Chris (Montreal, QC) tells us a story of what Bill C10 can do to families and the ones we love. Canada is know for compassion towards its citizens and the world. Say NO to the Omnibus Crime Bill.
Sign the petition, write and call your Member of Parliament now: tell them you oppose Bill C-10!
It could get worse—don’t let it!
Jessica MacCormack (from BC) is a university professor and video-maker who has spent time working with women in the prison system. She tells us that prisons are horrible places to live and that people that need help should not be sent to prison because “Prisons are not mental health treatment centres.” Say NO to the Omnibus Crime Bill!
Sign the petition, write and call your Member of Parliament now: tell them you oppose Bill C-10!
It could get worse—don’t let it!
People in the riding of Laurier Ste-Marie (and all of Montréal!) come out to oppose Omnibus Crime Bill C-10! Le texte en français suit
MP Hélène Laveridière has already spoken against it, but we will be meeting in front of her riding office in solidarity with LeadNow.ca and Canadians across the country who have demonstrated in front of their MPs offices (and “Occupied” them!) this week. She will be there to listen and speak as well.
Flash-demo against Omnibus Bill C-10 at 1001 de Maisonneuve Est, Montréal, Fri. Nov. 25th @ 1pm, in solidarity with LeadNow.ca and concerned Canadians everywhere!
Bill C-10 may now be voted on as early as Monday, Nov. 28. We stand with LeadNow.ca and leaders who know that longer sentences, more prisons, and putting more youth, LGBTs, Frist Nations, and people affected by poverty behind bars IS NOT THE ANSWER.
The banner will be there (thank you, G. Tucker!), along with a group of Omnibusters from Forget the Box and the queer community.
Come, bring a friend, and meet the MP for the Village if you like!
Check out videos opposing the bill here: www.youtube.com/
Les résidents de la circonscription Laurier Ste-Marie, et de partout à Montréal, se rassemblent pour une manif-éclair contre le projet de loi C-10, le projet cruel contre le crime.
Nous y serons pour une manif-éclair (+ discussion + rencontre avec la Député du Village) contre le projet de loi Omnibus C-10 au 1001 de Maisonneuve Est, vendredi le 25 nov. 13h
La Député Hélène Laveridière, déjà ouvertement opposée à ce projet conservateur, sera présente, avec It Could Get Worse et maintes autres citoyens, en solidarité avec les Canadiens partout au pays qui ont manifesté devant les bureaux de leur députés parlementaires hier. Mme. Laveridière (NPD), sera à l’écoute de nos inquiétudes, et nous partagera ce que le NPD a fait pour s’y opposer jusqu’ici.
Le projet de loi Omnibus C-10 pourrait être voté dans la Chambre des Communes d’ici lundi (le 28 nov.). Nous nous manifestons pour déclarer collectivement que la PRISON n’est pas une réponse adéquate au crime, surtout quand aux jeunes, aux LGBT, aux Premières Nations, et aux personnes vivant dans la pauvreté.
Nous demandons, en concert avec le gouvernnment du Québec, le NPD, la Ligue des droits et libertés, la Société John Howard, Plaidoyer-Victimes, l’Association du Barreau canadien et PLEINS d’autres organismes et associations professionnelles, que le projet de loi C-10 soit abandonné!
Pour plus d’info sur les actions, les pétitions, et les vidéos, consulter:
Omnibuster Irkar Bejaars, (from Montreal & the Mohawk territories), is a native activist, community worker and filmmaker. He explains that the Omnibus Crime Bill targets natives and the already vulnerable members of our communities. He knows first hand that the prison system currently works and can successfully rehabilitate members of our society. We should not change this and we should not be implementing stricter prison terms. We should be investing in rehabilitation.
Sign the petition, write and call your Member of Parliament now: tell them you oppose Bill C-10!
It could get worse—don’t let it!
"Calling is effective, it really works," attests MP Laurin Liu, who opposes the Omnibus Bill C-10 because "it doesn't help victims, it only creates new ones."Laurin Liu, MP (NDP, St-Eustache)
KILL BILL C10 banner by Omnibuster G Tucker for It Could Get Worse
Hello Omnibusters! The Big day has come! Today, when you go to call or e-mail your MP, back it up with a few key points about why this bill must not pass! Personalize your message, include your own story or research, but feel free to use any combination of these points from It Could Get Worse and other sources (CBC, Rabble, John Howard Society, CBA, CCLA, etc.)
See the related post “Justice is Calling” for which MPs are on the Justice Committee that we urge you to call today. “Calling is effective, it really works,” attests MP Laurin Liu, who opposes the Omnibus Bill C-10 because “it doesn’t help victims, it only creates new ones.”
It Could Get Worse – Don’t let it! Call your MP today.
1) Hi I’m _____ from _____(feel free to say where you grew up, i.e. “Saint John, New Brunswick” or say Montréal. Non-voting Canadians and non-residents can call too. Anyone can call the MPs on the Justice Committee and be heard! List below.)
2) This bill needs serious reconsideration and should be dropped entirely in order to focus on preventative measures, not punitive ones
3) Republican governors and state legislators in such states of Texas, South Carolina, and Ohio are repealing mandatory minimum sentences, increasing opportunities for effective community supervision, and funding drug treatment because they know it will improve public safety and reduce taxpayer costs,” said Tracy Velázquez, executive director of the Washington-based Justice Policy Institute. (CBC)
4) Keeping a person in prison costs $100,000 a year. This is far more than it takes to help people get education, housing, and mental health services that are really needed to stop crime.
5) Canada’s aboriginal people already represent up to 80 per cent of inmates in institutions in the Prairies, a national embarrassment that Bill C-10 will make worse.
6) Scaling back on house arrest! That’s crazy! Canadian Bar Association attests.
7) Eighty per cent of my students are criminals under this legislation. About 10 to 20 per cent of them would be liable to a mandatory minimum sentence in a federal penitentiary of two years for simply passing a tab of ecstasy at a party on university campus,” said Eugene Oscapella, a lawyer who was a founding member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy and has appeared many times before Canadian Parliamentary committees on drug policy issues.
8) Federal spending on corrections in Canada has gone up from $1.6 billion in 2005-06, when Stephen Harper’s Conservatives took power, to $2.98 billion in 2010-11. That’s an increase of 86 per cent. Soon, it will double.
9) If mandatory sentences for small crimes and repeat offenses are instituted, the system overload will be tremendous. Already there are not enough lawyers available to do legal aid for people who are accused and cannot afford representation. This will result in the poorest and most disadvantaged people being stuck in a cycle of crime and kept at the margins of society.
10) Victimizing the most vulnerable. With mandatory minimums replacing conditional sentences, people in remote, rural and northern communities will be shipped far from their families to serve time.
11) Increased privatization, which will make prisons more and more independent from a responsible government approach to monitoring the conditions in those prisons.
12) There is nothing in the bill that will improve the likelihood of people rehabilitating after incarceration, and no funding is planned for improving rehabilitation services.
Three reasons from the John Howard Society of Manitoba:
13) Preventative programs are more effective at fighting crime than blindly lengthening prison sentences; Bill C-10 contains no provisions to better fund prevention programmes, which the Harper Government has already started cutting;
14) Cost: in the US, the cost of running the prison system has gone up 600% in the last 30 years without any real impact on crime rates.
15) Social cost: The prison-focused system creates more and more social and economic inequalities;”Putting people in jail for longer periods of time keeps them away from their families and communities, and they’re away from their responsibilities, making it harder for them to reintegrate into society.” – John Hutton, Nov 2011
Below are six broad points where the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is most concerned about the impact of this Bill:
16. Broad and vague amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act: Amendments give a very broad mandate to deny any foreign national a work permit and do not specify what factors would be used to target an individual as ‘at risk’ of being exploited. It is also poor public policy to punish foreign individuals who are vulnerable to abuse as opposed to addressing the Canadian employers who exploit these populations.
17. Hollow expansion for the rights of victims: Both torture and terrorism are serious crimes of international concern. Numerous Canadian victims of torture have been unable to access meaningful justice in Canadian courts– and yet the government has chosen only to make these amendments available to victims of terrorism. Even victims of terrorism would have to have their cases ‘pre-approved’ by the government, which has the ability to decide which governments can and cannot be sued. Canada should not play politics with victims of torture and terrorism.
18. Unconstitutional use of mandatory minimums: The use of mandatory minimums for broad and vague underlying offences may result in the imposition of unjust, grossly disproportionate sentences. The drug provisions include low-level drug offences – producing as little as six marihuana plants – and extremely broad aggravating factors which would target all those who rent or live in a house they do not own.
The child pornography provisions criminalize, and would impose mandatory minimum jail sentences, for the consensual, legal sexual activities of youth and young adults. There is little evidence that mandatory minimums provide any deterrent impact, enhance community safety or lower crime rates. There is also little evidence to suggest that they will significantly impact sentences for the most serious offenders – who are already being sentenced to significant amounts of jail time by the judiciary. Rather they will handcuff the judiciary, preventing them from responding to unique facts and exceptional personal circumstances.
>> Read CCLA’s op-ed on this question “Mandatory Minimum Sentences Are Just Plain Wrong“
19. Prison conditions and disparate impact of amendments on aboriginal peoples and persons requiring mental health care: The proposed will amendments greatly increase the prison population, and are likely to have a disproportionate and devastating impact on already-marginalized communities – particularly Aboriginal peoples and those with mental health needs. These populations are already greatly over-represented in correctional institutions, and existing programs and services are already ineffective and insufficient to keep up with general demand.
Omnibuster Mark Slutsky, writer/film-maker/wit for It Could Get Worse
Marky Slutsky is our first Omnibuster with an IMDB entry! Long known for his pithy food writing and discerning film criticism, Mark took a break from writing and editing to tell us why “Bill C-10 scares me, and why it should scare you too.” Check out his work on Vimeo here. “Call your MP and tell them that Bill C-10 is a waste of time, a waste of money, and it’s a waste of people’s lives.” Omnibusted!
Sign the the petition, write and call your Member of Parliament now: tell them you oppose Bill C-10!
It could get worse—don’t let it!
Omnibuster Antonio Bavaro, Student
Omnibuster Antonio Bavaro hails from Sherwood Park, Alberta. He comes out against the Omnibus Crime Bill C-10 because “putting our youth in jail for longer periods of time keeps them away from their families, communities, and responsibilities, and makes it harder for them to reintegrate into our society. The Omnibus Crime will NOT make our communities, our families, and our youth safer.”
Sign the petition, and call your Member of Parliament now: tell them you oppose Bill C-10!
It could get worse—don’t let it!
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