Closing the Legal Loopholes With One
Justice Bill After Another
November 28, 2007
The first order of legislative business for our Conservative
Government in this session of Parliament was to introduce
the Tackling Violent Crimes Act, Bill C-2. Yet we didn’t
stop there. Over the last two months, we’ve continued
to introduce legislation designed to enhance the effectiveness
of, and confidence in, our justice system.
Bill C-2 brought back significant crime bills that are
widely-supported by Canadians but never became law in
the last Parliamentary session due to opposition obstructionism.
It includes mandatory prison time for serious gun crimes,
bail reform, raising the age of consent to protect our
children from sexual predators, cracking down on drug
and alcohol impaired driving and tougher monitoring and
consequences for high-risk and repeat offenders.
Next, we introduced legislation to establish FAIR and
APPROPRIATE measures to hold young people accountable
when they commit serious crimes, especially those youth
involved in gangs.
Meaningful consequences will instil within youth a sense
of responsibility for delinquent or criminal behaviour,
as well as give them better opportunities for rehabilitation
so that they do not re-offend.
Bill C-25 will allow judges to impose punishments that
actually deter and denounce serious offences committed
by youth. It will also make it easier to detain youth
in custody prior to their trial if they pose a risk to
public safety.
Amid growing concerns and criticism regarding the Youth
Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), Justice Minister Rob Nicholson
also announced that a comprehensive review of the YCJA
will be undertaken in 2008.
Minister Nicholson also introduced a bill to get tough
on drug traffickers which reflects Private Members’
Legislation I introduced in previous Parliaments. Bill
C-26 proposes mandatory jail time for those convicted
of trafficking drugs near schools or other areas frequented
by youth. Our Government believes those convicted of running
grow-ops, drug labs or trafficking MUST serve time in
prison. These provisions will demonstrate that drug offences
involving organized crime, violence or preying upon youth
will result in punishment.
Another growing problem in our society that our Government
has moved to address is identity theft. Organized crime
and modern technology are making identity theft easier
than ever. This is a complex and serious problem that
poses devastating consequences for its victims.
The use of another person’s identity information,
such as impersonation and forgery, is addressed by current
offences in the Criminal Code. However identity theft,
the preparatory steps of collecting, possessing or trafficking
in identity information, is generally not captured by
existing offences.
Bill C-27 will create three new offences directly targeting
identity theft – all subject to a five-year sentence.
This includes: obtaining or possessing identity information
with intent to use it to commit certain crimes; trafficking
in identity information; and unlawfully possessing and
trafficking in government-issued identity documents.
These measures, like many of our justice reforms, are
designed to close legal loopholes that continue to be
exploited, often by organized crime and gangs.
You deserve a justice system that protects you and your
family. Our Conservative Government wants to slam the
door on the criminals and predators that victimize innocent
Canadians.
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