Pubdate: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Copyright: 2011 The Edmonton Journal Contact: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134 Author: Tobi Cohen Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) MINISTER FACES ROUGH ROAD WITH CRIME BILL Ontario and Quebec Have Refused to Pay Extra Associated Costs Canadian jail cells are not going to be brimming with teenagers and college kids who share pot with their pals, according to Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, who maintains one of the most contentious facets of his omnibus crime bill has been grossly misrepresented. Mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana production are designed to target organized crime, gangs and grow-ops, he said in a year-end interview with Postmedia News. They don't apply to young offenders and even new provisions that aim to penalize adults who are trafficking drugs around schools mean perpetrators would have to be caught with an "eight-pound joint" to be saddled with a mandatory minimum under the Safe Streets and Communities Act, he argued. "For the most part the laws with respect to marijuana aren't changed but they are changed with respect to trafficking associated with organized crime, gangs and grow-ops for the purpose of trafficking," he said. "I want to make that very clear because it was not clear in some of the criticisms. If somebody was thrown in jail under this bill, they were in the business of trafficking." It's been a particularly acrimonious year for Nicholson, who has come under fire for bundling nine vastly different bills into one and pushing it through Parliament with his party's new majority. And 2012 isn't expected to be any easier. In January, Nicholson will meet with his provincial counterparts in what will undoubtedly be a difficult session. Ontario and Quebec both have refused to pick up additional costs associated with the C-10 crime bill. Quebec's justice minister also recently left Ottawa fuming after the federal government refused to consider amendments aimed at preserving Quebec's approach to criminal justice, which favours rehabilitation and reintegration, particularly where youth are concerned. An old government cost breakdown associated solely with amendments to the Youth Criminal Justice Act - which was among the pieces of legislation wrapped into the crime bill after the government failed to pass it in previous minority Parliaments - reported incarceration levels would increase by 33 per cent at a cost of $717 million over five years. And half of that would be absorbed by the provinces. Nicholson, however, has stood by newer figures that suggest the entire omnibus law would cost the federal government $78.6 million over five years. The government has not speculated on costs to the provinces but Nicholson knows exactly what he'll say to his counterparts when the subject comes up. "One of the things that I will reiterate is that we have acted on a number of the measures that they have proposed to us," he said, noting many of the changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, as well as an earlier decision to eliminate two for-one sentencing, were based on their advice. "I say to them many of the costs associated with C-10 will be borne by the federal government with respect to the prosecution of drugs, which is a major component of this, and that the federal government has increased its allotment to the provinces every single year we have been in government, most recently by $2.4 billion." Although missing data for Quebec and the Northwest Territories, figures obtained by Postmedia News from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics indicate some 11,634 individuals received a conditional sentence in 2009-10. According to the figures, 2,302 were sentenced to house arrest for drug trafficking, 205 for sexual assault and 1,042 for major assault. While it's impossible to know the exact nature of the crimes from these statistics, these are the sorts of infractions for which house arrest may no longer be available as an option. Statistics suggest it costs the federal government $323 a day, or nearly $118,000, to incarcerate an inmate for a year, while the cost to the provinces is, on average, $172 a day or more than $62,800 a year, according to 2008-09 figures. By comparison, it costs the Ontario government, for example, $5.12 per day - about $1,869 a year - to supervise an inmate under house arrest. The omnibus crime bill is poised to pass in early 2012 and critics, like Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, have argued the new year could be filled with numerous court challenges under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as some of its provisions, he believes, are "constitutionally suspect." Which raises another of Nicholson's headaches from the past year. The government has had an opportunity to appoint a number of new justices to the Supreme and Federal Courts and has come under fire for its choices. Supreme Court Justice Michael Moldaver, for instance, was forced to defend himself for comments made about defence lawyers who mount frivolous charter applications. Meanwhile, a recent Ottawa Citizen investigation found Tory-appointed Federal Court judges were significantly less likely to overturn decisions made by government officers and tribunals regarding refugee claims and deportations. Nicholson dismissed any suggestion of favouritism. "We appoint judges who are competent and demonstrate legal excellence and they are all individuals who have been approved by the judicial advisory committees," he said. "We look for those individuals who have broad support and are widely accepted. I think we've done an outstanding job with the judicial appointments we made over the last six years." As for other justice-related legislation in the pipeline, the government's controversial plan to scrap the long-gun registry is still weaving its way through Parliament, as is a bill to redefine citizen's arrest. Nicholson said he also plans to introduce legislation to tackle elder abuse. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom