On Parliament Hill

Last week, the Liberals introduced Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in the House of Commons.

The bill eliminates mandatory minimum sentences and allows for greater use of conditional sentencing orders (such as house arrest) for serious gun crimes.

It also removes all mandatory minimums in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act including for such serious offences as drug trafficking and possession. It also adds a new set of principles that police and prosecutors should use when determining whether to lay charges for drug possession – a recent directive to prosecutors instructs them to avoid prosecuting simple drug possession cases.

There are several deeply troubling issues here.

First, this government that loves to tout its commitment to tackling gun crime continues to set their sights on law abiding firearms owners while at the same time reducing the penalties for those who commit gun offences. It is ridiculous to think that one can reduce gun crime by targeting those who obey the law and softening the penalties for those who don’t.

Second, this is not the first time the Liberals have weakened our Criminal Code. They began with Bill C-75 which reduced penalties for such serious offences as terrorism, human trafficking, drunk driving, and infanticide. Then, during the last parliament, they introduced Bill C-22, an attempt to eliminate a number of serious firearms offences that would receive mandatory prison time, including robbery with a firearm, discharging a firearm with intent to harm, and weapons trafficking. The legislation also would have allowed criminals to serve house arrest rather than jail time for offences including sexual assault, human trafficking, and kidnapping.

Conservatives believe serious, violent offences committed with firearms deserve mandatory prison time. It’s shameful, with gun crime on the rise across the country, that the Liberals think we should be weakening firearms laws in Canada.

Third, it is hard to fathom that at the same time this Liberal Government is softening the penalties for criminals (and opening the border to illegal border crossers) they have chosen to levy massive fines on law-abiding Canadians, merely for forgetting to download an app. Unfortunately, this government lacks an ounce of common sense and this sad irony is lost on them.

Fourth, despite the Liberals’ desire to see all illegal drugs legalized, to date illegal drugs remain just that, illegal. It is a crime to be in possession of them and it is a crime to traffic and/or sell them. While Conservatives recognize that in some simple possession cases treatment is a better option than incarceration, I also believe, as do most Canadians, that a crime as serious as drug trafficking deserves a strong deterrent. Unfortunately, the Liberals do not.

Conservatives have serious concerns with this latest Liberal proposal to allow criminals to serve house arrest rather than jail time for these serious offences. This bill is typical of the Liberals’ soft on crime agenda, and it puts communities and victims at risk.

Canada’s Conservatives will continue to advocate for common-sense policies, champion the rights of victims, and fight for the safety of our communities.