Bill S-10: "Penalties for organized drug crime act"
Bill C-15 has been re-introduced as Bill S-10...
Bill S-10: "Penalties for organized drug crime act"
Bill S-10 seeks to impose a Mandatory Prison Sentence of 6 - 9 months on a person caught growing as few as 6 cannabis plants if there is evidence of trafficking.
Does that sound like "organized crime" to YOU?
It does to the Conservative Government!
Excerpts:
"The bill specifically targets gangs and other organized criminal groups who participate in the illegal drug trade."
"Our Government's message is clear: drug lords should pay with jail time," said Mr Petit. "Canadians can count on us to continue standing up for law-abiding citizens. We will denounce any tactics that may weaken or obstruct this important legislation." [Translation: opponents of this bill will be characterized as "soft on crime."]
- Daniel Petit, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justicewebsite
Read theBill S-10 Backgrounder "Penalties for organized drug crime act" [*New name. The Bill C-15 backgrounder was named, "Proposed New Mandatory Sentences for Serious Drug Offence"
Read theBill S-10 Backgrounder
"Penalties for organized drug crime act"
*New name. The Bill C-15 backgrounder was named, "Proposed New Mandatory Sentences for Serious Drug Offence"
Read a highlighted version of Conservative Senator John Wallace's
speech to the Senate regarding Bill S-10!
"It is the government's view that production from six plants and up does constitute serious drug crime."
(Senator John Wallace is the Conservative Senator who introduced Bill S-10.)
Senator John D. Wallace just doesn't get it! Even after expert witnesses explain it to him.
Video from the Bill C-15 Senate Committee on November 19, 2009...
May 12, 2010 - Senate Debate on Bill S-10
Read a highlighted version of Liberal Senator George Baker's
speech to the Senate regarding Bill S-10!
"...who was the vice-chair of the House of Commons committee [that did a thorough study of mandatory minimums]? The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C."
May 13, 2010 - Senate Debate on Bill S-10
Read a highlighted version of Conservative Senator Pierre Claude Nolin's
speech to the Senate regarding Bill S-10!
"We need to face facts: the problem is not the substance; it is the prohibition of that substance."
Some background information on this legislation
This is the third time this same legislation has been introduced. The first time it was introduced it was called Bill C-26. The second time it was called Bill C-15.
Despite the Conservative government's claims that the bill is "priority legislation" both previous incarnations of this legislation died prematurely. Bill C-26 died because of an election call in 2006 and Bill C-15 died due to prorogation in December 2009.
This time around the Conservatives are introducing this bill in the Senate first instead of the House of Commons (hence the "S" in "Bill S-10"). Legislation has to pass through both Houses to become law so, following the Senate, the House of Commons will debate and vote on the bill as well.
In the last session of Parliament, Bill C-15 was amended by the House of Commons committee, increasing the plant count that would result in a MMS from 1 plant to "more than 5" plants. The Senate Committee then amended the plant count to 200 due to concerns that such a low threshold was not inkeeping with the intentions of the bill to target organized crime.
The Senate currently has a plurality of Conservative Senators as a result of Stephen Harper appointing 33 Conservative senators since taking office in 2006. The Senate appointments were justified by Stephen Harper as necessary to pass the government's tough on crime legislation.
Department of Justice Canada -
Research and Statistics Division
January 2002
"MANDATORY MINIMUM PENALTIES: Their Effects on Crime, Sentencing Disparities, and Justice System Expenditures" Download the Report (PDF, 1.6M)
Excerpts:
9.5 Mandatory Sentences for Drug (page 30)
"Severe [Mandatory Minimum Sentences] seem to be least effective in relation to drug offences. Studies using a variety of methodologies seriously question the value of the 'drug war' approach."
"Drug consumption and drug-related crime seem to be unaffected, in any measurable way, by severe [Mandatory Minimum Sentences] ."
Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA)
CCLA briefing paper
Re: Mandatory Minimum Jail Sentences
The Canadian Sentencing Commission summarized the Canadian expertise on this issue as follows: “Since 1952, all Canadian commissions that have addressed the role of mandatory minimum penalties have recommended that they be abolished”.
Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Drug Offences:
Why Everyone Loses
There has recently been a movement on the part of the newly elected federal government to consider mandatory sentences and stiff penalties for drug offenders. However, scientific evidence indicates that mandatory minimum sentences only worsen the health-related harms associated with incarceration by increasing the transmission of infectious disease in prisons.
Published On: 2006-05-03
Author: Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
Topics: Drug Policy and Harm Reduction
Document Type: Briefing Papers
Language: English
Previous incarnations of this legislation
February 2009: Bill C-15 - Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Drug Crimes
Bill C-15 - An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
April 22, 2009
Conservative Justice Minister, Rob Nicholson, defending Bill C-15 at committee. In this clip, Mr. Nicholson refuses to answer a simple question about whether or not he spoke to the chair of the 2002 Senate Committee on Cannabis, Conservative Senator Pierre-Claude Nolin and then stonewalls NDP committee member, Libby Davies, when asked to present evidence that mandatory minimum sentences will work for drug crimes.
New Democrat Libby Davies questioned Justice Minister, Rob Nicholson as to what evidence he had to support the idea that minimum mandatory jail terms will reduce crime. Ms. Davies cited studies prepared for the Justice Department several years ago showing that automatically jailing drug criminals does nothing to deter crime, as has been shown in the United States.
"Many States are repealing their mandatory minimums," Ms. Davies said. Mr. Nicholson declined to supply any evidence to the contrary, but he insisted that "we are absolutely convinced in our consultation with Canadians that this is welcomed across the country."More...
November 2007: Bill C-26 - Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Drug Crimes
Bill C-26 - An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts
This enactment amends the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to provide for minimum penalties for serious drug offences, to increase the maximum penalty for cannabis (marihuana) production, to reschedule certain substances from Schedule III to that Act to Schedule I, and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. • Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
Reversing decades of tough-on-crime policies, including mandatory minimum prison sentences for some drug offenders, many cash-strapped states are embracing a view once dismissed as dangerously naive: It costs far less to let some felons go free than to keep them locked up.
...
"You've got two decades of failed policies," said Laura Sager a consultant in Michigan for Families Against Mandatory Minimums. She said mandatory sentencing laws and tough penalties for drug offenses in the 1980s "bloated prisons and prison populations, and the taxpayer is paying a very high price."
The Conservatives are also pushing ahead with Bill C-26 at the very moment the United States is repealing or reforming many of its own mandatory minimum drug penalties, because of mounting evidence that they don't work.The Conservatives are also pushing ahead with Bill C-26 at the very moment the United States is repealing or reforming many of its own mandatory minimum drug penalties, because of mounting evidence that they don't work.
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The U.S. also has the world's highest per capita rate of incarceration - 751 people in jail for every 100,000 in population - more than Russia at a rate of 627, China at 119, and Canada at 108.
In 2007, the U.S. also passed a sobering milestone: more than one of every 100 adult Americans is now locked up in jail.
Mandatory drug laws contributed to this situation. Since 1980, the number of Americans jailed for drug crimes has soared to 500,000 from about 40,000.
The result is overcrowded prisons and overburdened corrections budgets. But the biggest problem is the failure of such laws to ensnare the criminals they're designed to target - the kingpins and dealers at the top of the drug trade. More...
The Harper government, say critics, are still taking lessons in pursuing a war on drugs from the United States, with all the attendant failings.
“Mandatory minimums have been an unmitigated disaster,” says Eugene Oscapella, an Ottawa lawyer, criminology professor at the University of Ottawa and a founder of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy (and, he says, not a marijuana smoker). “It boggles my mind that anyone can look to the U.S. as a model for anything except as a colossal failure.”
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“[Bill C-26 is] a redundant, unnecessary and harmful bill,” says NDP justice critic Libby Davies. “It’s all about optics for the Conservatives…. Prohibition is a failed model. All this bill does is give us the illusion that they’re doing something. It’s a dividing tactic, playing on people’s fears.”
The U.S. drug czar, John Walters, is in Ottawa today, trying his best to put a positive spin on one of the greatest disasters in U.S. foreign and domestic policy. Part of his agenda is to persuade Canada to follow in U.S. footsteps, which can only happen if Canadians ignore science, compassion, health and human rights. More...
Q: Do you think the best approach to drug abuse is...
Treat the use of illegal drugs as an illness and focus on prevention and treatment for addicts
65%
Treat the use of illegal drugs as a crime and get tough on enforcement of drug laws among addicts
35%
Canada not, never was, soft on crime
January 27, 2007 -
Vancouver Sun Despite these sensational anecdotes, however, a review of the evidence reveals that Canada is not, and never has been, soft on crime, that the putative laxity of the criminal justice system is perhaps the most persistent, pervasive and pernicious myth in Canadian society today. more...
Conservative ministers and their aides are consulting with "keen" U.S. government officials on a new national drug strategy, according to internal documents obtained by CanWest.
"There have been various senior-level meetings between U.S. officials and ministers/minister's offices," states a summary of a June 16, 2006, meeting on the Tory drug initiative involving top federal bureaucrats at nine federal departments and agencies.
"U.S. officials have been keen to discuss drug issues with the current government." More...
The Tories apparently ignored the advice from Justice Department lawyers, which was contained in a briefing book for Justice Minister Vic Toews released yesterday through an Access to Information request.
"Research into the effectiveness of mandatory minimum sentences has established that they do not have any obvious special deterrent or educative effect and are no more effective than less serious sanctions in preventing crime," said the briefing book.more...
Conservative policymakers have long arugued that minimum sentences are effective deterrents. But the harshness of the penalty is not what deters someone from committing a crime; rather, it's the likelihood of getting caught, says Barry Beyerstein, a member of the Canadian Centre for Drug Policy.
And mandatory minimum sentences are a bad idea on principle. In western legal systems, part of the reason everyone gets their own trial is that the circumstances of individual cases are always unique.
Politicians have no business making pre-ordained decisions on the future of people brought before the courts. A judge who has heard the case from start to finish should be the only person to decide what penalties are appropriate.
Simply put, it's too draconian to pass a law that ignores mitigating circumstances. More...
Critics fear the move is a sign that electioneering and exploiting public fears are taking precedence over common sense and the integrity of the judicial system.
Tony Doob, a professor of criminology at the University of Toronto, called mandatory minimums for gun crimes an "insult" to judges, who are already legally bound to tailor punishments to fit the crime.
"Study after study shows these things have zero impact on crime (but) everybody's looking for a quick fix," said Doob, who added that he's most troubled by politicians who are pretending to make Canada's streets safer.
"They're trying to deceive the public into thinking that they've done something effective. It's just simple dishonesty."More...
"Mandatory minimums are neither a deterrent nor effective," Cotler told The Sun editorial board Tuesday. "I will not be pressured into legislating because of the politics of the moment -- and I will not be intimidated into changing my principles. I said they are wrongheaded as a matter of policy and suspect as a matter of law . . . They are not effective, even though that is counterintuitive."
Libby Davies, NDP Spokesperson for Drug Policy
November 28, 2007
"The reality is that mandatory minimums do not deter organized crime. Instead, they affect almost exclusively the small dealers, street traffickers, and non-violent offenders while leaving the door open for organized crime to step in and fill the void created at the lower levels. Mandatory Minimums for drug sentences increase enforcement costs exponentially, and the burden on the criminal justice and prisons systems is great."
[excerpt]
Overall Concerns:
There is no proof that mandatory minimums are effective and appropriate measures to reduce drug use and crimes related to drugs. Most evidence shows the opposite.
C-26 does not address the core issue of why people use drugs.
C-26 increases already imbalanced and over-funded enforcement approach to drug use in Canada without reducing crime rates or drug use.
Abandons successful measures such as harm reduction and grass roots education programs.
Moves toward expensive, failed US style war on drugs that spends tens of billions a year on enforcement and incarceration while crime rates and drug use soar.
Leads to greater incarceration rates and greater burden on courts, police, and prisons.
The Bill leaves it open for enforcement to go after the low level dealers and marijuana infractions (The selling of one joint or growing one plant could constitute trafficking) .
Current waiting lists for drug treatment beds is from months to years, depending on the city and region, Drug Treatment Courts will only serve to put more people on a waiting list.
Marijuana Growth in BC by Dr. Stephen T. Easton, Fraser Institute
Prohibition funds Organized Crime, Legalization nets BC $2 Billion in additional tax, Marijuana worth $7 Billion in BC every year www.fraserinstitute.org/COMMERCE.WEB/product_files/Marijuana.pdf
Politicians who support prohibition are supporting organized crime
Cannabis prohibition is expensive, ineffective, and causing significant harms to Canadian society.
For the good of ALL Canadians, it's time to end cannabis prohibition.
"Our Government's message is clear: drug lords should pay with jail time," said Mr Petit. "Canadians can count on us to continue standing up for law-abiding citizens. We will denounce any tactics that may weaken or obstruct this important legislation."
Bill C-15 Senate Committee: Transcripts and Video links
Minister defends mandatory minimums - Drug Crimes Targeted
