TRUDEAU GOV'T PROPOSES CRIMINAL REFORMS AIMED AT SYSTEMIC RACISM IN JUSTICE SYSTEM
Feb 18, 2021
By Bob Komsic
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Legislation introduced in the House of Commons would rescind mandatory minimum penalties for certain drug offences.
Penalties that the government says have disproportionately harmed Black and Indigenous offenders and those with addictions.
If passed, Bill C-22, would repeal more than a dozen mandatory minimum penalties on the books, including those for certain drug offences and some gun-related crimes.
Justice Minister David Lametti says the legislation would turn the page on an approach that has not worked.
”It was an approach that did ‘not’ make our communities safer. It did ‘not’ deter criminals. It did ‘not’ make the justice system more effective or more fair,” according to Lametti.
”Its singular accomplishment has been to incarcerate too many Indigenous people, too many Black people and too many marginalized Canadians.”
The bill would also allow for greater use of conditional sentences, such as house arrest, counselling or treatment for those who do not pose a threat to public safety.