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| Catherine Latimer |
Effective “made in Canada” solutions
For too long, Canada has either embraced or been cowed into perpetuating U.S.-style “tough on crime” approaches. These include mandatory minimum penalties, longer incarceration periods, mass incarceration, and security concerns over rehabilitation/reintegration support — all of which have disproportionately harsher impacts on members of marginalized communities. They are also extremely expensive and ineffective in making our communities safer.
Perhaps now is the time to distance ourselves from these failed American policies and recognize the past successes of thoughtful, evidence-informed, uniquely Canadian criminal justice system approaches. The passage of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act by the Mulroney government was seen as a model by other countries, and the Youth Criminal Justice Act under the Chrétien and Martin governments significantly reduced youth incarceration without increasing youth crime.
Core Canadian values include pride in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, respect for the rule of law, and commitment to peace, order and good government. Hopefully we will see whether those vying for office are committed to those core values or whether they are prepared to override Charter protections or judicial rulings as we are now seeing in the United States.
Efficiency in the Canadian criminal justice system
The criminal justice system is expensive for provincial and federal governments. Crime is also traumatizing and costly for victims. There are just approaches that reduce the unnecessary waste of fiscal and human resources. The Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism is a great place to start, but more than lip service needs to be given to reducing repeat crime.
Efficiencies could be achieved quickly by removing unnecessary barriers and ensuring proactive respect for the law to avoid expensive litigation and damage awards for negligence or non-compliance with the law. Enabling prisoners to participate in social enterprises or cooperatives to contribute in the production of needed goods and services would increase productivity, fairly remunerate prisoners, and support their rehabilitation and reintegration.
Allowing those who have completed their sentences and have been crime-free for years to be fully employed and contribute to our economy would also contribute to productivity. The process for limiting the prejudice of an expired criminal sentence could be done efficiently through an operation of law as it is with expired youth criminal records rather than through the slow, expensive and unnecessary current application process.
Promoting community-based corrections rather than institutional options are not only more effective but far less expensive. The cost savings resulting from fair and effective criminal justice should make some reforms a priority now.
Ideally we would like to hear during the election campaign:
- a strong commitment to the Charter and the rule of law;
- a pledge to pursue “made in Canada,” evidence-informed criminal justice system approaches;
- a doubling down on reducing repeat crime through the Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism;
- an interest in an efficient criminal justice system that reduces fiscal and human waste; and
- support for developing Canadian solutions in the problem areas of bail, sentencing and corrections.
While the criminal justice is not a top-of-mind concern for this election, too often effective and principled reforms are the casualty of other political interests. It is our hope that candidates from all parties steer clear of American-style “tough on crime” rhetoric that leads to unjust, expensive and ineffective measures. It is time for “made in Canada” solutions to our complex criminal justice challenges that reflect our values and work to make our communities safer.
Catherine Latimer is the executive director of the John Howard Society of Canada.
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