Public speakers on behalf of NORML Canada (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) spoke at Carleton Nov. 8 about the recent omnibus crime bill C-10, as well as ongoing marijuana prohibition.
The event was hosted by Carleton’s Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP).
Marc-Boris St-Maurice, the executive director of NORML, Eugene Oscapella, an Ottawa-area lawyer who founded the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy, and Alex Rowan, president of CSSDP, are among those who spoke at the event.
The crime bill, legislated by the Conservative majority, has taken on widespread protestation. In lieu of recently released news that Canada’s crime rate, specifically its violent crime rate, has dropped for nearly the second decade since 1994, according to Statistics Canada, the Conservative government unleashed legislation that is overly reliant on the “deterrence model” of the United States.
Key elements of the omnibus crime bill include harsher provisions against violent and sexual offenders, eliminating the two-for-one policy that counted two days for every one served pre-trial, as well as mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug users and traffickers.
Additionally, the bill focuses on building and running more prisons and addressing basic victims’ rights. However, Canada’s treatment of victims’ rights still fall below international standards.
The punitive measures of the crime bill mean that provinces will be saddled with the constitutional responsibility of increased criminal justice costs. As the number of processed offenders is expected to rise, provinces are responsible for enforcing the new laws and measures, housing offenders and paying for the expenses involved in a criminal trial.
It costs provincial and federal governments approximately $150,000 a year for the expenses involved in incarcerating a single male offender, according to Statistics Canada.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has spoken harshly of the incurred expenses of building prisons. Michel Fournier, Quebec’s justice minister, has argued that, fundamentally, the province of Quebec simply doesn’t agree with the legislation’s “tough-on-crime” approach. He has accurately stated that the increase in punitive measures and the resulting prison population will actually increase recidivism, unless the root causes of criminality are remedied.
The bill packed nine different policies that were previously introduced under Conservative minority governments, but were unsuccessful. A possible explanation for the tough-on-crime legislation is the Canadian public’s long-standing lack of awareness for actual crime rates, and the resulting heightened fear.
A 2004 EKOS research report noted that 25 per cent of Canadians see themselves as very likely to be the victim of a property crime (20 per cent somewhat likely) and 15 per cent expect to be a victim of a violent crime (15 per cent somewhat likely).
Actual victimization rates are extremely lower and have been decreasing since 1994, according to crime statistics and victimization reports. In clear political strategy, this misperception of the Canadian public has compelled the Conservative government to play on the fear of the majority by instituting a tough-on-crime approach in an attempt to gain public support.
Noticeable in the crime bill is harsher penalties for non-violent offenders who are in contact with drugs. The rhetoric surrounding marijuana prohibition seems to be more effective than actual legislation or reform at this point. Interim Liberal Party of Canada leader Bob Rae recently stated the obvious, “the war on drugs has failed.”
During the provincial election, prospective NDP leader Paul Dewar visited Oliver’s Pub on Carleton’s campus, accompanying Ottawa-Centre’s NDP representative Anil Naidoo. Dewar spoke candidly and sincerely about several issues to me, before I popped “the question.”
Although he was open to but non-committal about full legalization, he understood and agreed on the severe ineffectiveness and illegitimacy of marijuana prohibition.
Speaking with St-Maurice, former Marijuana Party of Canada leader, prior to the event, he said the crime bill will have little effect on recreational marijuana users. The future of marijuana prohibition reform lies in awareness and funding, he said.
NORML, Canada’s lobby group for marijuana law reform, is a grassroots organization that is high on public approval, but short on funds. St-Maurice said raising public awareness about the economic, medical, policy and social justice issues of the criminalization of marijuana is paramount to raising much-needed funds and subsequently achieving reform in the legislation.
St-Maurice said when he was leader of the Marijuana Party of Canada, the government was much more open to the marijuana debate compared to the current government’s closed-minded and circumscribed approach.
Today, with a majority government in place, the opportunity for change has been superseded by the need for damage control and strategic opposition. Sooner or later, there will be an issue that compels more voters to take to the polls. But at that point, it may be too late.
– Matt Prokopiw of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy,
fourth-year criminology
