Supreme Court Sides With Criminals, Again - Hill

February 15, 2001 

OTTAWA- Canadian Alliance Member of Parliament, Jay Hill (Prince George-Peace River), was not surprised by today’s ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada that the Minister of Justice should not agree to extradite two Canadians accused of murder in the United States without receiving assurances that they would not receive the death penalty if convicted of their crimes.

“The Supreme Court is very consistent in its practice of protecting the rights of people convicted of violent crimes, to the detriment of the victims and their families,” stated Hill. “These two men are accused of committing brutal crimes in Washington State and they should be sent back to stand trial according to the law of the State in which the crimes occurred. Doing so is the only way that the family and community will feel that justice was done.”

In its decision, the Supreme Court ruled that there was no convincing argument that death by execution in prison advances Canada’s public interest in a way that the alternative, death by natural causes, would not.

“It is not the place of the Supreme Court to place ultimatums or conditions on the courts of the United States. I am quite certain that Canada would object if the United States decided that it would only extradite suspected murderers to Canada with an assurance from our government that they would face the death penalty.”

Hill, former Deputy Justice Critic for the Canadian Alliance, believes that it is the role of Parliament and the Justice Minister to determine public policy regarding the treatment of violent offenders.

“I will be calling on the Justice Minister to uphold the decision of her predecessor, that these two individuals would be extradited without seeking assurances regarding their sentencing. I will ask her to let the people of Washington State decide their fate.”

Mr. Hill has repeatedly introduced a number of private member’s bills aimed at restoring harsher penalties for violent crimes, including restoration of capital punishment. In this, his third term in office, Hill hopes to see some of these Bills become law.