Parliamentary Justice Committee

A crime victim opposed to Bill C-10: Omnibuster Alexis O’Hara

Inspired by all the great work over at http://www.itcouldgetworse.com , I wrote the letter below and sent it to the 12 members of the Parliamentary Justice Committee. It took me all day & it may not be the best piece of writing I’ve ever done, but I felt compelled to do something other than post one more link on Facebook offering up appalling evidence of the federal government’s ominous disregard for its citizens well-being and safety.

Letter to:

Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, Ontario (Member of Justice Committee)

Telephone: 613-995-8913 EMail: stephen.woodworth@parl.gc.ca

Dear Mr. Woodworth,

I am writing you today because I feel strongly opposed to Bill C-10. I reach out to you today as a Canadian voter and taxpayer, as a concerned aunt of six great children and as a crime victim.

In 2002, I was assaulted by a man with a long history of mental illness and alcoholism. I later learned that my assault had not been an isolated incident; he had previously assaulted at least two other women. I strongly believe that if he had received adequate treatment as a youth, he would not have developed a pattern of violence.

I was extremely grateful for the support I received from CAVAC, the crime victim’s assistance centre affiliated with Québec’s Ministry of Justice. They were helpful and supportive throughout the lengthy process of my recovery. My case was tied up in the court system for over two years, there was no measure of solace to be found in that waiting period. And I cannot say that the incarceration of my assailant would offer any solace. Solace was found through the personal work I did with the help of CAVAC, a good therapist and time.

The new crime bill will force so many more cases through the justice system, it’s hard to imagine a scenario other than longer waits for trials. The federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has repeatedly refused to offer concrete facts as to the benefits or costs of Bill C-10, offering up again and again, hollow talking points about “being concerned about victims”. As a crime victim, I am much more interested in prevention than deterrence. Prevention means eradicating child poverty, treating mental illness and fetal alcohol syndrome, strengthening programs for at-risk youth. None of these measures are even addressed in Bill C-10. Instead the bill aims to put more people – even teenagers! – in jail at an inestimable, and completely obfuscated, price tag. And to what effect? There is ample evidence that criminal behaviour is only honed in jail, and with the Bill’s provision to remove restrictions on the force prison guards may inflict on prisoners, a cycle of violence will spiral further out of control. These prisoners will be released some day. Do we not want them to come back as members of society or as predators further damaged by the prison experience?

The Canadian Bar Association is opposed to this bill, Aboriginal leaders are against it, the provincial governments of Ontario and Quebec are against it, even Republican Texans question the logic of enacting measures that they have found to be ineffective to the point of crippling their state economy. Please tell me why the Conservative government is in such a rush to enact this bill, without considering the concerns of community leaders, criminal justice professional or even addressing the many amendments the NDP and Liberal MPs have proposed?

I beg you, Mr. Woodworth, to consider the many negative effects Bill C-10 will have on the future of our youth, our communities, our country.

Thank you for your time,

Alexis O’Hara

Artist and educator

Montreal, Quebec

aside 23 Nov

Eighteen Reasons to Speak out and Call MPs today about C-10

"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.

aside 22 Nov

Who to Call + Email (updated): The Parliamentary Justice Committee Contact Info

On Tues. Nov. 22nd, all day and night, and Wed. Nov. 23rd, we will be focusing our calling efforts on the Conservative members of the Justice Committee.

We will seek to convey the many, many reasons why this bill is unjust, unjust, unnecessary, and against the values of thinking, caring Canadians of all stripes.

Please be polite to their assistants, and if you get them on the phone, remind them of the AVAAZ petition and LeadNow campaign, and that the Canadian Bar Association, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the Governments of Ontario, Québec and Newfoundland are all opposed to Bill C-10. Please note that Conservative MPs are the ones to call first, it’s their reckless bill. MPs who already oppose the bill are listed below as well. You may call them too, if you wish, but know that they are our allies against the omnibus crime bill C-10.

Be an OMNIBUSTER. It Could Get Worse – Don’t Let it! Thank you!

Dave MacKenzie, Committee Chair (CALL THIS GUY! It’s his boss’s bill that will make more jails and longer sentences, putting more people in jail for non-violent crime. Tie up his phone, tell him everything you can about the injustice of the punitive system. He should know better, he’s a former police chief.) Conservative, Oxford, Ontario Telephone: 613-995-4432 EMail: dave.mackenzie@parl.gc.ca

Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay, Committee Member, (Take her to task! Shame on Findlay for ignoring the facts!) Conservative, Delta-Richmond East, BC Telephone: 613-992-2957 EMail: Kerry-Lynne.Findlay@parl.gc.ca

Robert Goguen, Committee Member (APPELLE-LUI: il n’est pas acceptable que le député acadien soutienne le projet seulement parce qu’ils vont construire leurs prisons au N-B!) Conservative, Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe, NB Telephone: 613-992-8072 EMail: Robert.Goguen@parl.gc.ca

Brian Jean, Committee Member (ALBERTANS: Call this MP and lay into him for supporting a bill that even Texas Republicans say is wrong and outdated!) Conservative, Fort McMurray – Athabasca, Alberta Telephone: 613-992-1154 EMail: brian.jean@parl.gc.ca

Brent Rathgeber, Committee Member (Again: Call him, tell him what you think about this punishment-obsessed bill and its rash financial consequences: C-10 is fiscally irresponsible!) Conservative, Edmonton-St. Albert, Alberta Telephone: 613-996-4722 EMail: brent.rathgeber@parl.gc.ca

Kyle Seeback, Committee Member (The Province of Ontario says it won’t fund this bill, tell Kyle to get with the programme and dump C-10!) Conservative, Brampton West, Ontario Telephone: 613-995-5381 EMail: Kyle.Seeback@parl.gc.ca

Stephen Woodworth, Committee Member (Again, Ontarians know better: C-10 is a waste of time, a waste of money, and a waste of peoples’ lives!) Conservative, Kitchener Centre, Ontario Telephone: 613-995-8913 EMail: stephen.woodworth@parl.gc.ca

MPs who ALREADY OPPOSE Bill C-10 and are working to stop it from becoming law (not a priority for calling, but feel free to send e-mails of support!):

Irwin Cotler, Committee Vice-Chair (He is trying to stop Bill C-10, we like him!) Liberal, Mount Royal, Quebec Telephone: 613-995-0121 Fax: 613-992-6762 EMail: irwin.cotler@parl.gc.ca

Charmaine Borg NDP (Terrebonne—Blainville), Committee Member (Like Omnibuster Laurin Liu, Charmaine is a younger member of the caucus. She has publicly blasted the bill’s proponents for trying to pass it through too quickly, and with little to no public consultation or respect democratic process. Go Charmaine!)
Telephone: 613-947-4788
Fax: 613-947-4879
EMail: Charmaine.Borg@parl.gc.ca

Jack Harris (NDP), M.P. for St. John’s East (Justice Critic for Official Opposition). Jack Harris is one of the leaders of the Opposition, and has stood against Bill C-10 in every possible way, including fighting its proposals clause by clause in committee. Bravo, Jack, Omnifilibusterer! Telephone: 613-996-7269 EMail: jack.harris@parl.gc.ca

Pierre Jacob, Committee Member (Totally against Bill C-10. Don’t give him a hard time! Comme Dany Morin, Laurin Liu, Irwin Cotler, il est déjà contre le projet de loi C-10) NDP, Brome-Missisquoi, Quebec Telephone: 613-947-8185 Fax: 613-947-8188 EMail: Pierre.Jacob@parl.gc.ca

aside 22 Nov

Letter from Marlo, Omnibuster youth activist, to Justice Committee Chair Dave MacKenzie

"What would you want for your children, your grandchildren? To be sent to prison, or to have a chance to learn about reducing risks in their lives and those of others, a chance at reconciliation and healing?"

Marlo Turner Ritchie

Marlo was going to be part of our first batch of Omnibuster videos, but something came up, so she drafted this letter to the Chair of the Parliamentary Justice Committee, Conservative MP Dave MacKenzie. Call him. Write him. Now. It works. Thank you, Marlo!

It Could Get Worse – Don’t let it!

letter to:

Dave MacKenzie, MP (and Justice Committee Chair)
Federal, Conservative
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Telephone: 613-995-4432
Email: dave.mackenzie@parl.gc.ca

November 22, 2011

Dear Mr. MacKenzie,

I am writing to register my deep concern and dismay over the proposed Omnibus Bill C-10, an Act to enact the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act and to amend the State Immunity Act, the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and other Acts.

I join with the thousands of other Canadians who have signed the petitions at Avaaz.org and Leadnow.ca, members of leading non-profit organizations, the Canadian Bar Association, and I am also bolstered by our elected representatives in Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland.

I oppose this bill for three reasons and am inspired by young activists in Montreal working on a campaign called “It could get worse…don’t let it” to simplify my reasons as follows:

1) There’s no policy, money, or thought to prevention and education in the bill. Safer housing and help with mental health and drug addiction are the REAL efforts that help keep crime rates low
2) It’s too expensive! It costs over $100,000 a year to keep someone in prison.
3) The social costs are WAY too high. Putting people in prison creates criminals, not communities.

As a young woman with over fifteen years experience in management in the non-profit sector, I know that there are many complex social issues to sort through when it comes to creating safe, healthy communities. What would our country look like if everyone who had mental health challenges, addictions, or who were struggling with the compounded effects of poverty and discrimination of various forms, were given an equal shot at having a vibrant life? I’m deeply upset that this bill proposes threatens to criminalize those who need and deserve special care.

What would you want for your children, your grandchildren? To be sent to prison, or to have a chance to learn about reducing risks in their lives and those of others, a chance at reconciliation and healing?

I implore you to do everything in your power as Chair of the Justice Committee to engage with leading experts, who are working in the best interests of all citizens, and to revise this bill significantly.

The health of our communities and freedom of our youth depends on your actions.

Sincerely,

Ms. Marlo Turner Ritchie
BA in Humanities and Social Sciences
Youth Activist