Liberals soft on crime. (remember for the next elections)
abc
Liberal senators blasted by Tories, NDP for blocking crime bill
October 7, 2009
Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, shown here in a March 2009 file
photo, blasted Liberal senators on Wednesday for watering down
legislation designed to remove credit for time served by offenders
awaiting sentencing.
Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, shown here in a March 2009 file
photo, blasted Liberal senators on Wednesday for watering down
legislation designed to remove credit for time served by offenders
awaiting sentencing.
Photograph by: Chris Wattie, Reuters
OTTAWA � Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson blasted Liberal
senators on Wednesday, accusing them of watering down legislation
designed to remove credit for time served by offenders awaiting
sentencing.
The legislation, supported by provincial governments across the
country, would eliminate a common practice among judges, when
sentencing offenders, to credit them on a two-for-one basis for each
day spent in detention
But the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee voted to
change the proposed legislation so that offenders would receive a
credit of 1.5 days for each day served in pre-sentence custody � but
that judges would retain their discretion to sentence up to two days or
as they see fit.
"I believe the bill has been gutted," Nicholson told Canwest News
Service. "Judges will have the discretion to give up to two-to-one,
which is exactly what we had taken aim at."
NDP Leader Jack Layton also took aim at the senators, criticizing them
for not raising concerns about the legislation earlier.
"Unelected senators shouldn't be standing in the way of the unanimous
will of the House when it comes to important laws," Layton said. "This
is another example why we shouldn't have unelected law makers in this
country and that the Senate should be abolished."
Nicholson also criticized Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff for allowing
the senators to change the legislation. The justice minister said
there's a consensus among Canadians for more laws cracking down on
crime, but that the senators are delaying those changes by proposing
amendments.
"I hope (the legislation) gets fixed in the main Senate," Nicholson
said. "This is why I have been asking since June, for Mr. Ignatieff to
step forward, to put some pressure, to show some leadership on this
issue and bring together some unity within his own political party on
all of these issues."
But Liberal justice critic Dominic LeBlanc defended Ignatieff,
explaining that the Liberal MPs supported the government's legislation
and would work to reverse any changes proposed by the Senate.
"Mr. Ignatieff is not like Mr. Harper. He doesn't order caucus members
around," said LeBlanc. "The Senate has a role to play but I can be very
clear that we don't believe the bill should be amended."
The Harper government introduced its bill seven months ago amid
complaints from provincial governments and other critics that the
credit is being abused by accused offenders who drag out their trials
so they can cut their time in prison.
Criminal lawyers have countered that judges can already deny time
credit to those who try to drag out their trials. The idea behind the
credit is to compensate for the harsh conditions in detention
facilities.
The Senate as a whole, which is dominated by Liberals, must still pass
the amended version of the bill before it is sent back to the House of
Commons for vote, said Mark Roy, spokesman for the Liberals in the
Senate.
The Commons can decide to reject the amendment and punt the bill back
to the Senate, which has traditionally accepted the will of the elected
MPs.
Canuck57
> Liberal senators blasted by Tories, NDP for blocking crime bill
>
>
> October 7, 2009
>
>
> Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, shown here in a March 2009 file
> photo, blasted Liberal senators on Wednesday for watering down
> legislation designed to remove credit for time served by offenders
> awaiting sentencing.
>
> Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, shown here in a March 2009 file
> photo, blasted Liberal senators on Wednesday for watering down
> legislation designed to remove credit for time served by offenders
> awaiting sentencing.
> Photograph by: Chris Wattie, Reuters
>
> designed to remove credit for time served by offenders awaiting
> sentencing.
>
> The legislation, supported by provincial governments across the
> country, would eliminate a common practice among judges, when
> sentencing offenders, to credit them on a two-for-one basis for each
> day spent in detention
>
> But the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee voted to
> change the proposed legislation so that offenders would receive a
They are all soft on crime. That is why I don't vote NDP, Lib nor Cons
any more. Which corrupt party of Kanada do you vote for?