Bill aims to turn tables on criminals’ rights
Expanded rights for victims — including the legal right to take part in parole hearings — will be part of sweeping legislative changes unveiled today to revamp Canada’s prison and parole system.
Proposed changes to be announced by Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan stem, in part, from an independent review panel that made more than 100 recommendations in 2007 to increase offender accountability, eradicate drugs from prisons, boost employment skills, renew physical infrastructure and eliminate statutory release.
“We feel for far too long the system has favoured the rights of offenders over those of victims, and it’s time we took action to change that by introducing a new approach to the federal corrections system,” Van Loan spokesman Christopher McCluskey said.
It’s now the practice to allow victims to make presentations at parole hearings, but the new bill will enshrine that into a legal right.
[More]
Popularity: 19% [?]
Male, retired and the rest is of little interest to anyone. The site keeps me busy and if it helps others to stay abreast of daily events then my time is well spent.
beentheredonethat Says:
“Davies said most offenders eventually return to the street, so it makes sense to make sure they’re properly educated and rehabilitated before being released.”
Educated and rehabilitated…not even a hint about denunciation and deterrence. Canadian courts across the land have repeatedly said that denunciation and deterrence are extremely weighty considerations in sentencing and make little if any reference to education and rehabilitation. Education and rehabilitation come after denunciation and deterrence, not in lieu of.
Posted on June 16th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Bruce Says:
Corrections Canada has evolved into a completely ineffective and mushy-headed institution. Can anyone explain why CC, with roughly 12,000 inmates at any given time, has 15,000 employees????
Posted on June 16th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Jack Says:
I can’t resist this. In a word “paperwork”, Bruce.
Posted on June 16th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
stageleft Says:
25 years ago last halloween my brother-in-law was killed in a fight by a drunk. He was a good kid who went to the wrong party – the guy was charged with manslaughter and eventually made it out on parole.
I don’t know whether he was rehabiltated or not, I don’t know whether he received any councilling, and I don’t know whether he learned any lessons or not, it doesn’t matter to me, what matters to me is that he caused my wife and her family more pain than any family deserves. If I was sitting on the parole board and had any say in the matter what-so-ever he’d still be behind bars – and that’s exactly why victims taking part in parole hearings is as stupid an idea as I’ve ever heard.
Inserting personal revenge into the justice system…. what a great Canadian achievement.
Posted on June 16th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
beentheredonethat Says:
Not to worry stageleft. Corrections Canada or whatever they used to be called back then always requested a written recommendation from the arresting police when a person was coming up for a parole hearing. I cannot recall a single instance in my entire career wherein police recommended, sometimes vigorously, against a particularily violent prisoner (oops, slipped up..inmate…forgot to be touchy feely for a moment) being granted parole. I can’t recall a single occassion when the police recommendation was given any weight by the Parole Board. That included instances wherein we backed up our recommendation by attaching a physiactric report strongly recommending parole be denied. Nothing mattered, nothing made a difference. We all knew that requesting this report was a waste of time and by doing so we were just going thru the motions because the Parole Board was going to whatever they wanted to do no matter what. Hannibal Lecktor would be eligible for day parole to work in a fast food joint according to these people. Giving the victims a say will change nothing, nothing at all.
Posted on June 17th, 2009 at 9:46 am
beentheredonethat Says:
Sorry, should have read…….
”I cannot recall a single instance in my entire career wherein police recommended, sometimes vigorously, against a particularily violent prisoner (oops, slipped up..inmate…forgot to be touchy feely for a moment) being granted parole, and the board agreed.’
Posted on June 17th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Jim in Calgary Says:
My older brother was appointed to the parole board when PMBM was running the show. He is as staunch a conservative as I am some of the things he told me regarding the board was downright horrifying. The board is stacked with bleeding heart libs and further to the left individuals.
He fought tooth and nail to keep some of the people that did not deserve parole, in jail. It was an uphill battle all the way.
If memory serves me correct, here is what I recall about their enumeration etc.
At the time, I believe they received about $50,000/yr to meet once a month at whatever part of the country they were having their hearings. They almost always flew first or god forbid, business class. Top of the line accommodations, meals and “other” expenses. The meetings lasted usually 1-2 days and I believe they got extra pay just for the meetings. (I could be wrong on some of the above but I do think it is fairly accurate).
The whole system needs a top down house cleaning and change of values. Perhaps with a majority be PMSH, we may see some of these things develop.
Posted on June 17th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Mac Says:
There’s a bit more to the legislation than just parole reform… quite a bit, actually, so it’ll be interesting to see how much makes it through the House…
Posted on June 17th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Brian S Says:
The Liberals have been fighting against some of these reforms for so long that I get too angry to even read all the way through such articles anymore. My prediction: the Liberals may let it get through parliament if it is politically expedient to do so, but they will drag their feet on it in senate until such time as there is a change in government.
Posted on June 18th, 2009 at 4:04 pm