At a time when half of his PMO has been subpoenaed to testify at the Mike Duffy trial, and he might have to go to court to argue why he should not join them.
At a time when his former parliamentary secretary Dean del Mastro is waiting to be sentenced for electoral fraud.
At a time when he is trying to beat the drums of fascism as hard as he can.
It follows that Stephen Harper would try to prove that he's tough on criminals.
People found guilty in some killings should have to serve life in prison with little or no chance of parole, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says.
He made the announcement Wednesday in Scarborough, Ont., accompanied by Justice Minister Peter MacKay, that his government is proposing legislation to end parole for those convicted of murders involving: Sexual assault. Kidnapping. Terrorism. A police or corrections officer. Particular brutality.
Even though he can't explain what "particular brutality" means, our parole system works well, and prisoners sentenced to life in Canada spend on average more time in jail than those in the U.S.
Even though the new law is sure to be challenged in the courts.
The federal government’s plan to let cabinet decide whether convicted criminals serving life without parole should get exceptional release is “unprecedented” and will see legal challenges, an Ottawa constitutional lawyer predicts.
For attempting to politicize the legal process.
“The fact that there’s a political remedy through cabinet would not be sufficient to justify the constitutional violation, because that’s not how we remedy constitutional violations. They have to be remedied through judicial means,” said Carissima Mathen, a constitutional and criminal lawyer currently teaching at the University of Ottawa.
And even though the crime rate is falling like a stone, and at a time when he is trying to turn us into a police state with his foul Bill C-51.
But then Harper's new plan has nothing to do with justice, and everything to do with politics. It's just another attempt to create another wedge issue.
Just another attempt to try to inflame Canadians into voting for him, by appealing to their baser instincts.
Or playing on their fears, to try to turn this country into a jungle.
Because he has nothing else left to try to win another bloody majority, and he is increasingly desperate.
One might hope that Canadians would see though that sinister charade. That most would recognize that Harper is more dangerous than the criminals and the terrorists he would scare them with for crass political purposes.
But when it comes to crime many people in this country lose their heads, and start ranting and raving, and confusing justice with revenge.
So I can only hope that sanity will prevail.
And I can only dream that when that ghastly un-Canadian demagogue is finally defeated, and he is finally charged with his many crimes against Canada.
That the clause on "particular brutality" be invoked.
So he can be sentenced to the long prison term he so justly deserves...
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5 comments:
This "suggestion" of harper's has nothing to do with crime, justice, getting even, what ever. It has to do with private enterprise. Private prisons are a huge business in the U.S.A., listed on the NYSE, and they want to come to Canada. Under NAFTA they can, once the first one is built. What those private prison corporations want though is a "full house". In some American states, they stipulate in the contracts, how many prisoners, must be in their jails, so they can make their profits.
Over crowding has become a problem in Canadian prisons. Harper and his Cons announced prison closures but didn't announce, replacements. At that time it became clear to me where this was all headed, private, for profit prisons. They work very well for the stock holders and politicians who are funded in their re-election campaigns by their prison corporations. Harper is just looking ahead for him and his.
For harper and 60 of his "fellow" M.P.s look no further than their religion, The Christian & Missionary Alliance Church, which believes the bible is "inerrant" and the second coming is "imminent". One can hardly wait until Harper and his version of the protestant jihadists start with the death penalty.
We know where harper and his cons religion took the scientific community. We know where its taken women's right to choose. Like we are still waiting for the abortion pill after 3 yrs of "study" and needing another yr.
The P.M. is the one who is out of control and brought his religion into the House of Commons. He is no better than any of those other "jihadist". Harper and his attitude toward the 1,200 murdered First NATIONS women and his unwillingness to spend money ear marked for the fight against child porn, well you could say, he's in favour of child porn. Didn't Vic Towes used to say something like that, you're with us or you're with the child pornographers? Just asking...........
How about some actual data? In, for example, the last 10 years in Canada, how many convicted murderers involving: "Sexual assault. Kidnapping. Terrorism. A police or corrections officer. Particular brutality." later were granted parole and went on to kill or injure again?
hi e.a.f...it may be tied in to the prison for profit racket, but this new law is just to appeal to their rabid base with its bloodthirsty Old Testament ideas of justice, or more accurately revenge. It's absolutely disgusting and it speaks to how low we have fallen...
Harper has lost I think he has gone over to the mentally imbalanced side.
Namaste,
Mogs
the murder rate in Canada is the lowest it has been since 1966. we don't need longer sentences. We can not implement laws on the basis of the exception. It never works out well.
Keeping people in jail for 35 yrs based on political agendas will come back to bite us in the ass. Canada is a safe country. The one group which it is not safe for are First Nations women, but then the P.M. doesn't care about them. We won't spend a nickel to find out who the murderers are.
As to terrorism, well one persons terrorist is another's freedom fighter. Only history determines who is who.
Kidnapping, we just don't have a lot of them in Canada, beyond some gang type kidnapping, so why change all the laws for something which just isn't happening. Longer sentences are not going to stop anything. Does any one really think some one stops in the middle of a crime and think, oh gee, I might go to jail for 35 yrs? No. They don't stop to think period or we wouldn't have a lot of crime.
Much of the crime is gang related. That will never be stopped. We have only to look south, were people go to jail for life for armed robbery. Did it make the U.S.A SAFER, Not so much. there are a couple of hundred people on death row in Texas. Has it cut the murder rate? No, much of it is gang/drug related.
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