious violent youth crime cases to adult court.

• The PCs would see the Firearms Act repealed and replaced with stiffer penalties for those convicted of using a firearm in the commission of a crime.

Source: Abbreviated from “Decision ’97.” Bulletin, May 15, 1997:1–14.

• They propose redefining the age of responsibility by lowering it to 10. In addition, they feel that any offender over 15 should be tried as an adult. Furthermore, they would publish the name of any convicted violent young offender.

• Unlike the Liberals, they would repeal Bill C-68, the universal firearms registry legislation. Instead they would implement a “zero tolerance” policy for criminal offences involving firearms.

• They would repeal s. 745 of the Criminal Code (the so-called “faint hope clause”), introduce a “two strikes” legislation, and revise the criminal justice system to better represent the interests of Canadians generally.

Summary from the Election 2004 party platform: www.dawncanada.net/voteforequality/pp.htm

• Scrap federal gun registry and divert saving to hiring of 200 Mounties.

• Establish retroactive national sex offender registry.

• Introduce consecutive sentences for multiple violent crimes.

• End possibility of house arrest for violent criminals.

Conservative Party website: http://www.conservative.ca/

New Democratic Party of Canada (Leader 2005: Mr. Jack Layton):

• They propose to be tough on crime, and more specifically to be tough on the causes of crime. They point to such problem areas as unemployment, child poverty and investing in children and municipalities.

• The New Democrats propose holding criminals accountable for their crimes but they did not specify how this would differ from current processes.

• Age would not be the only factor when determining the consequences of a young offender.

• Developing a Victims’ Bill of Rights to ensure victims of crime are treated equally and fairly.

• They would introduce special treatment programs for victims of sexual and physical abuse.

• Making sentences and bail and release conditions tougher for repeat violent offenders under federal jurisdictions.

• Strengthening laws to combat organized crime and anti-gang laws.

• Strengthening border controls and penalties for illegally importing guns into Canada.

• Ensuring transparency and accountability in corporate accounting by bringing Canadian regulations in line with American regulations – introduced in the aftermath of Enron and WorldCom scandals.

New Democratic Party website: http://www.ndp.ca

Green Party of Canada (Leader 2005: Mr. Jim Harris)

• Increase the use of sentencing circles, house arrest, community service and civil suits for punitive damages to keep non-violent first offenders out of prisons.

• Retain the ban on fully automatic and paramilitary weapons but make gun registration free.

• Legalize, regulate and tax marijuana production and use part of the tax revenue to fund addiction prevention and treatment initiatives.

• Increase funding to shelters for women who are victims of violence.

• Create a task force on sex trafficking.

• Create a rapid Response and Deployment Force that combines efforts of civilian specialists and diplomats with military units.

Green Party website: www.greenparty.ca

1 In addition to the political parties covered in the Appendix there are five other registered political parties, four eligible political parties, and over a dozen ‘other’ political parties.